Thursday, October 6, 2011

Time Capsule: October 2008

Purple Dragonfly Embroidered Collar

Three years ago this month, Inspirational Beading had only one post. But, considering the amount of work behind it, it was a big one. After what seemed like weeks and weeks of stitching, I shared an incredibly ambitious bead embroidery project. In square inches, it might be the largest piece I have ever made.

I think that this collar/bib might be partially responsible for my reluctance to get back into bead embroidery, as much as I love the medium. I was so exhausted that I didn’t even finish it - the spiral rope connector wasn’t part of the original design. And after all of that work, I’ve never even had an occasion to wear it.

I was really happy with the beadwork though, and the little dragonfly is still one of my favorite beading successes. As I dip back into the bead embroidery realm, I’m glad that I have this piece to look back on. It's also pleasantly nostalgic. The entire piece is stitched with Czech seed beads, in some of my old favorite colors.

I don’t want to completely spoil the surprise, but I might just have a few new embroidery projects to share next week. None of them are quite like this one, but there’s always a chance that I’ll be crazy enough to try it again.

Three years later, I’m very pleased to say that bead embroidery is a lot like riding a bicycle. This is the first of what will hopefully be a long line of fun new designs!

Falling Leaves Embroidered Pendant


Do you have a favorite, but long lost technique?

Copyright 2011 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook


3 comments:

  1. I love the new necklace! And it is scaled down from your former mammoth project so it is wearable on more occasions. Lovely colors, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the new design! The leaves coordinate perfectly with the seed beads.

    I learned how to cross-stitch back in middle school and picked it up again a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your jewelry pieces are works of art. What you can do with beads never ceases to amaze me. :)

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com