Putting an End to Beader’s Block?

Greetings, beaders! I have been putting off a return to the blog for quite some time, mainly because I haven’t been certain for many weeks whether or not I would continue to make things or write about them on a regular basis. The good news is that if I don’t get started now, I will have too many projects to update on, and some things will have to be left behind. Since we can’t have that, it’s time to start catching up.

For the last several months I’ve been completely laid out with the worst case of beader’s block I’ve ever experienced. It would be appropriate to call it complete creative burn out. The last couple of years were very busy around here, both creatively and life-wise. In the past I’ve had a lot of success in challenging myself to write and create every day, but this time around it spelled certain doom for my beads and I. After taking a break in December to work on personal projects, I simply couldn’t bring myself to make anything new. I felt overwhelmed by obligations and underwhelmed by inspiration. I had a terrible case of the don’t-wannas. I couldn't even find the energy to check my emails everyday. It was all too easy to fall into a new routine where I could relax, nap, read, or binge-watch whenever I wanted. I have to admit that I was enjoying the down time a lot. Part of me was very worried that I might not ever want to do beadwork again.

At first I thought I just needed a change of pace, so I put away the spiral rope necklace that I was working on and tried to reboot. Unfortunately no new projects really came to mind. I did a bit of an assessment and decided that I needed to cull some of my pursuits so that I could focus on what I really wanted to do. The first step was to deactivate my jewelry shop. This was hard to do at first, since I’ve put so much effort into it over the years, but I knew that the obligation of maintaining it was draining my energy. When I did my taxes and saw my revenue for the year, any regret I felt vanished. It was time.

Although I did feel a lot lighter after dropping that ball and chain, I still didn’t have a lot of desire to create. My next step was to unpack all of the jewelry from my shop and set it up in my own wardrobe. I was hoping for a boost of inspiration there, but it actually had the opposite effect. If I wasn’t creating for the shop anymore, I would end up wearing anything I made, and now I had more jewelry than I could ever need. It has been absolutely fabulous to be able to wear all of my favorite pieces, and after a few weeks I realized that there were a few things I wouldn’t mind having more of – especially if I could design them just for my own personal style. I pulled out some beads to make a new cuff bracelet in my favorite color and pattern – green with black and white stripes – but I got bored after only an inch of work. I was still too attached to my new routine and the design just wasn’t juicy enough to keep me at my workspace.

I tried looking through some of my bead stash to see if my favorite materials would spark a little inspiration. Now that I could do anything that I want with the beads, I hoped that I would remember a design idea that I denied myself in favor of the shop. Nothing seemed to speak to me. I had almost lost hope in finding my bead groove again when something totally unexpected happened. I was able to acquire a new handbag for just a few dollars, and the plain black and white design cried out to be embellished. On a hunch, I took out one of my Beadsmith needles and pushed it through the material to see what would happen. It was like stitching through butter. That night I had all of my favorite seed beads and coins spread out on the table and a palette came together.

I decided to go with a freeform design using lots of concentric circles, so I could just go with whatever I was in the mood for at the moment. I wanted to see how the overall design would evolve from one beading session to the next. I worked on the bag every night for several weeks before I started to tire of it. But before I could lose the beading groove, new inspiration struck! While watching an old kids movie from the 80’s, I recalled a character whose wardrobe included about a hundred rubber vending machine bangles, and how badly I had wished such a look for myself. I had never really gotten around to purchasing or making something like that, but now that I had all of my beads and time to myself, I realized I could go ahead and make absolutely anything that I wanted.

I cleaned off my second bead tray, which made it necessary to start a Work in Progress stash so that I could store the forgotten cuff for later. Then I went through my 8/o seed bead stash and picked out a palette of blues and browns, with some black and white stripes for good measure. Using stretch cord, I made about 14 mini bangles – not quite the quantity that I was inspired by, but I definitely like the look of them all slouched together like one big cuff. This inspiration lead to a few others, and now I’ve got three projects on the go, all of which I think I’ll be able to finish without any hiccups.

It feels great to have things mostly back to normal, although I have mobilized my workspace so that I can hunker down on the sofa. Netflix-and-bead time is a lot more enjoyable when I’m not hunched over my laptop. I can’t promise that I’ll ever get back to my previous writing schedule, but I will be sure to document this new beading journey.

What have you been working on lately?

Mortira

Subscribe * Facebook * Google+
Send your beading questions to InspirationalBeading@gmail.com
Support Inspirational Beading with Patreon

Copyright 2017 Inspirational Beading

Tutorial: Golden Tapestry Netted Cuff Bracelet

Netting is one of my favorite beading techniques because it is simple, medidative, and creates such beautiful collars. The method of connecting beads together in nets has been around for thousands of years, and was even used by the Ancient Egyptians - chances are you've seen photographs of the beautiful faience bead 'gown'. Netting in some form can be found in the beadwork of many cultures, sometimes with elaborate patterns and lovely layers. Though it does have some basic structural limitations, the spacing of the beads allows for many variations in netting, including the addition of accents in many sizes.

This super easy 'tapestry' cuff project was inspired by the Geometric bead box from Blueberry Cove Beads. This has been my all time favorite bead collection so far this year. When I pulled out all of the lovely beads in the inspiration box, I was struck by how wonderful each of the individual pieces was. The shapes and colors are each unique and beautiful in their own way, but when combined they create a gorgeous tapestry.

The harmony of combining beads together is one of the things that makes it such a rewarding art form, and this project is a great example of the way that you can easily mix together elements that might not seem matched at first sight.

Blueberry Cove Geometric Bead Box

Some of my favorite pieces from this set include the pretty purple mother of pearl coins, and the orange cat's eye cubes. Individually the beads are wonderul, and though they are different in every way, I knew that I could mix them together to make a gorgeous piece of jewelry. I added tiny gold hexagon beads to the palette from the Geometric box, and some green glass rounds and drops from the Rainforest bead box as well. Transparent topaz seed beads and purple crystals from my stash rounded out the palette perfectly.

If you don't have similar materials in your stash, try combining some of your favorite accents together. The pattern will work with just about anything 6mm and smaller - just be sure to leave room for the size and shape of each bead that you add: the coins in the project are used as a focal since they can overlap each other nicely along a single row, but the other beads sit snugly side by side. Once the netting is complete, the beadwork will have a wonderfully chunky texture. If you like your bracelets extra slinky, use waxed beading thread in place of the Fireline.

Materials:

10 yards 6lb test Fireline (crystal)
5 grams size 11/o seed beads (transparent topaz)
6 x 10mm mother of pearl coins (purple)
6 x 6mm glass drops (green)
18 x 5mm glass cubes (orange)
16 x 6mm glass rounds (green)
16 x 3mm crystal bicones (purple)
24 x 3mm hexagon beads (gold)


1. Attach a stop bead to a comfortable length of Fireline, leaving a 6 inch (15 cm) tail. Pick up 6 seed beads, and slide them down to the end. Pick up 1 seed bead, and begin stitching an even-count peyote panel. Continue working until your panel is 19 beads wide. Weave in and trim both threads. Create a second 6 x 19 peyote stitch panel and weave in the threads.

2. Attach a stop bead to a new length of Fireline, and weave into one of the peyote strips, exiting from a corner up-bead. Pick up 4 seed beads, and 1 hexagon bead. Continue stringing accents with 4 seed beads between each: add 1 drop, 1 hex, 1 cube, 1 hex, 1 drop, 1 hex, 1 coin, 1 hex, 1 drop, 1 hex, 1 cube, 1 hex, 1 drop, 1 hex. Finish with 4 seed beads.

3. Stitch up into a corner up-bead on the second peyote strip, and weave up through the following bead. Pass back down through the adjacent bead and the following bead to exit the panel. Pull snug.

4. Flip the beadwork. Pick up 4 seed beads, and stitch up through the last hex bead added in the previous row.

5. Pick up 4 seed beads, 1 cube, and 4 seed beads. Stitch up through the next hex bead of the previous row.

6. Continue adding accents with 4 seed beads to either side, passing through the hex beads to secure them: add 1 round, 1 cube, 1 coin, 1 cube, 1 round, and 1 cube.

7. To complete the row, pick up 4 seed beads.Stitch into the 3rd bead of the peyote strip, leaving one bead between each of the netting rows. Stitch through the following bead in the strip, and then turn as in step 3 to begin the next row.

8. Pick up 4 seed beads, 1 crystal, and 4 seed beads. Stitch through the last cube bead added in the previous row. Continue adding crystals for the entire row, passing through each of the accents beads. Finish by stitching into the 3rd bead of the peyote panel and turning the thread as usual.

9. Add 4 seed beads, passing through the last crystal added. Pick up 4 seed beads, 1 round bead, and 4 seed beads. Pass through the next crystal in the previous row.

10. Continue adding accent beads, using the opposite color/shape as the previous row, and a coin in the center. Finish the row and turn. In the following row, add all hexagon beads. Repeat the pattern until you have 5 rows with accents, 3 rows of hexagons, and 2 rows of crystals as shown.

Turn and exit from the last bead of the peyote panel to begin the final row.

11. Add 4 seed beads and pass through the last hexagon bead added in the previous row. Add 4 seed beads, 1 cube, and 4 seed beads. In the next stitch, add seeds beads and a glass drop. Continue adding the remaining accent beads, and finish the row with 4 seed beads. Weave in your threads and trim.

12. Weave across the peyote panel and exit from the fouth bead on the outside edge. Pick up 21 seed beads. Pass back through the first 3 beads again and into the 5th bead of the peyote panel. Pull snug.

Check the fit of the loop on one of your remaining glass rounds. It should be just big enough to slip over the bead smoothly. Adjust the number of beads in the loop if necessary, then continue weaving.

13. Weave through the peyote panel and exit from the edge, leaving a 2-bead space from the previous loop. Add a second loop with the same number of beads. Repeat to add two more loops, then weave in and trim the thread.

14. On the opposite edge of the cuff, position a new thread 4 beads from the end as before. Pick up 3 seed beads, 1 round, and 2 seed beads. Skipping the last seed bead added, pass back through all of the beads again, and into the 5th bead of the peyote panel. Pull snug.

Repeat this step to add 3 more toggles, leaving a 2-bead space between each. Weave in any remaining thread and trim.

This pattern will create a bracelet that is 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) long. To increase the length of your design, you can add additional seed beads to the nets - working with 5 seed beads per stitch instead of 4 will add about 1 inch (15 cm).

Mortira

Subscribe * Facebook * Google+
Send your beading questions to InspirationalBeading@gmail.com
Support Inspirational Beading for bonus tutorials and more! Powered by Patreon

Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Square Stitch Patchwork Cuff Tutorial

No matter how elaborate beadwork stitches become, or how many holes are added to seed beads, sometimes only simplicity will do. For this month’s project I wanted to do something that was super easy but with a bold look – a project that would be a fun way to play with color but also provide some meditative beadwork.

This square stitch cuff is a great way to practice one of beadweaving’s simplest techniques. Square stitch is very handy if you like the look of loomwork but don’t want to go to all the trouble of setting up a loom and then weaving in your warp threads. Once you've mastered the basics, the pattern possibilities are endless. You can easily create your own unique patterns using graph paper and colored pencils.

To make this cuff you’ll need some size D beading thread of your choice, a clasp or button, and about 30 (total) grams of seed beads in at least 8 colors. I recommend using Japanese round seed beads (preferably of similar make and finish) to get a nice, even bracelet. The boxiness of Japanese rounds is a great match for the patchwork pattern. Have fun choosing your palette. I went with a handful of similar shades in different finishes, but you could also use a chromatic palette with black and white, ROYGBIV +1, or whatever colors you have on hand.

1. Attach a stop bead to a comfortable length of thread, leaving a 12 inch tail. Pick up 4 each of your first 4 seed bead colors (A, B, C, D) and slide them down to the end. Flip the work so that the stop bead is pointing away from you.

2. Pick up 1 color D bead. Stitch down through the last bead added in step one, and carefully pull the thread snug so that the new bead clicks into place beside it. Stitch up through the new bead again and pull snug.

3. Pick up 1 color D bead. Stitch down through the next color D bead in the first row and pull snug to click the new bead into place. Stitch up through the new bead and pull snug.

4. Continue adding one bead at a time with square stitch, matching the color of bead picked up to the bead you will stitch it to in the previous row.

5. To start the next row, flip the beadwork and pick up 1 color A bead. Stitch down through the last bead added in the previous row, and up through the new bead again.

6. Continue adding beads with square stitch until you have 4 rows in the A, B, C, D color pattern, creating a ‘set’ of 4 colored blocks. In the fifth row, add 4 new colors and add 3 more rows to create a second set of blocks in the new colors.

7. Continue weaving with square stitch, adding thread as needed, until the cuff is about 1 cm short of the desired length. To get the random look for my cuff, I staggered the colors after the first 2 sets. In the second set, I used three new colors, and one color from the previous set. I repeated this method for the remaining sets of blocks.

Before starting each set, I selected one bead each from the colors that I wanted to use, and placed them next to the beadwork so that I could map out their placement beforehand. No two blocks of the same color touch at the sides or corners, and I tried to avoid letting similar colors touch at the sides, top, or bottom. For example, topaz never touches red-lined topaz, and metallic blue never touches black-lined blue or metallic green.

8. To finish the cuff with a button or toggle, weave back through the second-to-last row to anchor the thread, then pass through the first 6 beads of the third row.

9. Pick up 5 seed beads to match the block that your thread is exiting. String on your clasp, and add 5 beads to match the next block in the set. Enter the beadwork, passing through the last 6 beads of the row and pull snug. Weave back through the clasp at least once more to add strength, then secure any remaining thread in the beadwork and trim.

10. Remove the stop bead from the original thread and repeat step 9 to position the thread four rows back. Add a loop of seed beads just big enough to wrap around your button or toggle. Use two colors to match the corresponding blocks.

The cuff looks fabulous as is, but there’s plenty of room for embellishing. Try sewing heishi beads to the center of blocks at random or in a pattern. You can also add a trim to the bridge threads at the cuff edges.

Happy beading!

Mortira

Subscribe * Facebook * Google+
Send your beading questions to InspirationalBeading@gmail.com
Support Inspirational Beading for bonus tutorials and more!

Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Flashback Project: Floral Chevron Chain

I recently did a complete overhaul of my bead storage space. It took two days to complete the clean up using a simplified variation of the Kaizen method - which basically means that you pick up literally everything in a space and decide whether to keep it or toss it. Anything that is kept is then assigned a space. I was able to get rid of a lot of unnecessary things in my hoard, and made a lot more space for my beads and supplies to live in.

One of my favorite moments of the process was taking a look through all of my old beading magazines. There was a time when I checked out issues of Beadwork and Bead & Button on the newsstand every month, and picked up any that appealed to me. I built up quite a collection before both titles became unavailable in stores.

It’s been a long time since I’ve studied or tried projects from magazines. There are so many in my collection that I never tried at all. I thought that it would be a fun experiment to test out some of my favorite projects from old magazines and see how they turn out. The one that I immediately thought of was the cover project from April 2007 issue of Bead & Button – “Dress Up a Chevron Chain with Flowers” by Yvanne Ham.

Although there were plenty of magazine projects that I did try, there were many more that I simply admired. This one in particular was a favorite partly because one of the variations used clear color-lined seed beads (my all-time favorite finish). I remember clearly that the beading forums were filled with threads about how difficult the project was to complete, and apart from not having the exact materials needed, I was too intimidated to try it myself. I thought it was time to finally tackle it.

I still didn’t have the exact materials, but it was easy enough to replace 4mm fire polish beads with 4mm druks. I also found the instructions a little difficult to follow, as the beads are labelled in an unusual order, making it tricky to know which beads to pick up. Once I realized that the diagrams were much more helpful, things really started to come together.

Now that chevron chain is one of my favorite stitches, I found this project fairly easy to complete. The hardest part was deciding on a palette and pattern to go with. I love how my variation turned out, and since I made it for myself it fits great, and I’ll probably be wearing it plenty this spring.

Do you have any white whale projects in your past?

Mortira

Subscribe * Facebook * Google+
Send your beading questions to InspirationalBeading@gmail.com
Support Inspirational Beading for bonus tutorials and more!

Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading