November 2014 – The Indecisive Beader

Tiles on a Ring Pendant

Well the book arrived two days ago and I got stuck straight in. Luckily I have a good stock of chatons, because this book is going to munch them up. For choice I would have made the Bubble Ball Pendant first because it’s my favourite, but I had the right beads for Tiles on a Ring so I dived in. It went together beautifully – Sabine’s designs are always so simple, whilst looking amazingly flamboyant. Around three hours in total, so an excellent weekend project. It uses a RAW base with a 3D netted embellishment to form the cups and frames for the chatons, and I’d say it’s suitable for intermediates.

Recipe

Sabine Lippert’s Beadwork Evolution p99
Seeds in 401FR Matte Black AB 11 and 15
Matte purple iris fire polished
Fuschia Swarovski bicones and chatons

Tips
I got the colours wrong – the fire polished beads are too different in colours from the seeds, and because the seeds and the firepolisheds are next to each other rather than used together it makes the firepolished ring look a bit disconnected. A shiny finish might have worked, or blue iris to match the seeds. This is a shame as I’d chosen the combination to go with the Baroque Dimensional Bracelet I made a while back.

Use the same colour of bicones and chatons – that will give you lovely squares of bling, and you’ll loose those squares if you don’t match them.

As with all of Sabine’s pieces a relaxed tension really helps – I have to make the effort to remember this one!

Beadwork Evolution – Sabine Lippert

At last it has arrived after a frustrating wait …….. And it’s fab! Some very Sabine stuff, and some slightly different stuff so a good mix. Cue a happy evening looking through my stash and choosing what to make first (interspersed with sulks when I don’t quite have the right beads). One of the 3d balls from the last chapter probably, if I have enough chatons. Watch this space.

Glue

I’m scared of glue – in beadwork it always seems to let me down. I know that just as when a wholly stitched piece fails it’s my technique that is at fault, but I still avoid it rather than learning how to use it correctly. However, I spotted some interesting clasps on Etsy which solve the age old problem of how to finish a flat beaded cuff without interrupting the simplicity of the shape, and the only way to attach my flat beadwork to them was to get out the glue. So far it has held………

Recipe
34g peanut beads in silver lined frosted crystal (Stitch N Craft)
1g size 11 seed beads in silver lined frosted crystal
Magnetic box clasp
Thread of your choice
Glue/cement of your choice

Method
This bracelet is based on lots of pieces I’ve seen around the beading world using plain RAW and farfalles/peanut beads, so although its simplicity (flat RAW – not exactly revolutionary) means I did strictly speaking manage to design it myself, the credit for the concept belongs to others – so if you want a proper pattern head over to Etsy and look at Shelley Nybajke‘s splendid downloads using some bigger lovely etched beads. I bet she isn’t scared of glue. Aurelio Castano has also done some lovely things with similar clasps, and Beading Daily blogged about both of their work (which is what made me order the clasps in the first place).

Anyway, it consists of 43 rows of RAW 10 units wide using the farfalles. Then to create a tab to glue into the clasp I sized down using 11s and then did a row or two using pairs of 15s (have a play to see what will fit into your clasp).

Tips
Use a double length of thread – work with one half, then go back and build out in the opposite direction using the other half.
Fasten off and attach a new thread for the 11s as then if something goes wrong with the catch you won’t trash the main part of the beadwork.
Next time I’d make this wider rather than narrower than the catch – I just think it will look better. One or possibly two more units per row.
I’d also make it a touch snugger on the wrist as it will sit better and not flap around. Two or possibly three rows less (I have a 16 cm wrist – finished length was 19.5cm and I think 18cm would have been better).

These clasps were fine to play with, but if you have another source locally I’d go for something a little more expensive as the plating has already started to wear a little. Also the holes on this colour (which looked like they might be useful for glue avoidance) turned out to be a bit clogged up with plating and would have trashed my thread…….

Lest we forget…..

Chromomania (part 2)

And so to Bath for a belated birthday mini break sans enfants. Main reason (other than loveliness of Queensberry Hotel and Bath in general) was of course the Kaffe Fassett exhibition up at the American Museum, and it was as expected completely fab. I particularly loved the use of giant blown up photos of his work on some kind of vinyl as flooring, which coupled with his work and the intense wall colours made it a very immersive experience. It is so difficult to describe his use of colour in particular adequately to those who haven’t seen his work, so here is a link to a video about the exhibition on the American Museum site and some of my snaps instead so you can experience some more chromomania. Apologies for quality of photography, my iPhone seems to find his exuberant use of reds in particularly quite hard work. Wimp.

The Colourful Works of Kaffe Fassett – The American Museum Bath 2014

Kaffe Fassett – Persian Poppies. The Colourful Works of Kaffe Fassett – The American Museum Bath 2014

My quilting mother and I have both loved and been heavily influenced by Kaffe’s work since he came to prominence in my teens, and although beading has largely replaced patchwork, tapestry and knitting for me, I still find him incredibly inspiring. As well as two huge Persian Poppies shawls I knitted at Uni, posters, insane cardis, scarves and hats using his wools for Rowan, and various other pieces designed by him including a divine lobster needlepont, Mum’s vivid patchwork pieces scattered round the house are a daily reminder of his influence on us. So the exhibition has wound me up nicely, and on my return home the colours will be out in force for both textiles and beading …….. I’m wondering if I can do a Jean Power faux cro rope tribute to some of his early knitting designs, and how about something ridiculous with those neon pink spikes that have just arrived?

Whilst in Bath my tolerant husband also allowed me to amble round the Fashion Museum which was as always fascinating, and we had some stunning food – very interesting tasting menu and wines at the Olive Tree (below the hotel), Sushi at our old favourite Yen Sushi (behind the Assembly Rooms) and a wonderful fishy experience at Blunos. Yummy.