Summer Beading

Do you find yourself working different stitches at different seasons as well as working with different colors? It seems that summer jewelry should be light weight, not too complex and just sort of float at your throat, around your wrist or ankle or dangle delicately from your ear lobes.

It seems that summer time has me looking for new stitches or new adaptations of old stitches. Some of my finds can be solid and rather chunky like this free pattern for Twisty Square Stitch bracelet pattern at Beading Daily.

Square stitch isn't something that I've gotten well acquainted with simply because I never liked the way the edges looked. I think I may have to try this pattern even though there's a warning that it is an advanced pattern. Oh well when did a little thing like inexperience ever stop me.

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Well I thought the thunder storms had passed and we were through with storms for today, but the thunder is rolling again, lightening can't be far behind. I'd better sign off and power down again.

Bead Ramblings

Looking through bead sites and blogs I came across this post by Designing Vashti. She gives instructions for a crochet stitch called foundation stitch, which is great for crocheting with beads. This stitch obviously helps keep the beads in the position you want them. I haven't tried it yet, but definitely bookmarked the page.

Crocheting with beads isn't something I've thought seriously about because you usually have to string the beads on your crochet thread first. This is something I've admired since the '60's when I had a neighbor making the very popular beaded lariats, but never got up enough patience to actually do.

I'm still working on the Native American bead embroidery project. Hopefully I'll have something to show in a few days.

Native American Bead Embroidery

Hats off the the skilled bead embroiderers of the many Native American Tribes. My already great admiration for them has just multiplied about 100 percent. I'm working on my first authentic Native American bead embroidery project and am finding that I suddenly have 2 left hands! I've done a little bead embroidery the European way which is a modified back stitch, but the couching method used by Native Americans is much more difficult for me. In spite of the fact that I don't laugh at myself easily, I must present a hilarious picture trying to learn this simple stitch.

I got as far as "stamp your design on the material and place it in a hoop. Thread two needles and tie the ends of the threads together. Pass the needle threaded with the bead carrier thread from the back of the material to the front. Load enough beads on the bead carrier thread to go around the outline of the design" without any trouble at all, but when I started actually trying to couch the beads, my bead carrier thread managed to somehow get underneath the work and tangled in the couching thread.

I solved this dilemma as shown in the picture by passing my bead carrier needle through the material at the start of the design and wrapping the extra thread around it. ROFL

As you can see, I'm also having a little trouble getting the beads to lie in a nice smooth line.

More on this when I'm able to quit laughing enough to finish at least a portion of this project.

Authentic American Indian Beadwork

I received my "Authentic American Indian Beadwork and How to do it" book today. It was a used book and I only paid .89 plus shipping. Total came to less than the price of it would have cost new.

I have to admit I only wanted it to see what colors, designs, stitches etc. were used by various tribes, and I wasn't disappointed. There are tribes mentioned that I never heard of, but that's another research project.

I'm really pleased with this book. It shows methods for applique that I was not aware of and which will make a much neater back than the method I always used for applique. It also has bead charts for loom weaving which can be done in square stitch.

Create a Beadwork Portfolio

What a great idea. Wish I'd thought of it. Yes, I have picture albums all over my computer for various sites where I display my work, but I never thought about some of these tips.

A picture accompanied with the description of the work, the materials used, when it was made, if sold, who it was sold to etc. etc. Click on the title to read the original blog post in "Beading Daily" by Jean Campbell.

Printing these out can be expensive, but if you need to carry it with you to show potential buyers it's well worth the extra time and money.

If not you can store it on your computer and still have it readily available. You can have one for items for sale, items sold, UFO's etc. and even one with sketches and plans for future projects.

I'm not much of a planner. I get an idea in my head and "doodle" until the beads go where I want them to, then make a pattern, but sorting and storing pictures of work is definitely something I need to try.