Wednesday, May 15, 2013

It's 'Time to Stitch' again!!!

This is one of my very favorite challenges! Hosted by the awesome Therese Frank, and Christine Altmiller, this challenge explores beadweaving stitches. Sparks your creativity, and helps you work on some stitches that maybe....you've avoided in the past?? Yep.
This challenge was just a bit different, in that we were asked to create something from a flat stitch, and a spiral stitch.
So, for flat stitch, we could choose brick, ladder, or square. Oh joy. None of these guys are on my top list of faves....
Ok, so what about the spiral? Those were Russian, Cellini, or African. Better, much better. I've made Russian and Cellini, and haven't tried African yet, so....cool. Now, back to that flat stitch...
I have done some flat brick, specifically the leaves in Kerrie Slade's English Rose pattern. Loved them!!! So let's just go see what we can find, cause of course, I needed to try something new, right?
I found this tute, and decided to try it. A friend had asked me to make a bracelet for her daughter, using some bicones that her daughter had been gifted. I thought this would make a perfect teen bracelet.
I love the color combo, and it is an eye-catching pattern.

 However, my tiny bit of OCD kicks in, and that uneven edge really bothers me. :)


But it was totally fun to make, and I think if I made it with an even edge, I'd really love it, so I'm going to try that. I'll post pics and you can help me decide. 
What I enjoyed was the opportunity to search out patterns that I may have otherwise overlooked.

I really thought I was going to try the African helix for my spiral stitch. I have Carol Cypher's book, Mastering Beadwork, and she explains that stitch very clearly. But I ran just a bit short on time, so I went with a stitch I knew I could do quickly....the Cellini spiral. I really love this stitch, and it's endless variations. However, I usually make a short tube of it, as I've found I don't love how it becomes stiff in a bangle or necklace. Now, I'm really not the best at decreasing smoothly, or transitioning from one stitch to another, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well I did this time.
 The color combo started with the beautiful, soft yellow Twin beads by Preciosa. In the Cellini, you are building from smallest bead to largest. My smalls were size 15 Hyacinth AB, moving to an orange-red size 11, then to the lime size 8's, and finally the yellow twins, then back down again.

I love the vibrant color palette, perfect for summer. I transitioned the cellini to CRAW. I made one side of the CRAW, measured it to fit my wrist, and embellished it. That's when my daughter spied it. She's almost 13, and a tiny thing. These are some of her favorite colors, so she immediately asked if it was for her. Hmmm, now I had a dilemma. I had to make the other side the same length as the first...but that would be too big for her wrist, after adding the toggle.

 Well, we discovered that using a small magnetic clasp would make the size work for her. It's just a bit loose, but she loves it. And I love that I get to see how well that clasp worked. Again, I would not have ever thought to use it, until circumstances pushed me there. Thanks Therese and Christine, for another great challenge!
Here is the list of folks participating in the challenge:


Have a great time checking out all the eye candy! Blessings, Shirley



18 comments:

  1. Fantastic! I love the colour combos you have used and your bead work is so beautifully neat!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shirley! I love these two pieces. The color palette on the cellini is wonderful!! So bright and cheery, it really made me smile. I love the way you transitioned into the CRAW. It looks great!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very cool Shirley! Most excellent idea with the craw and cellini! That stitch, cellini, drives me nuts. The colors are awesome, I know your daughter must be proud to say my Mom made it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Really loving the look of that first bracelet! No doubt your friend's daughter loved it! But that second one ... wowza! moving from Cellini to CRAW? you brave, brave woman! and so beautifully done! love it

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love your color choices for the Cellini bracelet! Your daughter is a very lucky gal!!. Your banner also caught my eye. That is a beautiful piece of work. I will be off to look at more of your work!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I always love the look and colors of your bead work. I am not disappointed this time! I think your daughter's friend will love that. Uneven edges get to me too unless I'm doing freeform. This one has a pattern where it looks like it belongs and it adds texture too. I like it! You really scored on the Cellini spiral - what delicious colors....Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I enjoyed reading your post, and I appreciate the links to all the other wonderful beading blogs. I subscribed to many of them!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Cellini is a beauty! Those are my 12 year old's favorite colors too. Let us know how the clasp does. I am not crazy about any magnets I have ever bought but I know there has to me great ones out there. I Absolutely Adore that brick bracelet! The way you kept it all whites and just changed up the size/finish is what makes it work so well (and the bi-cone colors are wonderful). I would wear this all the time. Gorgeous! Thanks for joining Therese, me, and all other other ladies, Shirley!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a nice Mom you are! That's a fantastic Cellini, and I love the idea of using twins in it -- you've inspired me! And good work on the brick stitch bracelet. That's been one of those stitches I don't often use, mainly because I have issues with the uneven edges, too. But looking at yours, it occurs to me that you could go along the edge with some 15's and put a couple in each "empty" spot to even the edge out a bit. Maybe?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Shirley,
    Your bead weaving skills are great! I love both of the bracelets you made. The first one is very pretty and will make a great bracelet for summer. I do not blame your daughter at all for wanting the second bracelet who wouldn't want it it is very pretty and fun looking and will jazz up any summer outfit. Thank you so much for joining in on round 3 and we hope that you will join us again for round 4.
    Therese

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just wonderful- that first idea and tut are very very doable and fun really. Thanks a lot. You have made someone happy :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. You make bead weaving look sooo easy! Love the color combinations in both of those bracelets, especially the second one! I would definetly wear that bracelet this summer...beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  13. How cool that your daughter loves your designs and asks to wear them. (My daughter is just not a fan of the beadwoven look.) Those are some fantastic colors, and choosing to transition to CRAW worked so well! I just won some twin beads, and now I have an idea for them. Carol Cypher's book is always on my bead table, and I looked up her spirals, too. Noticed she has a Freeform spiral - that's where I'm headed next!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love both pieces! The colors are beautiful and I love the cellini with the twins! And, thanks for commenting on my post!

    ReplyDelete
  15. WOW!!! The both pieces are beautiful but the colors of the spiral bracelet is OUTSTANDING!! What a fantastic transition between the CRAW and cellini stitches, GORGEOUS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Two lovely bracelets! I bet the girls will love to wear them!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Shirley both of your bracelets are beautiful. The uneven edge adds texture to the first bracelet. Love your colors.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Love your bracelets! I think you need to recreate that Cellini spiral bracelet for yourself ... perhaps in another summery color combo. Gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete

I'm thrilled you stopped by! Thanks for your words of wisdom.