Gratitude and a Giveaway

This Saki focal necklace with its simple quad stitch chain is on its way to my sister.  Despite a very trying year, she inspired us all by taking the month of November to post everything she was grateful for on Facebook. This is going to her to let her know how grateful I am that she’s part of my life.

I fell in love with the modern Asian design aesthetic of Saki Silver when I came upon one of their pendants at my local bead store. When I saw they were exhibiting at an Atlanta bead show last month, I was there when the doors opened, meeting and chatting with co-founder, Liz Chumtong, and learning about their company and products. The toggle that serves as the focal in my sister’s necklace is made of shibuichi, a copper/silver alloy.  Having happily spent my entire show budget at Saki, I stopped by only one other booth, manned by the Atlanta Bead Society, where I saw a very simple necklace made of quad stitch and learned it was from Beth Stone’s Seed Bead Stitching.

The palette for my neckstrap began with a tube of café au lait seed beads from Beverly Ash Gilbert. I added some bright accents with 3 and 4mm pacific opal crystals, and lots of silver beads, including 2mm sterling rounds, 3mm cubes, and 8/0 3-cuts for sparkle. To add more depth and echo the undertones in the toggle, I added some rich burgundy pearls and jet crystals.

And now for the fun part. I am so grateful to those of you who take the time to stop by my blog and share in my beading adventures. So I’m sharing some of my favorite things with you!

 

Just be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post. I will be sending one follower a generous portion of my bead soup recipe and two Saki toggles – a 34mm shibuichi like the one in my sister’s necklace, and because I think this soup would be fantastic with silver, a 36mm sterling silver sunburst design. And a copy of Beth Stone’s Seed Bead Stitching, where you’ll find some interesting variations on traditional stitches. I’ll choose the winner on Sunday, December 9th. Good luck! (Note: If you don’t have e-mail turned on in your profile, please leave a way to contact you in your comment.)

Three Worlds

This month’s Art Bead Scene challenge featured one of my favorite artists, M.C. Escher, and his 1955 lithograph, Three Worlds.



From the Art Bead Scene: Three Worlds depicts a large pool or lake during the autumn or winter months, the title referring to the three visible perspectives in the picture: the surface of the water on which leaves float, the world above the surface, observable by the water's reflection of the forest, and the world below the surface, observable in the large fish swimming just below the water's surface.

My design began to take shape when I spotted a large (2 ½”) sterling silver fish pendant from Luanne Keen’s Eton Street shop on Etsy. Perfect to portray the world below the surface!

I created a large teardrop shape in matte black and steel delicas to frame Luanne’s focal. A second teardrop, inset with a peyote pattern of fish scales in the lithograph’s many shades of gray, nests inside the first and shimmers through the cutouts in the fish.

A single silver leaf floats in a peyote and herringbone frame, depicting the surface, and a Taina Hartman white bronze woodland pendant represents the forest. Adding luster and contrast to the matte elements, a handmade pearl chain brings in the picture's pure black and white.

I had so much fun with this challenge! Take a minute to click over to the Art Bead Scene Flickr group to see the amazing range of designs based on Escher’s work.

Vintage brooch as front and center focal

I love this brooch, which was a birthday present (and the first gift of jewelry my husband ever gave me) 25 years ago.  According to this recent post by Andrew Thornton, that makes it vintage! I wore it all the time in the late-‘80’s, at the center of a buttoned-up collar, but must admit that it has languished in my jewelry box for the last 20 years. Until this week, when I was looking for a focal for an Alchemy of Objects class challenge.

My first thought was to remove the clasp and drill holes in the side petals to attach the neckstrap. I was debating the best place to drill to achieve just the right balance, when it occurred to me that I could keep the pin back attached. The brooch is concave, and the clasp would not interfere with it lying flat as a focal. I particularly liked this option because it allowed me to create some fringe to echo and accent the gray stamen in the brooch.

Faceted quartz, bali silver, chyrsocolla rondelles, and herringbone sections adapted from a Carol Wilcox Wells design in  Beadwork (April/May2011)

Pin back detail: Square-stitched loops connect the neckstrap to the brooch; fringe cascades from removable peyote-stitched tube.

The upside of retaining the pin back: the integrity of my brooch wasn’t compromised (I’m an absolute novice with a drill!) and my necklace is now convertible. It can be worn without the fringe, which can easily be slipped off its pin. Also, the brooch itself is completely detachable – it will be jacket season soon, and, when it's not enjoying its second life as a necklace,  it can still be used as a pretty, single accessory to punch up a black blazer.

Ears To You Blog Hop

Amy Freeland of Copper Diem is hosting a blog hop today to benefit Ears To You, a very special jewelry donation program for women undergoing chemotherapy.

Ruth Crane founded Ears To You after undergoing chemotherapy herself, and finding that she felt more attractive, more "normal" when she was able to accessorize. “I started Ears To You to help other women deal with hair loss and provide a way for them to feel good about themselves at a time when life can seem uncertain and scary.” Thanks to Amy for pointing me to this thoughtful organization - I am so happy to be included in this effort to send a bit of support and encouragement to these women during a challenging time.

There are dozens of artists participating in today's hop. You'l want to check out the work of each and every one:

Copper Diem
My Addictions
Beads, Tea and Sweets
Juls Beads
Fabric of my Life
Blogging Business Artisans
Jeannie's Blog
Lorelei's Blog
One Kiss Creations
Backstory Beads
According to Katie
Cherish Designs
Beads: Rolling Downhill
Falling Into The Sky
Garden Path Beads
Antiquity Travelers
Sissy and Jacks
Erin Siegel Jewelry/Art Bead Scene
Northwood Creative Studio
SilverRose Designs
Dreamin of Beads/SAS Jewelry Design
Cabe Woman
Summers Studio
Honey from the Bee
Shaiha's Ramblings
Mama's Got to Doodle
Beads for Busy Gals
Tanya McGuire
Creative Atelier

October Fest Celebration: Bumps in the Night

Rita of Toltec Jewels is hosting a blog and Facebook hop today to celebrate the splendor of Autumn – participants were encouraged to take up the challenge with jewelry, beads, home decor, recipes – all manner of creative pursuits will be on display.

I chose to celebrate the brilliant oranges, yellows and reds of Fall and pay homage to the ghosts, the goblins and  the thrills and chills of Halloween. My “Bumps in the Night” necklace is designed around three beaded beads. The central  geometric bead is from a pattern by the uber-talented Jean Power and the banded beads are from a tutorial by the wonderfully creative Sharri Moroshok. Most of the season-perfect yellow and orange supporting beads are from SueBeads.

 

Click on this link to see our host, Rita’s, offerings and links to the list of 40+ participants. Then join me on this delightful hop - I can’t think of a more inspiring way to celebrate the last week-end of October!

A Time to (St. Petersburg) Stitch

Thanks so much to Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller for sponsoring another blog hop, and for challenging us with right-angle weave and St. Petersburg chain. I’ve been wanting to learn St. Petersburg stitch forever, but just never set aside the time. When I saw their challenge pop up in my reader, I knew the time had come!

I also knew I wanted to make something casual. More than any other season, I tend toward a uniform in Fall – long-sleeve white tee, dark jeans, and a pair of Naots. If I have an outside meeting, I change into a white shirt and low heels, and can go from bead table to door in ten minutes! I needed an everyday accessory to brighten up my look, wherever I’m spending my day.

After watching a couple of online tutorials, it seemed that St. Petersburg stitch could be adapted to a wide range of beads for many different looks. After several experiments, I decided a single St. Petersburg chain stitched with 1.8mm cubes and a mix of 4mm firepolish beads would keep the look casual, while giving my necklace  a slightly chunky drape and enough visual weight for a bronze Saki pendant.

This stitch is easy to grasp after the first few rows, is really fun and relaxing to do, works up very quickly and I am so happy with the results! My necklace brings lots of color to crisp white, and looks great against dark colors – like this morning, when I left the house at 7:00 and threw on the other staple of my Fall wardrobe – my warm black cardigan.

Thanks again, Therese and Christine – I’ve already started a second St. Petersburg project, and may have found my new favorite stitch!

There are two dozen beaders who took up Therese and Christine’s challenge – click on the list below - you'll want to savor the work of each one.

Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller

Nikki Byers

Kristen Stevens

Shirley Moore

Cynthia Machata

Lola Surwillo

Maryanne Gross

Alenka

Karin Slaton

Katherine Gale

Sally Russick

Amy Severino

Alicia Marinache

Sonya Stille

Tanya Goodwin

Lisa Stukel

Marla Gibson

Sarah Sequins

Mandy

Andra Weber

Kim Hora

Karen Williams

Finally, a Keeper

The lesson on proportion in my Alchemy of Objects e-course sent me to my focal box for this pendant. Added to my collection nearly two years ago, I've designed (and discarded) many beadwoven straps for it -- at least half a dozen. I have ripped apart untold rows of netting, right angle weave and herringbone - never quite finding the right combination of beads and technique to complement the gorgeous pendant.

So, time to try something new. I realized the proportions were wrong in each of my previous attempts, both in color (I had previously used the focal's gold accent as my main color) and in size (I tried seed beads from 11's through 6's.) I now had the confidence to try a strung design.

 

For this challenge, I focused on the pendant's rich browns, choosing faceted smoky quartz nuggets and rounds. I used sterling silver accents to tie it all together visually, only hinting at the gold with my pearl strand. Finally! I think I have a keeper.