Inspired by: The Flowering Trees of Summer

Dutch spiral stitch sent me searching for my first beadweaving class nearly two years ago. I enjoyed that first project, but hadn’t returned to the spiral stitch again - until this week. With the twin goals of using up my bead stash and taking Heather Powers’ Inspired by Nature challenge (this week featuring trees), spiral stitch seemed the perfect fit. It’s a great stitch to create something entirely unique, and it uses up lots of beads!

My inspiration for this piece was the Golden Raintree my sister brought home from school one fall afternoon. My dad planted it at the top of our driveway where it welcomed us home with a canopy of golden yellow flowers in late-spring and summer and sprays of orangey-pink pods in the fall.


Bead & Button recently offered a free download pattern by Alicia Shems which featured a double-spiral design with delicas on one side of the spiral. Thinking delicas would result in a necklace that would lay a little flatter, I adopted Alicia’s technique to my own style and bead stash, and set out to capture the glory of the Golden Raintree in beads.

I don’t know whether it was the versatility of the spiral stitch, the thrill of working with such lush colors, or the memories of all the family events captured under the shade of our own Golden Raintree, but this week was great fun at the bead table. Thanks again, Heather, for continuing to challenge us creatively. To see more tree-inspired designs, visit the Inspired by Nature group on Flickr.