Winter Blues - December ABS Challege

 

Ever since  Wassily Kandinsky's "Winter Landscape" was selected as the inspiration painting for the Art Bead Scene's December challenge, a copy has graced the wall of my studio. It has saved many a drab and dreary December afternoon - during a bout of the winter blahs, a glance at the wall is all it takes to remind me just how dazzling a winter day can be.

Kandinsky uses bold lines and colors to create the mood. My eye was immediately drawn to the winding road, and the bottom strand of my necklace is woven in a Beadinfinitum variation of herringbone to mimic its curves and colors. The focal bead, by Jessica Herrell, brings in the dark blues, purples and reds of the hillside.

The blue, yellow and green brush strokes in the sky are echoed in the accent beads in the top strand, also by Jessica Herrell. Following Kandinsky's lead, I made liberal use of pinks along with small pops of red to warm up the coolness of all that wintry blue.

If you're looking for some bright hues to chase away the winter blues, head over to the Art Bead Scene Flickr page to see more of this month's Kandinsky-inspired designs.

A Time to (Herringbone) Stitch

When Therese of Therese's Treasures was looking for a way to celebrate her one-year blogoversary, she teamed up with Christine of One Kiss Creations, and their A Time to Stitch Challenge was born. The requirement was simple: both new and experienced beaders were encouraged to create a piece using herringbone stitch, peyote stitch, or both.

I'm quite sure I'm not the first beader to be captured by the seduction of peyote stitch. It was the first stitch I learned, and it was love at first sight. Herringbone and I had a more platonic relationship, until I began experimenting with different sized beads and realized how versatile and surprising this stitch can be.

One of my favorite herringbone patterns is Virginia Jensen's Spinner Rims from the October 2009 issue of Bead and Button. Spinner Rims got me thinking about herringbone in a new way, and although I'd created several earrings from the pattern, had never considered using it for a pendant. I had the perfect focal for it, a turquoise, orange, and deep chocolate brown flower disc by Susan Barnes of the Fire Goddess. I love the feeling of momentum this pattern gives to the pendant.

The second component in my necklace uses a smaller disc in the same colorway, accented by Mexican opal teardrops.

I used peyote stitch to create a cradle to stabilize an uneven bottom surface on the second disc, and to fill in around the bezel. Staying with my complementary color palette of oranges and blues, I finished the necklace with a leaf charm and chain in artisan coppers.

Thanks to Christine and Therese for inspiring us with this challenge. Click on the links below to explore the rich possibilities of these stitches through the work of the other challenge participants.

Therese Frank and Christine Altmiller

Katherine Gale

Emma Andrews

Karin Slaton

Kim Bender

Lola Surwillo

Amy Severino

Bobbie Rafferty

Sally Russick

Tanya Goodwin

Paula Kramer

Sarah

Karen Williams

Shannon Hicks

Andra Weber

Beth

DW

Marla Gibson

Lisa Stukel

Mandy Duffy
Cynthia Machata

Shirley Moore

Labor Day Week-End Project

Fiery reds and brilliant oranges drew me to this carnelian and silver pendant several months ago, and after considering and rejecting at least a dozen ideas on how to incorporate it into a necklace, I finally found what I think will be the right design.

I began working on it over this long week-end, but can it really be considered labor when a herringbone rope with hex-cut delicas and sterling-silver-plated seed beads is involved? These Toho size 11’s are beautiful to work with, and I have been amazed at the quality – I’m on my third bag, and haven’t culled out one bead that was misshapened or poorly coated!

Hope to be able to show you the finished work – in the perfect colors for autumn - by the end of this week.

Spinner Rims...Reimagined

Who hasn’t been moved (haunted?) by the photos still emerging from Haiti? When I decided to donate my profits from an already scheduled April trunk show to the relief effort, I wanted to find an earring design to communicate my new theme. Virginia Jensen’s Spinner Rims from the October 2009 issue of Bead and Button immediately came to mind. They’re dynamic, expressive, and the combination of cabochon, cube beads, three colors of 15 seed beads, and delicas suggests forward movement— just what I was looking for - my Hope for Haiti earrings! I contacted Virginia, and she graciously gave me permission to feature and sell her design at the show.

The pattern is a unique variation of herringbone stitch finished with tubular peyote. (Virginia's design has really broadened the way I think of herringbone. And cube beads.) The finished earrings glow with optimism in any color palette I dream up. I wore an aloe green and chocolate brown pair on a visit to my favorite Atlanta bead store last month, and the staff at the counter went crazy over them – even sent another employee off to search for their Bead and Button back issues so they could stitch up their own. I’ve made nearly two dozen pair and have posted some of my favorite color combinations below.