Beaded Kumihimo - Always Something

Or so it would seem.  I finished up a few necklaces and even added one more to the mix as well.  Altogether, I've made 6 beaded kumi necklaces and 2 of them, nearly finished mind you, had to be torn apart.  Such things happen.  I also put together a ceramic beaded bracelet featuring one of my own lampwork beads as a focal.  That is in my Etsy shop if you want to see.  :)  So it's been a busy couple of weeks - Thankfully.  If I didn't have all of those beads, I'd be pretty bored while my foot is healing. 

So the "always something" part is about to be revealed.  As I was making all of those necklaces, I noticed something in a few of them I had not experienced before.  The end of a couple of them were "loose".  That really doesn't say much so I will try to explain further.  I found, as I was moving along towards placing the last rows of beads in the braid, the beads were becoming loose for some reason.  They were "tucking" in underneath the cords as they were suppose to and staying there but the whole end part, about an inch or so of the braid, was becoming loose.  The beads were not as tightly "woven" as they were throughout the rest of the braid.  Why ?  I am still not 100% sure but I thought that maybe, it's due to the weight of the braid itself really stretching the cord at the end only.  Still, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense if the rest of the braids remained perfectly fine, it's just the end part.  I use Omega #2 cord as I have mentioned in the past and this has never happened before so I am uneasy to put the blame there.  It never happened to ANY of the bracelets I have ever made and only has happened to a couple of the necklaces I recently made.  It's a mystery to me right now and one that I need to figure out.  Is it something I'm doing that's the cause ?  I have changed nothing in the way I finish the braids so.....................

If you have any suggestions or can figure out a reason, please leave a comment below. 

In the meantime, a few of photo's of 3 of the finished braids and the bracelet I made. 

 

Thanks for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon ! 

Have a wonderful week ! 

 

Finally - A Little Something

It's been a very long couple of weeks with little to do - or so I kept telling myself.  A broken foot can be prohibitive afterall !!  lol !  Finally I've come out of the "funk" I was in.  Figured I could sit and mope about being bored or do something about it.  lol !  I did something about it and am having fun again !  I can't make beads right now but I sure can do other crafty things. 

I dug into my seed bead cabinet and decided it was time to start foolin' around with the long magatama's again.  They look so darned nice in jewelry any way one uses them.  I am fascinated with their shape to begin with.  This is an ingenious shape in my opinion.  lol !  Right now, I can think of a few ways to incorporate them into necklaces, bracelets and earrings and that's about it however,  I'm thinking they would look great in some bead embroidery as well.  I haven't tried that but it certainly would add some dimension to a piece.  I'm guessing someone somewhere has tried it although I haven't seen it yet.  If anyone out there has seen them used in a embroidered piece, please drop me a note and let me know cause I'd LOVE to see it ! 

Anyway, so far, I've put together 3 pieces using these little seed bead gems.  One is a finished necklace I think I'm going to wear at a wedding.  The other two are waiting to be finished.  I need a couple of supplies I had to order and am waiting on.  I found a new way to finish off the ends I want to try and need those supplies to do it.  I'll talk more about that in my next post.  :) 

In the picture below, the gold and silver necklace is finished and the perfect length for me.  It took me a little longer than "normal" to braid it because I hadn't made a beaded kumihimo necklace in a VERY long time.  lol !  I think it turned out very pretty.  I've always wanted a piece with silver and gold in it.  I intend to make earrings to match and possibly a bracelet that I'd wear separately.  

The other two are also necklaces but as I mentioned before, they're unfinished.  Don't ya just hate waiting on parts ??  lol !  I love the way both have turned out !!  I'll post full pictures of everything when they are finished and give details.  :) 

 I must say, it feels GREAT to be productive again !  I am enjoying beaded braiding again too after a LONG hiatus.  Thankfully, I had just about all I needed to get these necklaces up and running.  :)

Time to get my day started.  Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again very soon ! 

 

Latest Update

February was a long month away from home !  It's time to update this blog that's for sure.  lol ! 
There's nothing new to show since I was away for so long.  No new beads or jewelry.  I hope to try my hand at some jewelry as I won't be able to do much of anything else.  I'd love to torch but my foot won't allow it right now.  lol !  See, I broke my foot on the 21st.  And I wasn't even having any fun when I did it !  My right foot just did a "side slide" and hit the pavement and rocks.  I ended up with the 5th metatarsal Valusion break.  I've never heard of such a thing.  Doesn't matter though cause it's a break and now I have a big ole' boot on and have to use crutches.  Let me tell ya, gettin' thru the airport last weekend was a bear but at least the one I left from was pretty small.  It was the Atlanta airport I HAD to have a wheelchair and Thank-Goodness for that !  At least I'm home now and it feels pretty good to be here. 

The Etsy shop is open again and I will be able to ship now.  Hope you find something you like there.  Nothing new but hopefully some new jewelry soon.

Since I haven't made anything new lately, here's a few pics of things I've done in the past.

First pic is of some bell flowers I made.  The glass and colors are fabulous !

Second pic of beads I made a while back while practicing encasing flowers.  

Third pic is of some nice twisties I made long ago and are pretty much used up.  :) 

Thanks so much for coming by.  Come back again soon !