Sunday, August 31, 2014

A Week of Variety

Yes, it was a week where many not normal things took place.  lol !  We had company all week so very little in the way of arts and crafts was accomplished. 

I wasn't able to get anything done on the beading loom but I did get the C-Lon thread I ordered in a few colors.  I look forward to giving one of the colors a try this coming week -  it won't be black or white - I think.  :)  I did open the plastic bag to have a feel of the thread and it feels quite soft and silky.  I did purchase it from a shop I was familiar with but also did some shopping to see if the colors came in any bigger of a roll.   And of course they do.   If I were to do this professionally and all the time I'd go for the largest spools but because I won't be doing this professionally and only for fun, the 40 yard bobbins are fine - for me - for now.  lol !  I also found there are other threads out there for working with seed beads but I haven't seen much mention of them.  For example, Firemountain carries a line of something called Silkon thread which is a bonded nylon and comes in 3 weights.  The #1 lightweight for beading.  I have no idea if this is a good thread to use with the loom but there's only one way TO find out.  lol !   Next time  I place an order, I'll get a bobbin or two.  :) 

I did manage to do a few crafty things this past week.  I actually got to play at my torch for a couple hours early one morning !  It was in the 60's a few early mornings so got to make beads once.  :)  It was like I had never torched before.  lol !  Was a bit shakey so kept it very simple as you can see in the photo below.  Just a few frit beads and a basic focal bead with LOTS of silver foil and intense black.  I LOVE how intense black, silver foil and dark ivory react with each other !  LOVE the veining !  The 5 matching beads are very simple with a base of black, silver foil melted in and a rare frit added on top.  Another very reactive frit which can end up blue, white or yellow but is white in the un-melted form.  Fun to play with.


 I was also able to put together a kumihimo flat braid which will be in my Etsy shop later today.  I LOVE how it turned out.   See photo below.  I used a different pattern this time and it has a "wave" to it.  On the sides.  I used satin cord and a yarn with pretty silver sparkles through out.  This would be stunning in a handfasting ceremony or even in a necklace with a pink crystal hanging from the middle or some other gorgeous gemstone or cabochon.  This braid I finished up yesterday but before that one, I had worked on another one in purple with a different yarn.  Well, as it always happens, when you loose track of where you are and/or you don't pay complete attention to what you are doing, mistakes happen very easily.  Yikes !  Sure enough, even though I was able to backtrack and get most of the mistake out, I missed a few passes and continued on.  Oh well, it'll go in the big plastic bag with all the other mistaken braids done over the years !  lol !  Thankfully, the one in the photo is perfect.  lol ! 

 

Today will be a very long day.  Was up way too early (4:00 am) and could not get back to sleep.  Yawn.  Not sure how this day will go.  lol !

Thanks so much for coming by !  I hope you come back again soon to see what's happening.  I hope you are having a safe holiday weekend !    

2 comments:

  1. Hi Debbie,
    Beautiful beads! It was a pleasant surprise to have those cool mornings this past week. I have not done a flat Kumihimo ribbon yet, yours is very pretty. Have a wonderful week.
    Therese

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    1. Hi Therese, So glad you came by. Thanks for the compliments too. The flat braids are fun to make and there are at least 10 different patterns in the book I have.
      Yes, the cool mornings of last week were a nice surprise. Too bad they didn't last. lol ! Fall will be here soon though and I cannot wait. It's my time of year !
      Debbie

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