Drops of Love Necklace and Other Beadweaving

I got a bunch of new stuff listed in my Etsy shop. These are mostly pieces that have been sitting here in boxes, most I used as class samples. I finally got around to photographing them so I could post them. First is my favorite, a Rivoli Sunflower necklace that I call Drops of Love. It's got crystal, tourmaline and cubic zirconia, all glistening in pink. I adore pink! What I learned: asymmetry is way harder to pull off than symmetry. This is true both visually, and when working with a necklace, in terms of balance of the design. I really wanted the main pendant to hang in the center, so I had to get the weight even on both sides.



Ah, more pink. Second is an Infinity Prism-4 made with rhodachrosite, gray pearls and some blue goldstone. Did I mention that I love pink?



There's also a Star Cluster with Karen Workman's borosilicate glass beads. This is one of the larger beaded bead designs I've made. It's got over 500 beads in it, all woven together. The colors are blue and gold, like my college, UCSB. Go Gauchos!










Next are a new pair of Cutie Pie earrings, these with citrine, sapphire and tourmaline. Very sparkly! These have sterling silver ear wires.


Last are a bunch of various pieces that I've had for a few years and it's time to let them go to a new owner for a good price. What I learned: I learned that it feels really good to get a bunch of things posted and hopefully, out of the house. Must make room for more beads!

Earrings and a Beaded Bead

I got some sample pieces back from one of the shops I teach in, and finally got them listed. First is a pair of Cutie Pie Earrings, these with stud posts. They've got amethyst, tourmaline and tiny peach sapphires, all surrounded by silver seed beads.

The beaded bead is an Infinity Donut that I made for the pattern I wrote. It got my favorite color in it... lime green! And tiny Swarovski crystals. I photographed it with a very old pair of calipers that were my boyfriend's mom's. It also unfolds into a 12 inch ruler. I love groovy old measuring tools. We also got an old 4-function calculator that plugs into the wall. It still lights up, but doesn't calculate anymore.

What I learned: From the earrings, I learned that adding post ear wires makes an earring much shorter than adding a hanging ear wire. From the beaded bead, I learned that those pretty matte gold seed beads don't have a very durable finish to them, and when the paint peels, a clear bead is underneath. The matte silver beads also don't hold their finish, but the paint doesn't seem to completely peal off. Instead, it just loses its luster.

Textile Lariats

I got some new items listed in my Etsy shop that I designed to all be worn together, or mixed and matched to be worn in pairs or alone. It all depends on how much warmth and decoration you want around your neck. First is a set of two lariats and a necklace. The other is a skinny scarf. It is knit in mauve yarn with a crocheted edge of bold lace, and is 100% silk. I LOVE SILK! It's so soft, you can't believe it! Like butter!

The other three pieces are all make with my handspun yarn. They are cable spun with 6 individual plies. What this means is that I plied the yarn as 2-plies, and then plied 3 sets of these 2-plies to make a 6-ply cable. This yarn is much thicker than anything you would typically find in a yarn shop. The 4 pods at the end of the two lariats are felted, and I connected the pods to the yarn with a hand beaded calyxes of seed beads using herringbone weave. The shorter three strand necklace has a crocheted clasp out of silk with one purple and metal button. What I learned: I learned that cable plied hand spun yarn has a very different feel to it than the same weight of fiber crocheted or knit. The hand spun is more dense, but still squishy, whereas knit or crocheted fabric is more stretchy. Felted fabric is even more dense than the cable yarn.