Pictures Oops

I am not a photographer, so I'm learning as I'm going. In my busy attempt to photograph all my work, I didn't really think much about resolution. Knowing I was publishing to the web and that I didn't want huge file sizes, I shot in VGA mode...then I got the brilliant idea of printing my pictures so that I could take a gallery of my work with me to any craft shows I did.

Ick. It works for web, but nothing else. I'm now looking at re-shooting the whole deal.

Now Album(s)

As my picture collection grows, I've started copying items to different Albums in order to make things easier to locate. Currently, I have Rings, Necklaces, and Bracelets, in addition to my main Album. Just follow this link to all of my public Albums.

Picasa Web Album

While I'm trying to get my work re-photographed and posted, everything is going is my Picasa Web Album. Feel free to have a look at the photos!

Geometry 3

Same basics as my first (below), but I decided to try and get some sort of design out of it. Pentagons lend themselves very easily to star-type patterns. All seed-beads, not cylinder beads. It gives it different texture, as you don't get the little building-block 'click' of cylinders. I think it gives the fabric a bit more personality.

Geometry Continues

So after my 'Geometry Experiment #1', I ended up going to my kinda-local bead store with a co-worker of mine, whom I had newly hooked on beadweaving as well. (Yes, Anna - I am evil.) Diane Fitzgerald is a beadweaver/designer/artist extraordinaire, and when I saw her latest book, Shaped Beadwork, the debate lasted about 12 minutes, but I picked it up.

I am VERY glad I did. While this particular design isn't in the book, the basic instructions for the pentagon and isosceles triangle shapes were. Creating all of the shapes and stitching them all together took a very long time. I'm very happy with the outcome, however. I already have all sorts of plans for this design...especially about how to miniturize it. It's about 2" x 2" all told. I puffed it up by squeezing the sides, then dipped it in Future Floor Polish. It keeps its shape quite nicely now!

Geometry Experiment #1

For years, I've been hooked on netting and all of those possibilities. (If you think netting just creates diamond-patterns, check our Sandra D. Halpenny's site!) I've been curious to try different things, so after I found the instructions on how to make the triangles you see here in yet another magazine, I decided to give it a shot. After all, it was peyote, and I started with peyote.

Hooked! This was so fun to make. The square is me trying to see if the same 'formula' could be applied to other geometrical shapes with straight sides. It was very tight, but it worked. I'm going to be tweaking the bead count a bit and see if I can't come up with something more flexible.

The design was random, and totally mine! The chain is simple, cross-woven strands, with the occasional beaded bead to pull in the dark bronze colour a bit more. The tubes are six beads tall and four beads wide, and the tiny beaded beads are covered 'flying saucer' shaped plastic clear beads I've had kicking around for years. My first attempt at doing beaded beads too! Thanks to Jeanne for helping me figure out what kind of chain would work with this. Clasp is a beaded peyote toggle and peyote loop.

Bracelet design by Sandra D. Halpenny (I think. I`ll have to check and update.)

Purple cylinder beads, 4mm Firepolish (my addition to the design), strung on 4lb clear fishing line. Lobster claw clasp (not pictured.)

Seed Bead Stitchery Introduces....

Me! I am a beadweaver who lives (currently) in Oshawa, Ontario; part of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). I was introduced to beadweaving by my friend Bonnie in High School, where she taught myself and Heather how to make little peyote amulet purses. I'd pretty much given it up not long after that, making the occasional purse for a friend or relative - nothing terribly fancy.

About three or four years ago, I thought about beading, and on a trip to the local library, looked up to see if there were any books on the subject. Thus became an obsession - beadweaving. I loved learning about all the different stitches that you could do, loved all the different shapes and sizes of the beads...

But the mighty mighty seedbead had me hooked. Those tiny, coloured rounds of glass. Many of my friends and co-workers wondered why I didn't go cross-eyed trying to work with them. Not saying that I didn't, on occasion. I found beadweaving so relaxing. Sitting on my couch with a trayfull of beads...heaven. (Except when I got a knot in my thread.)