A Time To Stitch 7 - Meet Pansy and Iris

Sometimes we all need a kick in the creative pants.  Or a creative kick in the pants.  Whatever works.

Anyway, two of the most creative beady ladies I know, Christine and Therese, occasionally reach out to pose a design challenge, focused on a particular beadweaving stitch or technique.  This time, it was bead embroidery.  And boy, was I in need of a kick in the creative pants!

Now, bead embroidery and I are old friends. I love combining it with beadweaving to make pieces like this and this and this, and the first necklace here.  I had visions this time of making another ginormous piece.  Of spending hours after coming home from work, beading happily away.

And then life said "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!"

The reality is that I needed to do something small, something that I had a prayer of finishing. And since it's been so *@#$ chilly recently, I wanted to do something that reminded me that, yes, it really IS spring.

So I dug out some colorful glass cabochons from the stash, and let their bright colors inspire me. I used some faceted firepolished glass, some lentils, and some magatamas to spice up the mix of sizes and shapes. I'm happy to introduce Pansy and Iris.

Pansy is a sweet little round-faced confection of purples, gold, and shades of green.  Like the cheerful flower that inspired her, she's a concentrated little burst of color.  And, if you know me at all, you know that anything purple has me from the get-go.

And Pansy's slightly less demure cousin, Iris.  Iris is a bit of a show-off, with her extravagant swoops of petals, but her unusual blue color makes her a star in any bunch.

Both will eventually have a woven bail added to them so that they can live on as necklaces, but for now, we'll just say they're in their bud phase, not yet fully blossomed.

Now before I torture any metaphors any further, here's the list of the other participants in the Time To Stitch 7 challenge.  Go, enjoy, get inspired.  Thanks to Therese and Christine, and thanks for stopping by!

Therese (Host) 

Christine  (Host)

Amy

Lola

Lori F

Kim

Becky Pancake

Karin G.

Debbie (Kepi)

LizE

Maryanne

Paula

Alenka

Wendy

Janet

Jasvanti

Ginger

Alicia

Bobbie

Shirley

Sarah

Cynthia

Mary H

Lizzie

Samantha

Sally

Niki

Karen W.

Partially Elegant

For the Winter Blues reveal, go here!

Once upon a time, there was a small container of lovely purple druks that got set down next to a small container of light blue faceted crystals. No one expected that they would play nicely together, but surprisingly enough, they were kind of elegant together.

Sometimes a serendipitous discovery, or a junky bead table, can lead to some surprising combinations like this one.  So I whipped out the seed beads and the needle, and brought them together in a netted necklace.

Except that there weren't quite enough beads to make a complete necklace. At least not a complete necklace for a grown woman with a neck bigger than 12" around.

Oops.

So I toted the partially completed necklace to every shop in town, and even a couple of bead shows, trying to find purple druks that matched to add enough length at the back.  Here's a revelation -- apparently, a 6mm druk in a nice rich purple is scarcer than hen's teeth. 

What I ended up with is close. Not perfect (the new purple's a little too blue), but close enough for me to wear since the back will be hidden by my hair.  If I want to sell this, the search for the perfect purple will continue.

Until then, it's partially elegant.

Winter Blues - The Reveal!

Liz E of Bead Contagion found some very cool blue goldstone donuts, and like any good friend with a box of goodies, she offered to share. Beads, donuts, blue, sparkly?  Um, yes, please!

These beads, as you might guess from the name of the hop, arrived in the mail in the dead of winter.  And like a clear, dark winter night, they turned out to be a delicious deep blue with the sparkle of a million stars. So pretty.

Recently obsessed with chances to improve my budding soutache skills, I whipped out my soutache, my seed beads, and my dandy new scissors, and decided this was the perfect chance. And boy, howdy, did I have fun with this! I don't usually name my pieces, but I think this one has named itself "Night In The Kasbah"...

You can just glimpse the jump ring that will eventually connect this pendant to a necklace,
but wowza, look at the goldstone sparkle in that donut!!

Liz, thank you for the beautiful blues, and thank you for the chance to create! These beads were a bright spot in the darkest part of a long winter.  And now, to wait for the breeze outdoors to warm up enough to evoke the warmth of the Kasbah...

Now, go see what everyone else made with their sparkly blues!

Liz (host):  Bead Contagion
Christine:  One Kiss Creations Beaded Jewelry 

Jasvanti:  Jewelry by Jasvant 

Cynthia:  Antiquity Travelers    

JoJo:  Tahoma Beadworks & Photography

Bobbie:  Beadsong Jewelry

Therese:  Therese’s Treasures 

Amy:  Amybeads

This Was The Crayola Color I'd Always Wear Down The Quickest

If your heart did a little extra flutter when you saw this shade of blue in these beads, you know why it's a good thing there wasn't anyone between me and the bead strand when I found them.

I mean, all's fair in love and the pursuit of transparent cobalt blue beads.

Sadly, my photographic skills do not do justice to these beauties.  Oooh, sigh....