She Gave/She Gave

Are y'all familiar with the She Made / She Made reveals that Therese and Christine do each month?  These two fabulous ladies swapped beads, and each month one of them decides which beads to use from the swap stash, and they both create something from the choices.

So today, I have a twist on that idea, that I'm calling She Gave / She Gave.  Bear with me, it makes sense (at least as much sense as I ever make...), even though the explanation may get a little long-winded (often another of my great gifts traits)

I had the great joy of meeting Therese in person in October.  In addition to big hugs and lots of chatting, Therese gifted me with some beautiful jewelry she had made, along with a couple of very cool goodies that you can see in the last photo on this post.

Christine has become a great online bloggy friend, and while we haven't had the chance to meet in person yet, I love her sense of humor and her eye for creating stunning jewelry.

When I recently began a torrid love affair with St. Petersburg Stitch, I remembered a fantastic bezel Christine had made using double St. Petersburg.  I wanted to try.  But it obviously needed a bead with a thicker side.  What to do?

Then I remembered the bead from Therese.  Perfect.

Beautiful, subtle coloration in the stone.

And this, my friends, is the result - the bead given to me by Therese, bezeled through an inspiration given to me by Christine.



A little more thread showing than I'd like,
but for a first try, I can live with it.

Thanks, ladies!  This will probably end up in a bracelet I'm contemplating...

Two Pieces, A New Stitch, And A Long-Hidden Pendant

Kicking off 2013 with the two newest pieces off of the bead table.

First, a peyote bangle  -- a new version of a design I've made a couple of times before, this time in shades of rose and mauve that seemed attractively warm on a cold day.  The shades kind of remind me of the camellias that bloomed outside my bedroom window in the middle of winter when I grew up in SC.

The second piece is the result of digging deep in a stash of cabochons and focals that have been living in my supply drawers for a ridiculously long time.  Almost as long as it's been since there were camellias outside my bedroom window.

I wish I could tell you the name of the artist who made the lovely dichroic glass pendant.  Her name was in a spreadsheet that lived on my computer until my computer lost the will to live a few years ago and wiped its own hard drive clean as it died.  I believe her first name was Jeanne.  Any ideas as to who it might have been would be greatly appreciated.  (I've had the pendant for at least 10 years - shameful!!)

New year, new stitch

This was my first time using St. Petersburg stitch.  I do love it!  I'll be playing with this stitch a lot in the near future...