In addition to working on the projects I started in Portland, I've been taking some classes at local bead stores and also doing quite a bit of beading on my own. Some beading projects provide instant gratification, since they can be completed in a day or two. While I work I listen to podcasts (Tim Goodman's TV Talk Machine and the New York Times Book Review are two of my favorites, which range from the ridiculous to the sublime) or sort of watch/mostly listen to tv shows on my laptop via the magic of Slingbox.
Here are pictures of some recent completed or in-progress beading projects. I don't mean to slight my knitting projects, but when I take pictures of them (which I'm behind on) I'll put them on Ravelry.
African Criss-Cross, with Sylvia Lagos
My first beading classes were with Sylvia at the Bead Asylum, a funky store across the Dumbarton Bridge in Newark, CA, and I continue to take her classes. Sylvia always has beautiful designs using basic stitches, and she's capable of teaching more than one project at a time, depending on what the students want to do. I gave this one to Dianne for her birthday.
Shimmering Pearls Collar, with Doris RonanThis class was at 3 Beads and a Button, in Cupertino. I'm currently working on the overlay of crystals that go on top of the pearls.
Kumihimo seems to be popular now. A few weekends ago I went to two shows, a bead show in Oakland and a handweaving conference in Sacramento, and found vendors selling kumihimo supplies at both places. Here are two of my experiments with this technique.
Netting and Peyote Pods, with Teresa Sullivan
I took two classes with Teresa at Baubles and Beads in Berkeley. The peyote pods use increases and decreases to make a 3-dimensional effect. In the netting class we learned several variations, several of which I've since worked into completed bracelets.
The Beaded Bracelet IV, by Yvonne Rivero
I took two classes with Teresa at Baubles and Beads in Berkeley. The peyote pods use increases and decreases to make a 3-dimensional effect. In the netting class we learned several variations, several of which I've since worked into completed bracelets.
The Beaded Bracelet IV, by Yvonne Rivero
I found this book at Yvonne's store, U Bead It in Sacramento. I bought all four books in the series; all of them have very nice projects. Here are the two I've completed so far. The flowered bracelet, on the left, came out too small for me, so I'll send it to my mother. The bracelet on the right is a variation of Sylvia's African criss-cross, but with bugle beads in the middle.
1 comment:
Those are so pretty. How satisfying to finish such cool projects!
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