Friday 16 May 2014

diagonal peyote

A friend's birthday meant a new piece of jewellery... time to turn to my favourite beading book: Seed Bead Stitching: Creative Variations on Traditional Techniques (affiliate link - if you do click over and buy something, I'll get a few pence towards an Amazon voucher).

I decided to try a new stitch and opted for the Diagonal Peyote which reminded me of flashes of lightning.



I used red, gold and black 8/0 seed beads to make this bracelet.  The sample in the book is all one colour, but I wanted to put a pattern in.  It was really easy to stitch and didn't take long either, so I thought I'd make a co-ordinating necklace, using dangles.

The book shows most of the pieces of jewellery with various dangles and I really like the look.  I had a quick look through my stash and chose some white and black heart beads and some red and clear glass beads that I thought would work well.  For some reason, i really don't know why, I switched to size 10/0 seed beads for the necklace, so it's quite thin.



I measured to try and make sure the dangles were central as they're incorporated during the stitching, not afterwards.



Unfortunately I've not been well recently, so I've yet to see the friend in question so don't know if she likes it.  She's a good friend so she'll say she does!  Again, the photos are dreadful.  I've invested in a pop-up lightbox which should be delivered next month, it's to be used with a smartphone and I'm hoping it helps.  My camera has gone funny, I can take photos and see them, but can't download them, so I've been using my tablet.  The picture quality is better than my camera!  I hope the lightbox can be used with the tablet but I'll have to wait and see.  I'm pretty sure my pictures will still be the same crap standard that you're used to from me!

15 comments:

Rachel said...

Photography is harder than it looks, but I expect the lightbox will help quite a lot!

Sarah in Stitches said...

Beautiful pieces! I'm sure she'll like them :D

Christine Altmiller said...

love this diagonal~what a wonderful pattern! making jewelry for a friend is such a joy...hopefully for the friend too ;-)
I hope you are on the mend soon!

Anna said...

Beautiful bracelet and necklace !
Have a nice weekend !
Anna

JoJo said...

You've got great peyote skills. I can barely do it around an object. Any attempt at flat has always been a major fail. Sorry you aren't feeling well!

Fiona said...

hope you feel better soon.. the necklace is very pretty... I'm intrigued by a pop up light box.... hmmmm
Hugz

Jane said...

I'm sure she'll appreciate it, hope you feel better soon

mumasu said...

They are really pretty pieces. Don't worry too much about your photos I think they show your work off really well :)

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

I like the design of these and I love the dangling hearts :)

CATHY DANIEL said...

This is wonderful and I am sure your friend loves it, as anyone would! Let us know how you get on with the lightbox - I was wondering about one myself, as am sick of chasing about the house trying to get a good bit of light for photos! Not too bad now that we're into May, but in the Winter it's a pain! xCathy

Sheryl said...

Your friend will love the pretty bracelet and necklace. Hope you are feeling better. Best wishes.

Anita said...

Hope you feel well soon Wendy, it's awful being unwell. Love the necklace and
the heart beads are pretty special. Your friend will love it.
Cheers, Anita.

CeLynn said...

Hope you feel better soon! Lovely pieces of jewelry you have made,that lightening look is very pretty.

Jo Ferguson said...

I like that you did the necklace with a smaller bead. That way, when you add the dangles, it highlights them instead of overwhelming, them. The dangles are gorgeous, especially the black and white hearts. She'll love it.....who wouldn't? I hope you're feeling better.

Sheri said...

I love, love the gorgeous design and especially the bracelet with the metallic section! I'm curious about the pop up light box. I learned from another blogger about indirect lighting being best (and I especially like indirect natural light). Often when I finish something, I photograph anyway because I want to get it posted. And then get disappointed because the photography doesn't show a project's beauty properly. Regardless, the jewelry is lovely!