Tuesday 17 June 2014

A Time To Stitch #7



Today I'm joining in my first ever jewellery making blog hop!  I saw the last round of A Time To Stitch and thought it was a great idea.  For this round we were told to choose any bead weaving stitch we like, choose a pattern and make three different items to show off the differences just by changing the choice of bead.


Time to Stitch

I decided to try out the spiral stitch, which I have used before to make a necklace (see here).  As a novice beadweaver, it seemed to have the most possibilities.

Now, before I start - I apologise for the photos.  My camera is still not working and doesn't seem much of a problem as my tablet takes much better photos anyway... except when it comes to beads!  I did my very best...



I started with a basic bracelet to show a contrast.  I used hematite and copper size 11/0.  It feels chunky and textural.






Next, I wanted to try using beads of different sizes.  I couldn't make up my mind which colour to use, so used 4!  The core is made of black 11/0s.  The outer beads used are size 11/0 and size 6/0 or 7/0 depending what I have.  I don't have so many of the larger beads.  I did 10 rows of each of the 11/0, then 4 or 5 of the 6/0 depending how chunky they were.  I really like this one.





So then I wondered about using beads of different sizes, and different shapes.  The only shaped beads I own are some blue cube beads.  I paired them with a bronze 11/0 core, and a mixture of blue shades in size 10/0.  I did 8 rows of each blue, then 4 rows of cubes, just to make them go all the way round.



So, there were my 3 examples.  I couldn't stop there.  Rummaging through my seed bead boxes had thrown up so many possibilities that I wanted to try.  Each bracelet only took a couple of hours to make, so I had time for more experiments.



Stripes.  I picked out some 8/0s in clear (for the core), purple, black and blue.  I made the stripes go horizontally around by picking up one of each colour in each row.  I love how chunky this bracelet is.  I think this one is my favourite.




The obvious next choice was to try the stripes the other way, in short little rows.  I went for 11/0s this time in hematite, red and white.  I used white as the core and as one of the stripes and I'm not so keen on how it turned out.





All of the bracelets so far had a good contrast between core and outer (except the white in the example above), so I wanted to see what a monochrome mix would look like.  I used 8/0s in light and dark blue.  I'd love to have a go with a matt and and shiny in the same colour... I might still give that a go.



The last experiment was with a tube of bead soup.  Bead soup is a mix of beads, different sizes, finishes and colours.  My soups are made from left over or loose beads found around the house or on the table after I've been beading.  I used cream for the core.  I honestly didn't think I'd like this bracelet but actually, it's my second favourite!



So all in all I made 7 different bracelets using the same stitch pattern.  



Now I just have to stop coming up with more ideas so I can make something different!

Thanks for joining me in this blog hop, please visit the other participants, links below.



Hosts:

Participants

23 comments:

margaret said...

the multi coloured one gets my vote it is such a beauty

Lilik Kristiani said...

Very clearly demonstration Wendy. The more kind of beads we use, the more fascinating result =)

Sarah in Stitches said...

Great job! I love the stripey blue and purple one too, but I think you did a great job on all of them :D

Rachel said...

Well, you don't give short measure, that's for sure!

JoJo said...

WOW! You were very prolific with this challenge! Love how they all came out. Was spiral stitch the theme? I ask b/c I just left another blog that's participating and she did spiral stitch as well. I haven't tried it but my bff said it's pretty easy.

Wendy said...

No, you could take any stitch you wanted and make three of the item using different beads.

It is pretty easy, but I also find peyote, brick stitch and herringbone easy.

Joy said...

Well those bracelets are lovely Wendy, and quite amazing that you've used the same pattern for all of them; well done! xoJoy

Liz said...

Three cheers for spiral rope, it's the stitch I used as well! I love the great variety you show, it really is a great stitch. Congratulations on your first blog hop as well. Beware, they are addicting. Once you start, you might not be able to stop.

Bobbie said...

What a great group of experiments to make a fun collection of bracelets ! The ones with the various sizes of beads in the spiral are really intriguing - I'll bet the texture of them is great to wear.

Empty nester at last said...

Wow...great pieces! And all so very different. Excellent job! Makes me want to pull out my beads....

veradesigns.blogspot.com

Shirley said...

I'm so glad this was your first blog hop! I love the Time to Stitch hops, they are such fun! And you did exactly what they are designed to do, make you say, Hmmm, I wonder....:) What great variations you came up with, I love the solid blue one, and the one with all the different bead sizes!

Therese's Treasures said...

Hi Wendy,
Wow you were on a roll! I love all of the spiral rope bracelets they are all beautiful. Thank you for participating in this round of ATTS you really grasped the concept of this challenge. I hope that you will join us again for ATTS 6.
Therese

AntiquityTravelers said...

WOW what a gallery of beady goodness! really cool to see how the color variations and sizes change up the look!

Karin G said...

WOW, so many bracelets and all so very different. You made the perfect illustration of what we had to do. I love the second bracelet with the different colors and different sizes of beads. It is so cheerful and arty.

Karin Slaton said...

So glad you jumped in and joined this challenge. Fun bracelets, and I can tell you had fun designing them. My faves are the copper and hematite (what a great combination) and your final bead soup variation.

Lola said...

You were so beautifully inspired by this challenge and created a delightful collection of bracelets! They are all lovely! =)

Jane said...

Looks like you were having fun, it's amazing how the choice of colour and bead can make such a difference to the same pattern

Vera said...

These are cool! You were quite productive! I like the first one the most plus those with different sizes beads.

Christine Altmiller said...

you must be dizzy from so many spirals ;-) what great fun seeing all your color and shape and size variation! i thought the garden looking one was my favorite but seeing all 7 lined up, I love them all, but especially the first three. the bead soup mix was a great idea! thanks so much for being a part of this, Wendy!

Jo Ferguson said...

They're stunning. I'm still trying to pick a favourite.

Mary Harding said...

So interesting to see how the different beads created such a variety of results with the same stitch!! I love color and chunkiness and that multicolor one is my fav!!

Mokki said...

Wow, you've created a lot of variety with these. They all look great. My favourite is the blue one with the cube beads.

Kokopelli said...

Wow, what lovely spirals! I can't pick a favorite. They're all great!