Saturday 6 June 2015

A Time To Stitch 7

It's time for the A Time To Stitch 7 blog challenge that I signed up for back in February.  Hosted by Christine and Therese the idea is to bead embroider a piece around a cabochon, something I've never done before.  I was lucky enough to win one of Therese's beautiful hand-cut cabochons so that became my starting point.  The cab is Laguna Lace Agate - a type of stone with a wonderful pattern in it.  It is so smooth, it's lovely to touch.

I got out my copy of The Art of Bead Embroidery and looked for a suitable design.  I chose the Free-form Brooch as it was the kind of look I was after, but also let me do pretty much what I wanted - it was free form after all!



Sorry about the rubbish photo, it was taken on my phone one night and posted to Instagram.

I started with the cab glued onto some bead foundation.  I then used Nymo thread to backstitch a row of white 11/0s round the cab.  I then went into beadweaving and used peyote stitch to build up a couple of rows to enclose the cab at the front.  I figured it out myself!  I was so proud.  Well, when you're generally rubbish, you have to take your pride where you can find it.

The next row is copper/rose coloured 8/0s which were a bit of a pain as they weren't uniform in size or shape, then a row of gunmetal 11/0s.  They were Miyuki seed beads so were pretty regular and easier to use.  I then very carefully cut out the embroidery, cut a piece of black ultrasuede the same size and glued the two together.  

When it was dry I used gorgeous copper crystals topped with a 15/0 Miyuki gunmetal seed bead to work a beaded whipstitch round the edge to hold the two pieces together.



I'm pretty pleased with the finished article, I just need to sew a brooch back on it so I can wear it.  It's quite a large brooch, so I think it will be worn on my coat.

Thanks Christine and Therese for the opportunity to try out bead embroidery again.  I thought this piece was going to take me weeks, but it only took a couple of evenings.  It's made me enthusiastic about bead embroidery again!



You can visit the other participants here:

1.       Therese (Host) 
2.       Christine  (Host)
3.       Amy
4.       Lola
5.       Lori F
6.       Kim
7.       Becky Pancake
8.       Karin G.
9.       Debbie (Kepi)
10.   LizE
11.   Maryanne
12.   Paula
15.   Janet
16.   Jasvanti
17.   Ginger
18.   Alicia
19.   Bobbie
20.   Shirley
21.   Sarah
22.   Cynthia
24.   Lizzie
25.   Samantha
26.   Sally
27.   Niki
28.   Karen W.

25 comments:

Melody said...

A great job, looks beautiful

Rachel said...

It's worked beautifully - I think you can be proud of it!

Shirley said...

What a gorgeous piece! I'm quite new to bead embroidery, so I totally get the 'take your pride where you can get it'! This really turned out pretty!

Amy S. said...

This is so lovely!! I love your bead selection to highlight this pretty cab!!! The crystals look great on here as well, I love their sparkle!

Sarah in Stitches said...

It's so beautiful! I think you've done an amazing job :D

bead addict said...

Wow, that's perfect! I can't believe you haven't done this before! What a lovely piece :-)

Therese's Treasures said...

Hi Wendy,
I love what you did with the Laguna Lace cab. The colors you chose to use bring out the colors in the cab beautifully. This will be a lovely brooch to wear on your coat. Thank you for participating in ATTS 7 and I hope that you will be a part of ATTS 8.
Therese

Christine Altmiller said...

Wendy ~ this is beautiful!!! You took Therese's cab (aren't they gorgeous?!?) and made it even more lovely! You are bound to get a lot of compliments when you wear it! Thanks for being a part of the hop :-)

AntiquityTravelers said...

what is all this about rubbish? that is beautiful! you nailed it and it will be gorgeous on your jacket or whatever you choose to wear it with!! well done!

Bobbie said...

What a lovely first voyage into bead embroidery you took! There is nothing rubbish about this, so you need to pin that brooch onto your coat and wear it with pride. It's so pretty!

Karin G said...

That is a lovely brooch, I like the addition of the little spiky bicones which contrast with the round and soft beadwork.

Kepi said...

Lucky you, beautiful cab, this will be a gorgeous broach. Just love it!

Honey from the Bee said...

I think the copper beads were the ultimate touch. Really cool piece

Paula, Chief Bead Officer said...

I think your brooch will look fantastic on your coat or on anything for that matter. The colors are so soft and luxurious, they would go with so many different looks. What great work you did!

Karen Williams said...

Wendy,

You have every right to be proud of your brooch! It turned out beautifully and will look lovely worn. Great job!

margaret said...

a very pretty brooch which I know will get loads of comments when you wear it on your coat

Empty nester at last said...

Very nice...I really like the colors you used. I am getting into bead embroidery and love looking at what others are doing. Excellent work. Thanks for sharing with us!

Stitches said...

I love your piece that you did, really gorgeous. I love beads, rocks and other things too!! Wish I had time to do it all!!! Keep up your great work!

Niky Sayers said...

What a lovely piece the colours you have used are fab

Jasvanti said...

I love your brooch, it is beautiful!!
Lovely colors.

SuperMomNoCape said...

What a beautiful brooch! The beads you chose to go with it really set the stone off perfectly.

Becky Pancake said...

Hi Wendy, Kudos to you for trying something new. Your brooch is beautiful. You should be really proud, you did a great job.

LoriF said...

Very nicely done! I like the idea of a brooch...and I think your colour combination is just wonderful.

Miamina said...

That looks amazing, well done!

Sheryl said...

Lovely brooch, I like the copper beads.