More finishing things off

I did a post a few weeks ago about some languishing UFOs which I'd finally finished.  Well I've finished some more.

This bead embroidered pendent was made in October 2015, you can see the original post here.

When I was putting pendents on chains the other week, I tried this one on a chain, but it wasn't right.  it needed something different.  I thought I'd try a beaded rope so I got out some suitable seed beads and my copy of Seed Bead Stitching by Beth Stone.

The photo above shows the samples I made.  On the left is a spiral which just didn't look right, I can't remember what the middle one is, and the one on the right is a peyote tube.  I really like the peyote tube but it was too big for this pendent.  Instead I chose a tri-stitch from Bead Play everyday, also by Beth Stone.

I didn't take a close up of the beaded chain but it is quite delicate.  I've worn this a few times recently.

I can't find the origins of this project.  It was cross stitched a long time ago, at least 4 years I think.  All it needed was stuffing and the turning gap sewing up.  I'd neglected it so long as I'd cut the linen too close to the seam and it was fraying.

I put lavender in it and sewed it up as best I could.  It now lives in my knicker drawer so I don't suppose the messy seam matters.

Finally I have this rather strange bunny to show you.  Again, I can't find a post about him, but I think I made him before my nephew was born and he's 4 now.

I made the pattern up myself, I have no idea where I got the idea for such a weird bunny from!  The pink bits on the ears are appliqued and I embroidered a face, but I used a pale pink so it's barely visible.

All I had to do on this fella was stuff him, sew up the turning gap and sew on his tail.  There were three different pompoms with him so I selected the one below.

I wasn't sure what to do with him, I was just pleased to get him out of the UFO basket (or rather drawer, though I do have UFO baskets, and bags and piles...) so he lives with my Jellycat bunnies in the bedroom.

I've got to keep on top of this finishing off, I must have scores of UFOs... 

Luna cabochon

About a year ago I discovered the most wonderful cabochons in The Bead Shop Nottingham.  I bought a couple just because I loved them, but never did anything with them.  If you want to see what they look like, go here.  It turns out we'd missed the workshop using Luna cabs (we missed one?!?), so we asked the manager if she'd put another class on for us, and she agreed!

I took a Thursday of work and we took another workshop (more on that coming to a blogpost near you soon) in the morning, and then settled down for an afternoon of bead embroidery.  Using a piece of bead foundation, we glued our cab down, and then held it in place with some peyote stitch.  We then used O beads (which I also own but never knew how to use!) to stitch a decorative ring before adding an Ultrasuede backing and a row of crystals.

It was really hard to get decent photos of this, I wanted to show the way the Luna cab just seems to shine, whilst also getting the shine of the crystals.  I used my tablet for these photos, I really should have used my camera as the tablet doesn't have a zoom feature.  The problem is that I have no way of transfering the photos to my PC except by taking the memory card into work and slotting it into my laptop.  It would seem that modern technology has left me behind.

This will become a necklace, I already know how I'm going to do it, it's on my Finish-It-FFS pile!

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.

finishing off

I have been finishing off WIPs!  Yay for me, not something that happens round here much, despite my best intentions!

I went to a class to make this bracelet in December last year.  I then had a 'mare trying to sew the ultra suede on the back as I cut it too small. Fast forward 9 months and I tried again, and succeeded!  I didn't enjoy sewing the backing (and all those edging beads which are size 15/0) on, which is a shame as I enjoy bead embroidery in general.  This is now a brooch and I'm very pleased with it.

I'm less pleased with this, which has only been a WIP for a couple of weeks.  It's my knook spa cloth, relegated to being a dishcloth, and what a bloody mess!

I added a loop so I can hang it from the tap, and a crochet edging to try to neaten it up.  Didn't work, did it?  Ah well, first time knooking and all that... 

This kumihimo braid is only a week or so old, but it was nice to get it out of the box where I keep half done jewellery components.  I added some lucite flowers held on head pins with Swarovski pearls, and hung them from a short length of chain.

I'm really pleased with this one and have worn it already.  I'm also pleased with the alternative method of putting on the end caps that I came up with.  Not so neat, but I have long hair so it doesn't matter.  I know how to do it better for next time.

I made this bracelet back at the beginning of August, and all it needed was a clasp!  Clasp added.

Bracelet done.

I feel all virtuous now.  I might just go and start a few (dozen) more projects!

Bead embroidery

Happy New Year's Eve everyone, or, depending when you're reading this, Happy New Year.  I have such high hopes for 2014, first off that everyone stops calling it "Two Thousand and Fourteen", I mean, we didn't call 1914 "One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fourteen", did we?  Well, the French did, but that's different.  Secondly, I hope 2014 does not turn out to be the horrendous, disastrous, soul-destroying year that 2013 did.  Fingers crossed.

I considered doing a look back at the year, but it was so crap that I don't want to, I'm so glad it's nearly over.  Instead, my long overdue post about the Bead Embroidery class I took at The Bead Shop Nottingham.  I was planning a post about the fantabulous crafty presents I got from my bloggy friends this year, but I have yet to take photos and the weather outside is dull and cloudy and raining.  Blurgh.

So, bead embroidery.  Wow, loved it!

We made brooches using Swarovski navettes which are sewn on to Bead Foundation with ordinary sewing thread.  I outlined the navettes with size 11 red beads, including a picot edging.  I then bordered it with size 15 hematite beads (which I always call Hermaphrodite much to my mum's horror).  The centre is a Swarovski bi-cone crystal with a ring of the size 11s.

We were given a small square of Ultrasuede to finish off the backs at home.  I cut mine roughly to shape, then started sewing it on to the back with the size 15s as decoration.  I was cutting it to shape as I went.  After a petal I found a nicer, neater way of sewing on the 15s so undid it all to start again.  Well I couldn't!  See the black shape above?  How on earth did that ever fit on the back of the flower???  I'm waiting patiently for my order of Ultrasuede to turn up so I can finish it!

I hope you all have a wonderful 2014 and I look forward to catching up with you all in the New Year.

Embroidered Photo Frame - a proud moment!

I finished the embroidered photo frame I'd been working on on Wednesday night, but didn't get round to ironing it until last night.  Unfortunately it was very dark when I took the photos, so they're not great, but then my photos never are and I shouldn't really blame the light!!

This was my fourth finish for my Craft Book Challenge.  The project came from the book Quilt a Gift by Barrie Sue Gaudet.  This book is full of gorgeous projects using fabric and wool felt.  There are 1-2 evening projects and projects that will take a week or longer.  Although I love this project, the instructions weren't great - at no point did she state whether there were seam allowances, and if so what they were which meant I made the machined part twice to get it right.  I basically made up my own measurements the second time.  I chose to do the hearts and the vines/flowers free hand rather than tracing her template.  Templates are provided but need to be enlarged which I always find a real pain.  They'd been reduced by 50% so it wouldn't have taken many more pages to put them in full size.

Anyway, here it is, under the glass, in the frame but minus photo:

Here's a photo of it without the glass:

 And a detail of the corner - I'm not sure if you can make it out but there are little white seed beads to represent flowers:

I really am proud of this project and have plans to make more.  This one will have a wedding photo of me and my husband in, but I'd like to make some to show family photos so will have to change the colour scheme and the hearts - I'll work something out.

Thanks for stopping by!