Dressmaking for my Beadwork

I really am kinda retired.  So I feel free to follow my interests as they appear.  I have been cleaning out my studio, and keep finding things that could be finished.  And some things that could be started!

This piece of fabric was purchased many years ago, and I pitched it to several of my ballroom clients, but no one took the bait.  I may not have pitched with great conviction, as I LOVED this print.  I may have (on many levels) wanted to keep it for myself.  Kinda wish I had laid it out flat for you to see, but this was after I calculated a place where I thought my necklace might fit and chopped a hole in the middle of the fabric to have a look.  It's a poly single knit, and runs in one direction, so I knew I needed minimal seaming. I decided on dolman sleeves, and shaping from side seams only.

Here's the necklace.

Sooo...  A couple days later...

I pleated the right side to provide a more interesting fit and bit of movement.

The necklace fits the space, and without being too matchy-matchy, feels OK to me with the print.

Pleating detail.  I am an inch larger than the form at the waist and at the hip.  I fill it out a bit better!

And here is the back detail.

I am having a lot of fun sewing in my studio recently.  Beading is feeling very sedentary to me, and I want to be more mobile.  But it's still nice to wear all that beadwork, especially in a new context!

And then, of course, there is THIS!  Let's hope it does not become a permanent wardrobe feature!

Stay safe and healthy!

Summer Fruit Accessories

Have you begun your Summer Fruit?  Have you realized that assembling kits that allow you to make any version of the necklace you want leaves you with some leftover beads?  Here are some suggestions as to what to do with those extra beads.

Make Accessories!

I put photos of a few pairs of earrings in the tutorial, and because you are clever advanced beaders, I even included fishhooks and headpins for simple earrings, because I know you know how to use the information you have to create what I showed you.

This week I am putting together a final set of kits and have knocked together three bracelets that offer ideas as to how you might use up some of those extra beads, if you have them.  It all depends on how long you made your necklace, and which variation you weave, but even these examples have possible variations.

This first bracelet is a simple combination of two sets of Curled Squares.  But if you do not have the beads for two sets of squares, one set would also be nice.  You could join them tip to tip, or end to end and string either a single or double strand, depending on your join.

I do love that the internal 6mm rounds are visible because of the tight circle around your wrist and the pretty curled edges come into view.

Next, I have a simple strung bracelet, that echos the yoke stringing on the necklace.

You may not have as many 8mm rounds as I used, but feel free to use any and all of the accent beads, and any and all remaining rounds of any size. Or ANY of the leftovers, although I am not a big fan of strung cylinders, but hey, it's YOUR bracelet!  I liked the double strand, but it could just as easily be single, thereby stretching the available beads.

 And here is a reminder that the earring could contain a Curled Square, facing either downward, as shown below, or upward, as shown above with the Pineapple set.

One final possibility involves buying an extra focal bead.  

 My hubby is an Antiques Roadshow junkie and I recently sat with him for an episode taped in California and featuring lots of very expensive jewelry.  I was shocked to hear the expert state clearly that although one lovely item was certainly a Van Cleef and Arpels antique, it had been "Messed With" when a bracelet was created from a pendant and "Ruined" when the focal was placed the "Wrong Way".  By that he meant that the oval focal was placed with its length running around the wrist, instead of lengthwise up and down the arm. Humph!  Let me assure you, the right way is the way you prefer to align the focal.  The way your wrist and hand look great, and are comfortable when the bracelet is worn.  I let the nice man get in my head, and aligned it the "right way" (elongated extension, running up and down the arm) just for him, I guess.  But believe me when I tell you that you may use your focal with either bezel extension, and you may align it whatever way you prefer.

I also chose to make up two Curled Squares to bracket the focal.  Notice that I made my connection to the connector row in the bezel, instead of the tips of the extension.  I preferred how it felt a bit less floppy on my wrist when supported from the base near my skin, but this is again, a decision for you to make, and you may certainly do whatever floats your personal boat.  I have teensy wrists, and rarely wear or enjoy bracelets, but this one feels nice to me.

If you want to make this version of the bracelet, I suggest shopping for your focal at either Fusion Beads https://www.fusionbeads.com/30mm-crystal-lime-swarovski-crystal-oval-fancy-stone-4127 or Art Beads https://www.artbeads.com/search/?keyword=swarovski%204127 .  At this point, neither has all the colors available, but each has some.  

If you REALLY want me to buy it for you and leather back it, my price per stone would be $15.  You can send me a convo asking for exactly what you need and I will assemble it for you.  Obviously, you can spend much less on the Swarovski Fancy Stone if you do it yourself, but you must also consider the cost of shipping, plus the leather and adhesive you will need for the backing.  I am just offering.  

I also have some extras of every bead, and if you want more than what you have, I will help you figure out what you need and sell it to you by the gram or half gram, or for the larger beads, by the piece.  I'll do a bit of calculating and be prepared to give you a price before you buy, but you would need to convo me for a quote and private listing.

I do not expect the rush of the last two releases, so I am just going to post this final set of kits today, Friday noonish, July 12th.  

I am not sure where I will go from here, beading wise.  I know I need a break. I know that I am prioritizing a more active life than is allowed by bead illustrating and tutorial writing.  But I also really enjoy it.  So... we shall see.  Whatever happens, thank you all for your kind support of my design work, tutorials and kits.  

My birthday arrives soon, and I am planning a one day birthday sale.  Details posted here in a week or so!  

Summer Fruit -The Raspberry Variation

This time, beading first, and the health stuff after.

Important information up front!

In "Raspberry" I liked framing the collarbone with the upper folded link set.  Those are pretty bones that deserve a spotlight every so often.  I also rotated the focal piece, and framed it with three folded open warped squares, to elaborate on the Y aspect of the form.

This variation is based on "The Sky is Falling" from last fall.  Here's a quick reminder.  It was the oval focal frame that looked so floral (alliteration unintended, lol) that I most appreciated about this work, and I wanted to write a tut for it.  I got carried away by the myriad possibilities!  I loved the Y-shape of "Sky" and it seems pretty trendy too.  Plus I like the variety of tassels I can include in this series.  I've always liked some movement in my work, but suddenly, it seems even more important.

SO... still planning the release of this tutorial, and set of kits, for around the Summer Solstice, June 21st.  Provided nothing too big gets in the way.  I have adjusted my priorities in my retirement.

Now on to the health stuff. 

I write this blog as much for myself as for you, dear readers. I want to remember the decisions I made here and I find writing helps me to understand how my choices and actions work out for me.  If you find it interesting, forge on. We left off near the end of January, with the purchase of my Apple Watch, in the interest of my osteoporosis prevention and reversal.  

In all fitness heart-monitor type gear, there are rings that visually display activity.  I went with Apple because I my electronic environment is all i... iPhone, iPad, Mac Book Pro, and I like how beautifully they all talk to each other.

Here's an image I find really telling. The 23rd was the day my phone was charged in the Apple Store, ready for sale on the next day.  I bought it in the late afternoon on the 24th.  Every single important thing in my life happens on a 24th, but I did not think about it at the time.

On the 25th, I just wore it, in the interest of a baseline.  For those of you who do not know, the Blue Ring in the center tracks sitting time.  If I am moving for at least a minute during any hour, I fill 1 1/12th of the ring. The watch will prompt movement at ten minutes to the hour, so this was the easiest of the rings to fill, but as you can see, I was not perfect right away. It's pretty easy for me to sit for hours beading or illustrating.  Nothing else in my life is quite that sedentary. I started trying to get that ring filled daily.

The Green Ring tracks exercise.  Apple defines that as my heart beat moving into the target exercise range for my age and staying there for at least a minute.  I can report various kinds of exercise, but if my heart does not confirm it, it does not register.  I can also park at the back of the lot and walk to the grocery store briskly and a minute of exercise records without my reporting it to the watch.  It just knows what I did by my heart rate, and the built in GPS.

My watch wanted me to exercise at least 30 minutes a day in my target range.  Sheesh.  SO on the 27th, I put on my coat, hat, mittens, thermal underwear, and boots, and walked at a pace that got my heart rate up, until I filled the exercise ring.  At that point, I realized I needed a better place to walk, preferably with no ice.  But jeepers.  It seemed like a big time commitment, to drive somewhere, in addition to the time spent walking...

So I started hunting for indoor places to walk that were close to me.  I tried a local HUGE BOX hardware store on the 30th, walking up and down aisles as fast as I could without being annoying.  I filled the ring, but still needed a better place.

Next, I became a mall walker.  Ridgedale Mall is quite close to me, but there is nowhere to remove a coat or change shoes.  So I drove to the mall, left my coat, hat, etc. in the car, and dashed through the cold to the nearest door, and walked.  I began to develop some consistency, but still put work deadlines and personal issues ahead of exercise.  Better, but no perfection, although there was the one week...  Here's a peek at my February.

With the next Summer Fruit variation, I'll explain my March, in which the Red Ring is a factor,  I find my gym, re-discover old injuries, and meet Adonis and Weight Training.

I Made a Neck Form (with help from my carpenter husband)

Before I finished my Bead Dreams piece, I knew that a normal neck form was not going to flatter the work.  I needed wider shoulders and a broader chest, and after an exhaustive hunt, I knew what I wanted was just not out there.

I have never really been very satisfied with the forms I purchase, and one of them was so crooked in the neck area that I had never been able to use it.  I thought I could perhaps take it apart to see how it had been made, and make my own custom-shaped one.  So, I ripped off the cover, and took a look.

Were you expecting something different? I was.  :)  It had 1/2 inch foam padding, which I removed, and then sized up the components.

It had a base, a support with a curve, a piece of what looked like masonite to me, stapled to the curve, and a funky little neck thingy, hot glued in place.  This one was 1/2 inch off center, and that probably explains why my work always looked lop-sided on this particular form.

So before I was even finished with my piece, I asked my husband Carl, (aka The Best Man Ever) if he could make me a base, support piece, and differently shaped face for a custom form.  He built a new wood shop addition onto the garage last fall, and seems to enjoy the place.  He has been busy making new furniture and storage for it and installing machinery.

He said he would help me, so I designed a shape I thought would suit my work.

Here is how it differed from the original form. I wanted a wider shoulder and broader chest.

I made a pattern of the curved support for Carl, and we discussed materials.  He suggested aspen, for the curved support and base, which he would finish for me, so I would not have to cover it.

I thought the curved face could be masonite, but he said it would be better to use special curve-friendly plywood and create exactly the curve I wanted by laminating layers together over a form, which he made, and used to create the face.

I didn't take a picture of the laminating process.  :( But this was in his shop when I sneaked in there... something else being laminated into a curve, like he described the process for the face of my form.

Here is a pic of the finished curved face in my workspace, attached to the base and support Carl made, before it got its little neck thingy. I thought it looked like a shield.

Next, came the cover.  Here's the one I removed from the old form.

I shopped for materials and found three possibilities.  Two were light weight vinyls, and one, some sort of actual leather, bonded to a stretch interfacing, similar to what the original cover material looked like. 

I also found a place in NYC, that made "custom forms" and sold their leatherette material by the yard. But I decided to use the white vinyl for a first try and made a pattern.  Maybe because of the broader shoulders, or the heavier vinyl, I needed to create a dart to help make the neck shape.  

Here's the vinyl cover, cut out and assembled.

I still could not imagine how I was going to get the vinyl to wrap flat around the back of the curved edges of the form. So I paid a visit to the local Tandy Leather and got a great lesson on the use of leather adhesives from an adorable leather geek.  He suggested water based contact cement, and assured me it would be sufficiently strong for the task at hand.  He also said I would get one chance to get it positioned correctly, because once the two tacky surfaces touched, the bond was final.  YIKES!  He suggested I pin the cover in place first, apply the adhesive, and then wrap.  I was REALLY NERVOUS about this.  But I took his advice.  I glued on the 1/2" foam (from the fabric store), and pulled the vinyl into shape.

I was really glad to have the thickness of the bonded plywood to pin into at this point. Crunch time came, and I painted the vinyl and the back of the plywood with adhesive, and let it get tacky.

Here are the tools I used, recommended by the adorable Tandy Leather geek.  I wrapped one of the spreaders I purchased (which was great for spreading E-6000, btw) with a 1" strip of foam, and that was the right size to apply the strip of adhesive that I needed, and the foam held the watery glue nicely, with very little dripping or mess.

I let it dry overnight, and actually got up around 3am to see if it was still ok!  The next step was to prep that back for the paper cover.

Carl let me steal some of his gorgeous drawing paper for the back.

I told myself from the beginning of this adventure, that what we made would have to look neat, clean, and professional or I simply could not use it.  I am really happy with the results!

And I think mine actually looks better from the back, than the commercial one.

Finally, the button bit is glued on to the top, and I am ready to shoot pictures tomorrow.  Carl cut me a masonite disc to cover, but the original was cardboard, and that would have allowed me to adhere the center as well as the edges.  Next time!

And now,  Carl thinks my piece needs its very own fancy pants wooden box.  I am one very, VERY lucky girl. Whatever that shop addition cost, it was worth it!  

Do you think I have to give him co-design credit?

Meeting Challenges

I have been an Etsy Beadweaver for almost four years.  During those years I have learned a lot about beading, photography, competition, the nature of people, (especially in groups) and about myself.  Most of the work in my Etsy shop was created for monthly challenges sponsored by the team.  The challenges have stretched me, encouraged me to step away from my comfort zone, and use materials, colors, techniques, and inspiration I would not otherwise have used. I have tried to win, and I have tried NOT to win, but I believe that just participating as often as I am able is beneficial in many ways. Like any endeavor, you get out what you put in, no matter what your goal.

There is a challenge underway currently, and I thought I would not have time to participate.  But as I looked as my teammates answers to the challenge, I decided I wanted to play along, and I took one weekend and stepped "Out of This World" with my beads, to create a piece I call Klingon Courtship Necklace.

 
 I do not think this is a brilliant piece of design work.  It's good, although I think it lacks clarity and focus.  I like it, and have given it a couple test wearings, and people who see it, like it too, and comment on it. It is certainly possible to knock out a little piece like this in a day or two, in between the laundry and Christmas cards.  If it was the sort of thing I did all the time, I might even be able to produce a really good bit of design work in that time. I love to bead and to design with beads, but for me, beading is a hobby.  To do a good job with design, I have to do the two-steps-forward-one-step-back dance of exploration and discovery.  And that requires time to think, and experiment. Klingon Courtship has garnered a couple votes from my teammates, which I always take as high honor.  Whoever you are, thank you so much for your votes of confidence!

I made a simple pair of earrings to go with it, because I like to wear earrings with a necklace, and I didn't have a pair that looked right.  So they will be sold with the necklace... a little bonus!

There are some interesting and wonderful pieces in this challenge and you can see them all and vote for your particular favorite at our team blog.  Please do!  Sometimes the breadth of ideas our team has really delights me.  I usually like the work that best meets the specific requirements of the challenge. The work that makes me feel something, and illustrates the theme in beads.  You might like that too, or the prettiest work, or the one done in your favorite color.  It's all good.   :)

I also participated in the November challenge, and learned to make Russian leaves, which is essentially increasing and decreasing peyote stitch at the end of each row.  I can see wonderful potential for this technique and look forward to trying out some ideas I had while making enough leaves to cement the process in my head and hands.

I got to write this challenge, as reward for winning the September challenge.  The idea was to use a picture postcard as a color palette, trying to get the hue, value, intensity and proportion of the color in the postcard to appear in the beadwork, which could be anything except a copy of the card.  I did assignments similar to this in a weaving class, and was reminded of those assignments in gift shops on my vacation.  I thought it might make good challenge.

I think the color and proportion is reasonably accurate, although I found I did not want to put in the aqua blue of the little river.  I finally did it with dew-like drop beads, but there many not be enough of them to really represent that color proportionately well.

The shape is a little mundane, but again, I like it well enough, and in test-wearing it, I found it was liked by others as well.  I really enjoy people noticing my beadwoven jewelry, especially those who have not seen beadwork before.  Their reactions please me, and I hope they are inspired to give the technique a try themselves.

I have not been the best blogger this year.  I am finding that trying to maintain two websites, two blogs, and keep up with the constant ebb and flow of beadwork, my clients, and friends on facebook to be a time consuming adventure, on top of my business.  I enjoy it all, but it is hard to always be entirely up to date.  So this post catches up with my work in the last two Etsy Beadweaver's challenges.

Our team will have a new leader in 2014, and see some changes in the next year. I hope challenges will always be a part of the team activity.  Do you belong to a team, or teams?  Do you benefit from membership?  What makes you join a group?