I just received my acceptance letter to the Mable House Christmas Arts and Crafts Show! I am soooo excited. This will be my first public show I've entered. I will be doing pieces in Kumihimo, plain and beaded, and two beadweaving techniques, Flat Spiral and St. Petersburg.

I have so much to do to plan for this event.  I have to figure out how much of everything I'm gonna need to try and have at least 25 pieces.  Seed beads, magatamas, C-lon, satin cord, jump rings, toggles, Fireline, leather cord...  So much to think about, so much to do!  Boy, is this gonna be fun!!! 

Hi Everybody,

Well, I'm back in action and ready to work.  Let me tell you what has been going on since my last post.

I finally got a camera so I can take more quality pictures.  This one has a zoom lense so I can take closeups of my work.  I'm still learning to use it.  I tell you, the instruction booklet they give you aren't worth the paper they are printed on.  They don't tell you too much of anything that you really need to know.  So it's a hands-on, take your chance, learn as you go process.  But I'm getting there.

I finally turned in my application for the Mable House Christmas Shoppe.  I will probably know if I am accepted after August 15.  I plan on making Kumihimo pieces along with bracelets using the St. Petersburg and Flat Spiral stitches.  My jewelry instructor and friend, Anne King, says I have a very good chance of being chosen for the shoppe.  She is a veteran jewelry maker and a really good friend.  And I cherish her advice and words of wisdom.  Thank you, Anne.

Here are a few photos of some of the work I've been doing.  I know it's not much .  I have also been dealing with some medical issues but I'm not going to burden you with thoses.  All Kumihimo pieces are made using 1.5mm satin cord from www.satincord.com and http://whataknit.com.

 

This necklace and earring set was made using dark grey pearls and long gunmetal magatamas.  The ends were folded and wrapped to form loops.  I used leather cords for the necklace and made the earwires by wrapping  scrap pieces of 20g half hard silver wire around the handle of a pair of needle nose pliers.  Hold on to your scraps.  They do come in handy.

 

This necklace was made using turquoise and coral satin cord and long crystal AB magatamas. In the close-up you can see the placement of the magatamas.  I like to use beads in a way so you can see the actual braid.  In the second close-up, I used 5 beads instead of 1.  This method created the cluster effect.  This piece was entered in the Darnell Senior Activity Center's first Artist Walk.  No prizes, just showcasing.

 

This was started as a 16-cord braid that was split in half, both halves braided separately and finished with 16-cords.  Make sure that before you split the cords in half, write down the color placement so they can be placed in the same slits to finish the braid evenly.  Made with coral and emerald green satin cord - 1.5mm

Turquoise satin cording and Fun Yarn.  Focal piece was purchased from FireMountain Gems.  Always check their discount section.  I got this one for $1.50.

Can't remember where I got these beads.  I think the gold beads are Toho Triangles I bought some time back from Michaels.










These are the beadweaving pieces I made.  The rainbow, white and gold bracelet is a St. Petersburg chain stitch.  The white and crystal bracelet is a Flat Spiral stitch.  Check out the close-ups.  The toggle on the white piece was handcrafted.  I like finding beaded bezel designs and using them as toggles.  You do have to add a few coats of Future Floor Polish to help make it stiff.  The toggle bar was peyoted and zipped closed.  I added a headpin to the center with a crystal as each end.  Use pliers to bend and flatten ends or use needle nose plies to make a loop on each end.  Use your imagination.

Hi again,
The Down The Street Bead Show was pretty nice.  There were quite a few tables with a $2.00 sale.  Just wish I'd had more money.  I was able to get some 15/0 Delicas, crystals, and big eye needles.  We've been having problems finding the big eye needles locally. And only one table had end caps.  The last show for the year in this area is in November.

I'm going to try and borrow my sister's camera this weekend and take some pictures of some of the projects I've been working on lately.  Check back next week.

G' morning all.
On my way to the Down The Street Bead Show at Cobb Galleria and maybe stop by Rings & Things show afterward.  Will let you know what I saw, what I did, and what I bought when I get home.

Have a braidy, beady day.

Card Weaving

Forget to tell you,  I've also been viewing youtube videos on card weaving.  This craft uses a set of
3-1/2in square cards with a hole in each corner.  I will let you know more about this later.  Planning to take a class on this sometimes this year.

I'm Back... Again

Hi all,

Guess you've been wondering what happened to me.  Well, I'm still living and that's a good thing.  I guess like most artist, I kinda lost my way and had to find my way back.  I'm not saying I'm completely back, but I am making a good effort.

I plan to post whether I have pictures or not.  I'm still looking for a good digital camera with a zoom lense.  I want to learn to take more professional pictures of my work from now on.  Hope to start doing that soon.

I've been pretty busy working with my Kumihimo and bead weaving lately.  I learned to do the St. Petersburg single and double chain, the Flat Spiral, the Chevron and a Wavy.  I also bought another Kumihimo book, Rodrick Owen's "Braids, 250 Patterns from Japan, Peru and Beyond".  Takes a bit getting used to, but that's the fun part of learning.

I am now doing braids using tulle.  You know the close weave netting material that's used a lot at weddings.  It makes for an interesting braid.  It's soft and very lightweight.  I thought it would be a little scratchy, but it's pretty comfortable.  I plan to make some necklaces and bracelets using the tulle.  I'm also going to make some hair ornaments with it.

I usually buy a yard of each color and cut strips from 1-1/2 to 3 inches so far.  You should have seen me in Hobby Lobby the other day.  I took my 79yo aunt with me to push the cart.  I went straight to the tulle in the fabric dept and loaded up the cart with all the colors they had, about 15.  She thought I was crazy.  But I was nice to the other customers.  If they only had a yard or two to purchase, I let them go ahead of me.  There was one lady who wanted samples of about 45 fabrics.  But she decided to do some shopping in another department and come back.

I also did some Googling and found a site that carried the 25yd roll of 6 inch wide tulle for... Guess!!!
"88 cents a Roll!!!".  I went crazy and bought 17 rolls and 5 rolls of 1/4inch satin ribbon for 50cents. My box arrived yesterday.  You should have seen my sister and me tearing at the box to get it open.  We were like kids on Christmas morning.

Kumihimo has become part of my life now.  I still carry it with me wherever I go... only thing is, my carry case go bigger.  I just can't seem to decide what colors to work with, so I carry it all along with my disk and plate.

I have now taught my senior activity class the following braid designs:
7 cord braid
8 cord braid
12 cord spiral
8 cord flat
8 cord beaded

Each class was fun and interesting.  I also learned something in each class and from each student.  I cherish my teaching experiences and will continue to learn from each future class and students.

I started a beginner's Kumihimo group on Yahoo, "New _2_Kumihimo_Braiding ".  I have 27 members.  Every month I have a roll call and post contest.  Each member has to check in to roll call at the beginning of the month and post messages.  The member who posts the most messages wins a prize.  So far I have 2 winners.  This group is growing each month and having a lot of fun. 

Well, I guess I did a good job with catching up.  Look for more soon...

"Keep Braiding"

I just received my application for the Mable House Christmas show.  I went last year and saw some beautiful jewelry pieces along with some pottery, knitting, crocheting, metalwork, glass work, and other crafts.  This is a juried show so I'm gonna have to come up with some really dynamite pieces.  I have until August to turn in my application.   This will be my first professional juried show.  I'm really excited.  I will keep you informed.

Hi all,

I know, it's been awhile. A lot has been happening since I last posted.  I am going to do my best to post at least once a week from now on.

My Kumihimo has been going really well.  I entered two pieces, a necklace and a bracelet, in an Artist Walk we are having at the senior activity center I attend.  I don't want to post a picture pieces until after the event.  I think it will be judged and I don't want to jinx it.  But this will be my first judged show.  I know it won't be like the bigger shows, but it's a start.

I'd like to tell you about a blogspot site that I subscribed to.  It's called, "Inspirational Beading"  and I really like it.  I find a lot of inspiration in looking at everything that's posted.  Today, the feature was seed beads.  The owner posted a lot of pictures of different colored seed beads.  I have a large bowl of seed beads that I like to run my fingers through.  I love the feel of the beads between my fingers and gazing into the mixture of colors.  I hope you will check this site out.  Here is the link:  http://www.inspirationalbeading.blogspot.com/

Last weekend I attended the "Stitches South 2012" show here in Atlanta.  It was amazing!  The show was basically for knitters and crocheters, carrying a lot of yarns.  The colors, the textures of the different yarns,cords, and threads were great.  I saw a lot that I can incorporate into my Kumihimo. 

There were 2  booths there for Kumihimo, Moss Hollow Pottery and Primitive Originals.  I was able to meet the owners of both shops and enjoyed our conversations.  You'd be surprised at how beads  are being worked into knitting and crocheting.  I'd really like to see a show with a combination of equal beads and yarns.  To dream, to dream....  I plan to attend the show next year and take a class or two.  This show was an uplifting change from the normal bead shows.

While at the show, I was introduced to a new ancient craft, Viking Knit.  Viking Knit uses wire that is knitted around a rod.  Then, using what is called a 'paddle', the chain is dragged through holes that are drilled into the paddle.  Each hole is decreased in size causing the chain to get thinner and thinner.

There is an interesting history behind this art.  It is written that the Vikings used these chains at currency.  They used to cut pieces off to pay for their wares.  And as soon as I get a new camera, I will post pictures.  Also, if this sounds like a craft you'd like to give a try, just Google...  That's where I go to find out all I can about what I do.

Take care until next week...

Hi all,

Just wanted you to get a glimpse of what I'm doing now.  This is a picture of a braid called "Zigzag sasanami" or "Higaki-sasanami" as Makiko Tada calls it.  It's on a Youtube video.  It looks difficult, but if you watch the video enough times, it's quite simple.  I'll post a picture of the finished piece soon... I hope.

Getting my pieces ready for the Artist Wall at the senior activity center I attend.  Really looking forward to it.  Trying to decide what to make is the problem.  But I'll come up with something really special.

Stringing Magatamas - Up or Down

I always take my Kumihimo to church with me while I'm waiting on my ride to finish church paper work and business.  I had bought some magatamas a while back and decided to finally give them a try.  But trying to put them on so they would all be facing the same directions was really puzzling.   After about 10 trys, I finally caught on to the secret. 

If you will notice when stringing them, the thread either goes in an upward or a downward movement.  So decide which direction you want to string them (thread up or thread down) and stick with that direction.  Once I learned this little trick, I had no problem stringing.  Now to get busy and finish.

My senior citizen activity center is having an "Artist Wall" this May.  My jewelry class instructor is asking each class member to submit at least 2 pieces each.  The pieces will be judged the middle of April for admission to be displayed.  I am going to make a Kumihimo piece and a St. Petersburg bead stitch piece.  I'll let you know if my pieces are chosen.

I can't wait to find the perfect findings for this braid.  The ends are a 16 cord "Spiral Straw-Plaiting Braid" from "More Braids on Cards? by Shirley Berlin.  The 2 inside braids are the 8 cord "Kongo Gumi".

I started with the 16 cord pattern, divided the cords into  2- 8 cords bundles, worked the Kongo Gumi, then combined them again to finish with another 16 cord pattern.  The next one I do will have beads added.

Just wanted to show you 2 of the braid designs I worked on this week. 

The first is a braid from "More Braids on Cards" by Shirley Berlin.  It is called "Spiral Straw-Plaiting Braid" (page 16).  It uses 16 cords.  This is the first 16 cord braid I've done.  I didn't think I'd like a thick braid, but once I started braiding this one, I really liked it.  It's one of the easiest braids I've done...  Move one cord, quarter turn, repeat.

You can braid this design with or without a cord.  I did it without.  It gave me a sort of square look and feel to it.  Very interesting.


The next one came from "Beautiful Braiding Made Easy - Using Kumihimo Disks and Plates" by Helen Deighan.  Page 18 shows you the "Hollow Braid With No Counting.  This is a 9 cord pattern and another easy one to braid.

I hope to have more designs done to post next week, maybe sooner...

Kumihimo vs Bead Crochet

Hi all,

I'm back.  I had a lot of crocheting and quilting to do. 
But I'm finally back to do what I love...Kumihimo.
I know I told you the story of how I got started doing Kumihimo.  Well, I thought I'd show you my pride and joy in bead crochet.  These were the first pieces I did using the smallest crochet hook available.  It took me 3 days to sit and hand string the beads on.  Since learning to kumihimo, I haven't done bead crochet and my fingertips couldn't be happier. 

Invisible end bead crochet necklace with earrings.  Colors:  Copper and black

Close up of bead crochet pieces.  Just wait until

I get a better camera.

Now this is the first beaded Kumihimo piece I made.  I missed placing a few beads which left some bare spots.   So I will be doing it over this weekend.  It took me 3 weeks to do the bead crochet.  One week to learn how to start it, and 2 more weeks to finish it.  It will only take me 3 days or less to finish the Kumihimo.  Now which one would you prefer?

2 Spiral Ridge Designs

Hi again,

The picture below shows two (2) braids using the spiral ridge design.  They both use 12 cords but different movements.  I wish you could really see the difference more clearly.

You can find the pink-purple-white one on Youtube. Search Kumihimo spiral rigde.
The teal and brown on is from a design in the book, "Kumihimo Wire Jewelry", by
Giovanna Imperia.  You can find it on page 29.

Kumihimo and Crocheting

Hi everybody,
I'm kinda back.  Still have some crocheting and quilting projects going.  But I was able to do a little Kumihimo.  The picture below is a braid from Helen Deighan's "Beautiful Braiding Made Easy".
It's her 9-cord "Hollow Braid with No Counting".  It may not involve any counting but you do have to be careful to move the correct cord or your design will be totally screwed.  I'll post a picture of the one I'm talking about when I get my bag from my sister.  I accidently left it in her car.  This braid movements remind me of weaving a basket.  Will be one of my favorite.  My next braid will be to put my magatamas to work.

For the past two Fridays, I taught another Kumihimo class at the senior activity center I attend.   I taught the spiral rigde design this time.  The first Friday I taught the basic design and everyone made keyrings.  Last Friday we worked on bracelets.   I hope to take some pictures to post and show this Friday. 

True to my word, I am posting some of my other projects that I'm involved with.  Here are some pix of the granny squares I'm crocheting for a granny swap.   I have 8 more to go.  Should be finished with them tomorrow then it's on to making 3 quilt blocks for a birthday swap.

 I love crocheting granny squares and ripples.  So many colors can be added and mixed together.  Guess that's another reason I love Kumihimo so much.

Hi everybody,

I'm back, slowly but surely.  I will be posting as I finish projects.  In my jewelry class for the past two week, we learned Ndebele (pronounced N-da-belly) or the herringbone stitch.  This is what I made...

What do ya think?

Hi there,

Hope everyone had a great start for a new year.  And I pray you blessings of good fortune in all areas of your life.

I will be back to my Kumihimo in February.  I'm still crocheting hats.  I did purchase a new book, "Beautiful Braiding Made Easy Using Kumihimo Disks and Plates" by Helen Deighan.  I really like it. It has a lot of interesting patterns and I love the little kitty cartoon illustrations through the book.  I bought it through Amazon for $10.22 + shipping.  It normally cost around $27.

You will see a change in my blog pretty soon.  My best fans, my family, suggested that I post some of my non-kumihimo pieces on  my blog.  So I will posting so of my other jewelry pieces as soon as I get some pictures taken.  Hope you like them as much as you do my Kumihimo.