Saturday, March 3, 2012

Off on a tangent. Again.

The other day, while I was working on my new dress, I was daydreaming of which shoes would go with it.  (Am I the only one who does this?  I do it with my knits too.)  And that led me to thinking about how to accessorize a dress like this.  And that reminded me of a bracelet I started to make many years ago, and never finished.  So yesterday I dug it out:


Have any of you ever done bead weaving?  This is called peyote stitch, and I was pretty addicted to it for a while.  It's one of the classes I used to teach early on in my career at the studio.  It uses tiny little cylindrical glass beads called Delicas:



Actually you can use many different types of beads, but I prefer the Delicas for the fabric they create and the ease of use.


This bracelet is about half done, and I'm going to try to finish it.  I created the pattern from a portion of a Gustav Klimt painting:




The bracelet, beads and needles were bundled up in a project mat, and along with them were a few other peyote bracelets I made back in the day:


This pattern was also drawn from a Klimt painting,
but I've forgotten which one.

Freeform Cherry Blossoms

Zebra

My BFF made me this leopard one after I taught her the stitch.


The zebra bracelet and the one with the triangles also have tiny glass buttons which I made on a torch:




Good times!  I began this bracelet so long ago that I wasn't wearing reading glasses at the time!  Here's my work station now:




Reading glasses are a must nowadays!


I love the mixture of green and pink in the background beads.

11 comments:

  1. Very pretty! I'll have to go check You Tube. :)

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  2. Wow, I've never heard of this but it looks really cool! :)

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  3. Amazing and beautiful! I am quickly removing myself from this post as I cannot possibly squeeze another obsession into my life!

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  4. This is actually a very easy stitch to do - probably one of the easiest bead weaving techniques! If anyone wants to see instructions, I would recommend this link with downloadable PDF:

    http://bnb.jewelrymakingmagazines.com/en/sitecore/content/Home/How%20To/Basics/Peyote%20Stitch/2006/08/Peyote%20Stitch%20Basics.aspx

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  5. My goodness Gail, you are just so talented! Those are amazing. Reminds me of the Indian jewelry I use to see as a kid. Just beautiful!

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  6. oooh I love the flowered one, very nice

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  7. These are really beautiful, I especially like the random cherry blossoms and the current one. It's amazing to me how you manage to switch between hobbies!

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  8. These are gorgeous
    makes this gal want to brush my finger tips lightly across it's surface.
    Just lovely

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    Replies
    1. It reminds me of snakeskin - smooth and cool and lightly textured.

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  9. Hello, superstar! Those bracelets are beautiful, and the glass buttons looks so delicate. It must have been loads of fun working at a glass studio ¿no?

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  10. These are gorgeous! I love them!

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