Pages

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. :)

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

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

    ReplyDelete
  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

    ReplyDelete
  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!

    ReplyDelete
  6. oooh I love the flowered one, very nice

    ReplyDelete
  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!

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

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

      Delete
  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?

    ReplyDelete
  10. These are gorgeous! I love them!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.