The joy of dabbling

I recently had someone tell me that I should focus solely on my beaded rings and should set aside everthing else like resin work or metal. I carefully considered what they said and why one might do this. Then I threw the idea out the window and went back to my dabbling ways.



The thing is, I like to dabble. While i truely love beadweaving, the very intricacy of it sometimes turns me off. There are days when I just want to make a quick item and see the results right away! For those days there is etching. Draw it, etch it, string it, done. Other times, I am drawn to all the pretty papers and stamps that I use with my resin.





Still other days I want to learn something new, go off in some new direction I have never been before. Right now is like that. I really, really, really want to start working with precious metal clay. I keep trolling Amazon adding all the cool tools and clays to my wish list. I have been jotting down design ideas constantly. *sigh* If only I had money.



Quote: Lack of money is the root of all evil.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

New Patterns: Halloween Classics

You have to do the classics... that's why they are classics.






Reminders with my patterns, please start beading at the end on the right (on my beading program the pattern is sideways so this is the top). This assures that you get the picture, you can then stop the solid color area where ever you need to for your finger size. A good thought is to print it out.

Trivia: My Dracaula ring started as Elvis.

Quote: You see! You must open your eyes to see things! There's more to come!
- Gazbo - Dracula vs Frankenstein 1971

New Patterns: Something pumpkin this way comes

For the record, pumpkins are hard to create in peyote stitch...





Quote: Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world.
- Linus, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - Charles M Schulz

New Patterns for Halloween!

Stuff has come up this week, and I haven't gotten to post as much as I wanted, so I bring you two lovely ring patterns this week - one for Halloween and one for Autumn in general.





I keep playing with leaves. Trying to make better ones. I am also playing with the concept of letting things hang off the edge of the pattern...

When making the rings for myself, I am also playing with the beads, mixing Delicas and rocailles (rounded seed beads) to see what effects I get. I am finding that it can take a flat pattern and add a lot of texture and interest!

Quote: I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center.
Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007)

Things always work perfectly in my head

For the last several weeks I have been working on a project. Working on one thing for that long is very unusual for me, as I am all about the instant gratification (thus my obsession with rings!). But this is one I really want to do and do right.

I am a member of several teams on Etsy and 2 of them have regular challenges. The Etsy Beadweavers Team and the Kansas Etsy Team. For the November Challenge the Etsy Beadweavers' theme is Totally Twisted, and the Kansas Etsy Team's theme is In the Name of Science. I have a brilliant idea to combine the two and make an item that is Totally Twisted Science!

The only problem is that every time I try to bead my lovely idea, it doesn't turn out like I want. It works in my head, but not on my thread! Blah.

So, the idea I have is to bead a Klein Bottle. For those who don't feel like following the link, a Klein Bottle is sort of like a mobius strip, except it has no edges at all. It is a construct that loops back on itself so that the outside is also the inside. While it can technically only exist in 4 dimensions, a model can be created in 3 dimensions by ignoring the hole that is needed. It is a total math geek thing, but it is definately twisted and it is definately science!



My first attempt utilized tubuliar peyote, and I thought it was going pretty well...



However, when I tried to start decreasing I lost the curve I was looking for and it went more square. Not the desired effect at all!

So, after rebeading that several times, I decided to switch to tubular herringbone, and see if that curved better. And it did, again, right up to the point where I started trying to descrease... This time, every other herringbone spine sort of folded in, giving a pleated effect. Again, not what I was looking for.



So, for now I have set the project aside. I am giving it time to stew in my brain. I have ordered the beads I want to use for the finished project and they should show up this week. Once they do, I will start again. My plan is to try tubular peyote again, only this time instead of trying to do several decreases evenly spaced in the same round, I am gonna try one per round sort of spiralling... Well, it works in my head.

Quote: Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.
Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

How to make peyote rings

I have been posting a lot of ring patterns lately, and have plans to post a lot more. So, for those of you looking for more detailed instructions then "do even count peyote and zip it up" I would like to direct you to Leslie Rogalski's Peyote Ring Tutorial.

This is a tutorial put together by the absolutely wonderful Leslie Rogalski. It is the tutorial that got me hooked on making peyote rings. The price for the tutorial is not too high, and it teaches basic even count peyote(which most of my rings are) and gives instructions on how to zip closed. It also includes some helpful tips for beginners! Once you learn the technique, it can be used for more than just rings.

For the record, I was not asked to post this link, I have chosen to do so as I think this is the best resource for learning even count peyote and for making rings.

Spiders are not my favorite thing

My 7 yr old niece keeps asking me why I am afraid of spiders, but I won't tell her as I don't want her to share this fear. I will tell you.

Spiders terrify me because they can literally kill you without you ever even seeing them. Now, some would say that germs can do this as well, and that is true. The difference is that with spider's I can scream and freak when I do see them. Germs I never see at all, so very little screaming and freaking goes on.

Anyway, in the spirit of All Hallow's Eve I am embracing the scary - or in this case letting the scary embrace me. Here is a ring pattern so that you can make your very own pet spider to embrace your finger this fall. Enjoy!



Quote: The itsy bitsy spider
climbed up the water spout.
Down came the rain
and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun
and dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider
climbed up the spout again.

Children's song