Friday, July 8, 2011

Knots and braids

While the in-laws were in town, I did very little in the ways of beading.

However, Monday rolled around and I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't want to lug out the bead tray and do something fancy, I just needed to do something mindless.

I didn't have the disk set up for any Kumihimo, so I went to something else I can do, but pay very little attention to.

Macramé.

I inadvertantly cranked out 4 pieces on Monday. (Plus one on the ride to Chattanooga that I gave to my niece)

I made a choker with 4mm or 6mm hematite cubies


We have a lacy choker. I like the beads, but I'm not wild about the placement.


With the leftovers of the above, I made a bracelet. I used little porcelain(?) tubes with Asain motifs as accents.

I know I've had these forever because I remember making bracelets between classes with them in my second year of college (Circa 2002)

And finally, I wanted to do something with bright colors, and explore bead placement on the knotters. I think I accomplished that.



There is something very...off about my knotting here. I think a large part of that is this ball of hemp. The cord itself is very uneven and swallows the knotwork. Which is good if it breaks in more quickly, but bad if you have done fancy knotwork.

I'm also out of practice. You can tell that by the unevenness of my spacing.

I went looking for knotty blogs after this wave of macramé hit, and I stumbled across Neico's Knots via her etsy shop. Tell me that isn't some gorgeous macramé.

I also found this etsy shop belonging to KnottyVal Is this bracelet not gorgeous????

I don't have the patience for that kind of work. (and yet I'll spend 10-12 hours on a beaded thing and think nothing of it) I used to make friendship bracelets when I was young, and they always took FOREVER. Now I'm tempted to go buy a pack of floss to make a big one, so I can get 3 rows into it and eventually retire it to the GIANT BAG OF EMBROIDERY FLOSS...OF DOOOOOOOOM when I get home. I guess if I'm still interested when I get back to Pittsburgh(where the giant bag o embroidery floss...of doooom lives, I could try it then) Nah, I'll just drool over this one.

Finally, I put ends on a kumihimo rope I did. I had intended this to be the rope for a bead-embroidered MTG cab, but I don't like it. The color fade isn't right.

And the two sides don't mesh well.

Individually, they are pretty, but together...

I absolutely hate it as a necklace.


But as a bracelet, it's not that bad...This last photo is the most accurate in terms of color-the dark side is very blue-y and the light side is very minty.

3 comments:

  1. i like the kumihimo as a rope, and i really like it as a bracelet. i think it's good either way. macrame is something i've never tried, so it was fun looking at your things. and that second link with the bright colored one is really fabulous. never in a million years would i have figured out on my own that you can make jewelry with macrame. to me, macrame is watching my mother when i was 5 making huge wall hangings. but this is the 2nd time this week it's been brought to my attention to jewelry. hmmm. i may have to look into it more. :)

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  2. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it, and quick too! Back in the day (when I really did have to walk uphill both ways to school (I went to WVU) I could crank out a choker in 15 minutes if I was paying attention. Friendship bracelets...I don't think I ever finishd one.

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  3. I like what you have done, I really like the lacy choker. I used to macrame when I was a teenager in the 70's but I did not make jewelry. I like the kumihimo rope as the bracelet also.
    Therese

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