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.

Is there a ghost?

So last night I finished beading this necklace. The pendant is a pattern from the Bead Pattern Book, It is called Okno bu Mu. (Also giant thanks to Kristen for posting about that site a while ago!!!)


I used black 13/0 Czech charlottes, delicas, and galvanized pink seed beads originally from Hobby Lobby(?). Perhaps my skin is acidic or something, but the finish started coming off on my hands, which irritated me until I remembered that I have a box of nitrile gloves. Score one for working in hazardous waste! Stopped the problem right there. I also used wine colored 4mm Swarovski crystals and size 8/0 glow in the dark beads in place of 3mm crystals. I HAD to do something to break up the pink and black.


The rope is a kumihimo braided thing, with 8/0s in silverlined fuschia, 8/0 black, 3mm drops in pink lined pink and black, galvanized pink 11/0s and black 11/0s.



It is amazing to me how quick Kumihimo is. Truly, it is astounding. I got some of those snap shut bobbins, 10 minutes with the bead spinner, a few minutes here and there, and poof, necklace. And it is SO supple. Go buy a disk. Right now! Seriously! Also borrow 2 bullet sinkers from somewhere. The ones I got are about 1/2" long. I string them on a scrap wire hook and put them in the center for the weights. You dont even need the snap bobbins or the bead spinner(although they do make life wonderful). I used tiny spools that I had procured from somewhere on the last rope I did.

You back? Right, after you finish reading this you should start braiding. Well, actually, you can probably read and braid. But I want your full attention for this...

Is there a ghost in my house?



Not really. I was trying to capture some glow in the dark beads glowing in the dark, and decided to snap a photo of my husband walking down the hall. I thought of sending it to one of those ghost shows, but nah. All that equipment would upset the cat.