Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain

I finished my necklace and wanted to take a picture before I left town... of course it was raining, and my light is through north facing windows.

Here is the finished piece on a pillow:

Blue Eyes on my pillow... yes it sounds like a country ballad

And here is a different, but similar view:

Blue Eyes again

 Blue Eyes has 54 beads and is 96 inches long!

That being said, it turns out I am just not very productive after I get home during the week.

I only added one more beaded bead, an Empress Bead- I still love this pattern:

Blue and White Empress Bead

The caps that I picked up in Philadelphia were the perfect fit for the Empress Bead.

And I had additional Blue Eye Beads, which I wired together with other beads to make compound links:

Compound beaded links from wired components

What the heck do you call these?  Beads? Links? Compound Beads?  Any suggestions?

When I put this necklace together, I created 4 piles:
1) Beaded Beads
2) Simple Compound Beads
3) Blue Eye Compound Beads
4) Blue Eye Capped Beads (from last week)
I then created a randomly generated list using those numbers and that is how I put together the necklace.

I will be home this week, after 8 weeks away for training.  I have 5 tutorials!  I was a very lucky winner of a contest by Callie of The Peregrine Beader and won three, yes 3, tutorials.  I can't wait to start a new project.

Blue Eyes

The name of the necklace I am working on is: Blue Eyes.  The name is based on these inspirational beads:

Inspiration: A gift from my mom from her trip to Greece

I almost named the necklace Athena because the beads originated in Greece.  Even though Athena is prettier, blue eyes just seemed to fit better.

The beads my mother brought me back from Greece had some silver colored spacers between them.  I used those, plus some spacers and put them together with wire wrapped loops to make larger beads.

Inspiration beads with caps

This is going to be a LONG necklace to wrap around my neck multiple times.  I have created these simple link beads from my stash:

Simple compound beads with wire wrapped loops

As you must have realized by now, I am passionate about bead weaving.  I created these not so simple compound beads from beaded beads, caps, and wire wrapped loops:

Not so simple compound beads with wire wrapped loops

Here are all of the components so far:

Blue eyes components so far.

I have that handful of uncapped blue eye beads in the first picture to do something with.  I will likely make a few more beaded beads.  Then, I will likely curse a blue streak as I try to figure out once again how to photograph a long necklace.  Stay tuned.

Learning Curve

Some things take practice.

3 Strand Weave

The above was my attempt to make something for Nicole Hanna's Finish It contest which I blogged about last week.

I was successful in a 2 strand weave:

2 strand weave

I love wire weaving, but the three strand weave was beyond my current abilities.  I think part of the problem was the length.  I need to start smaller.  In addition, when I did the two strand weave I did not have 28 gauge wire so I used 26 which is just a bit bigger and stiffer and maybe just a bit more stable in my unpracticed hands.

Nonetheless, it was fun.  Now I need to find something that is more achievable.  I will keep trying. 

What are you working on that is testing your abilities?

Short, Sweet, No Pictures, 2 Links

Yes, the title says it all.

First link is to a tumblr page.  If you need color inspiration please be sure to bookmark kero.i.am.  This is simply eye candy.

As you know, I am at training.  I am beading, but not much. I love wire weaving.  If you are at all interested you should visit Nicole Hanna's blog where she is running a Finish It contest.  This is a fantastic idea for a contest, and I am considering giving it a try.  This is an opportunity to download a partial tutorial to learn how wire weavers achieve those beautiful pieces.  Nicole has some free basic tutorials, along with others, on her Tips and Techniques page.  You might want to see what she has to offer.

Traveling with Beads

Yes, I am actually posting something new, about beads, and with pictures. 

Just a Tote Bag

I am away from my new home in training.  Of course I wanted to take some beads with me.  Who knows, it might even save me from temptation should I visit a bead store.

To begin with, I stuffed everything in a tote bag.

Inside the tote bag are containers holding more beads plus some strands and bagged beads.

Now, I grabbed all of these beads out of my stash at the last moment before I left home.  

Doesn't seem like much inside the tote.

Really, it is just a normal sized tote.  But I stuffed a lot into it.

The entire contents

The above represents my new project.  I have several choices. 

1. I purchased Hindia from Studio 183.  I have had my eye on this necklace for some time.
2. I also purchased Fancy Fish from Skunk Hill Studios.  I would call it an impulse purchase, but for the fact that I thought about it for quite a few days; however, I had not planned on making the purchase quite yet.
3. My parents took a trip to Greece and my Mom brought me back beads with the intent that I make something.  

Beads from Greece

 Inside the tote are some larger beads.

Bagged beads and strands

Light blue beads

Indigo and white beads

Because I was pulling all of this together at the last minute I grabbed a bunch of larger seed beads that would suit whichever project I chose to work on.

Larger seed beads and a few 15/0's to test my eyes

Delicas

Of course I had to bring quite a few delica's pictured above.  That left room for some Czech seed beads, pearls, and a few more delica beads just for good measure pictured below.

Czech seed beads, pearls, and a few extra delica beads.

Beading does require tools.  I put together a tool box with yet another box inside.

Inside the tool box

I do not know what you consider essential tools.  I grabbed a magnifying glass (a Christmas time treat from Target), a brass bead gauge, a good sharpie, small ruler, fireline, hemostats (these work wonderfully as a delicate set of pliers), scissors, zip lock bags, a note regarding the beads I need for the Hindia necklace, and finally a small box for even smaller tools.

Small essentials

The small box contains three sizes of bead needles, used needles, bees wax, bead trays, and a set of wire earrings that were never finished.

I have been contemplating how to finish those Greece beads- multi strand or single strand?  The multi strand has just about created itself in my mind.  Of course that never works out the way I envision it.

Still Unpacking

I took pictures of the mess progress I have made on my apartment, but it is almost 6 p.m. Sunday and I am too darn tired to find the camera and edit the pictures.

I went to my local Target store, a mere 3.5 miles away, Saturday morning, looked up and realized that I could see the new World Trade Center being built.  It was a joyful surprise.  Once I get unpacked and through the lengthy training I am going to have to explore.

In the meanwhile, here is the picture I snapped at Target:

 

Arrival

I and all of my stuff have arrived in Jersey City NJ.

We both arrived at the start of the blizzard- I made it safely to my apartment before the blizzard arrived at full strength; my stuff arrived after the blizzard blew through.  One good thing about a big snow storm, it is the perfect excuse to step outside and meet your neighbors. 

This will be a move I will tell stories about in a few years.  A lot of hurdles had to be overcome.

I am in my apartment and so is all my stuff.

All that I packed now needs to be unpacked.

I do have to say this much: I managed to shed 1000 pounds of stuff between arriving in Cleveland Ohio in June 2011 and leaving in February of 2013.  I still have too much stuff.