jann -- beads, etc

check my other blog

2010-02-16T09:23:00.000-08:00

To see my current posts, go to my new blog.

Bauble

2010-01-17T07:05:00.001-08:00

This is the bauble from Diane Fitzgerald's book Shaped Beadwork. I started this back at the end of October and have worked on it off and on since. When I was working on the later rows (24 rows total in the ornament), I could only accomplish two rows at a sitting. It took a long time to bead each row. Now the little wings want to curve--it seems to have a life of its own. The peyote beaded area is 2-1/2 inches wide by 2-1/2 inches high; the crystal beads add another inch to the height.

Heather's quilt

2010-01-13T07:46:00.000-08:00

This is the lap quilt I made for my younger daughter, Heather. The top is batiks and hand-dyed fabrics, my favorite mix of fabrics.

January 2010 bjp beaded bead

2010-01-01T08:45:00.001-08:00

This is my third year taking part in the bead journal project.

Since I first started beading about 5 years ago I have been fascinated by beaded beads. I plan to make a different one each month that reflects the season. Several during the year will be variations of my favorite rivoli beads.

The January beaded bead is peyote stitch around a clear crystal 27mm rivoli using delicas, 15 seed beads, and 3mm bicone crystals. When I photographed it the clear crystal picked up the colors of its surroundings even though it appears very clear in real life. This beaded bead reflects how very snowy and icy it is here in New Hampshire.

Jennifer's sunflower quilt

2010-01-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

This is a quilt I made for my older daughter Jennifer for Christmas. The border and the back are a rainbow colored batik of sunflowers. The pieced front consists of batiks plus hand-dyed fabrics. I alternated blocks of warm colors vs cool colors.

August bjp pin

2009-10-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

The pin for August is the Rolled flower with pointed petals by Diane Fitzgerald in her book The Beaded Garden. I mounted it on a piece of my friend Nancy Graham's hand-dyed fabric.

Summer is over

2009-09-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

The little yellow pompom is from the Beaded Garden book. It is really tiny--about one inch across. I started by making a bead netting, then rolled it up at one of its edges.

This is the little bowl from Diane Fitzgerald's new book. It is made up of 6 little pentagons and is 1-3/4 inches across and 3/4 inch tall.

The bottom clearly shows the pentagon base. There is a work up of beads around the base to give the little bowl stability.

This may give you an idea of how tiny the bowl is. It would hold a ring or lots of little beads, but not much else.

I have selected a pile of rainbow fabrics to make another quilt like the one at the upper right. The back of the quilt is the sunflower fabric. I have enough of that fabric to use it again. This is one of my favorite little lap quilts. My older daughter Jennifer would like one similar to it. Of course, I have pulled too many fabrics from my shelf and will be able to use only a small portion of what you see. The blocks are alternating warm and cool colors--a nice visual contrast.

peyote bracelet

2009-08-04T04:26:00.000-07:00

This is the peyote bracelet that I made for Jessie. It came out more dimensional than planned. The orange beads are predominant on this side and the maroon ones on the other side. Because the magnetic clasp is two sided, she can wear the bracelet so that the side of her choice shows.

June bjp pin

2009-07-14T08:11:00.001-07:00

The June pin was inspired by the flower in Lisa Kan's book Bead Romantique. This flower has 4 layers of beads done in herringbone stitch.

May and July bjp pins

2009-07-09T06:24:00.001-07:00

The May pin is a peyote ruffle around a rose cathedral rivoli. I found this pattern, designed by Susan Mandel, in the April 2009 Bead and Button magazine.

The July pin is a peyote trillium flower designed by Diane Fitzgerald in her new book, Shaped Beadwork:Dimensional Jewelry with Peyote Stitch.

graduation gift

2009-05-06T12:59:00.001-07:00

My grandson, Julian, graduates from high school on May 16th. I have made him a gift of a quilt for him to take to college. He will go to Northern Michigan University in the fall. His favorite color is green--can you tell? Below is a detail of some of the fabrics--all batiks.

April bjp pin

2009-04-26T08:40:00.001-07:00

My April bjp pin was inspired by a photo of a spring flower on my friend Dee's sister's blog. I don't know the name of the flower. I loved the wonderful combination of colors. This is my first time doing the herringbone stitch. I found the directions for the fuchsia part of the flower in the April 2009 Bead & Button magazine. The center is a peyote stitch circle of beads.

Springtime bracelet

2009-04-04T11:40:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist making a bracelet to celebrate Springtime.

more necklaces

2009-04-04T08:44:00.001-07:00

I've paired lapis beads with these ceramic beads. The other necklace is jade with tubular ceramic beads. Both necklaces are 17-1/2 inches long, as is the turquoise one.

turquoise necklace

2009-04-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

I recently bought these sweet little Nacozari turquoise beads (I had to look that up on line)--I love the soft color. I'm heading to Arizona next week, so it seems like the perfect place to wear it.

Tassels the "Dee way"

2009-04-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

What fun! I've learned a fast way to make a tassel from my friend Dee. The golden one has the kitty overseeing turtles and fish in the pond. Somehow the seahorse also appeared to be an overseer.

This red tassel is all red with no other color distractions. The bead at the top is one that I purchased at a craft store on Prince Edward Island. I do love red!

March bjp pin

2009-03-24T13:02:00.001-07:00

It's a little early for the peepers to be on our NH pond, but with the weather getting warmer and the snow melting, I am ready.

Rivolis with a new twist

2009-02-13T10:05:00.001-08:00

These look a lot like the rivolis I have beaded before, but there is a difference. Instead of a combination of seed beads and delicas, these have three different size delicas--10s, 11s, and 15s. This means that the 15s cinch the final row of beading much neater.
The rivolis shown are 27mm Cathedral, 15mm x 20mm Heliotrope, and 18mm Sapphire.
(These rivolis are very difficult to photograph so that the "fire" in the bead shows.)

January bjp pin

2009-02-06T12:37:00.001-08:00

As soon as I finished the heart for February, I knew that I wanted January to look icy. (sometimes ideas are a bit backward) NH this winter has been very snowy and cold, so icy seemed very appropriate. The checkerboard is slightly raised so that icicles are dripping down from the raised layer.

February pin

2009-01-25T06:20:00.001-08:00

I decided to skip doing my January pin for now as I knew what I wanted to do for February. This is the fourth heart pin I have made in the last two years, but the first one for me. I try to make each different. This one has a lacy edge like a Valentine. The square beads are red with an AB finish that appear golden in the photo, but are more red in real time.

December bjp pin

2009-01-12T12:46:00.001-08:00

This image was in my head for a long time before I finally got out the beads and made it. The four red beads are very bulky, so the middle fringe really stands out.

November bjp pin

2008-12-14T07:30:00.000-08:00

To me, November is a time of beautiful brown leaves still on the oak trees. My first thought when making this was of a brown-eyed Susan flower, but the oak leaves also play into the feel of the colors. Note the interesting design on the cabochon. Any ideas what kind of stone this is? (I haven't a clue.)

7 facts about me (Caroll tagged me)

2008-11-05T12:14:00.000-08:00

1. I was born in NH, grew up in Illinois, and have lived in NH the last 38 years. My older daughter has done just the opposite from me.
2. When I was little I could fly down the stairs. I remember the sensation of taking off on the top step and only touching down once or twice before the bottom. I guess I should tell you that my father often gave me a ride on his shoulders when we descended, so I'm sure this fed my imagination.
3. I began having severe migraines when I was 9 and reactions to chemicals, perfumes, smoke, fossil fuels, etc when I was in my 30's. These are things that I constantly have to battle. I am still trying to get my migraines under control.
4. I love cats! I have three with international names--Katze, Minou, and Gatinha (Portugeuse).
5. I have a room full of crafty projects I enjoy--beading, quilting, weaving, bookmaking, knitting, felting. Right now beading and weaving are winning my attention.
6. I am an early riser, anytime between 3:30 and 5am. This is my favorite time to read.
7. A friend and I get together at least once a month for an afternoon of Quiddler and Rummikub.

27 mm rivoli pendants

2008-11-04T12:12:00.001-08:00

If you look at some of my older posts, you will see that I love rivolis. These 27mm are the largest rivolis that I have tried beading.

October bjp pin

2008-11-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

I want to get more dimension in my work, and this one has. I made a rather subdued ruffle, a twisted line, plus lots of little branch fringe. The inspiration for this piece was a vial of mixed blue beads of two sizes of bugles and two sizes of drop beads.

September bjp

2008-10-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

This little peapod charm represents one of my favorite vegetables. I used to love to go out in my father's huge garden and pick some for supper. I could never seem to get enough fresh peas to eat.

More rivolis

2008-10-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

I am having fun combining some of the rivolis. The tiny ones are 12 mm. The ones on the left are 18 mm and 16 mm. The ones on the right are 18mm and 14mm.

This is a square 18mm rivoli that I made into a pendant for a friend.

This unfinished bracelet still needs to have more beads around the edge. The rivolis are 18 mm each. The round end of the toggle was very challenging and this was my third attempt to make it. I found the instructions for the toggle ends in Laura McCabe's book, Creating Chrystal Jewelry with Swarovski.

I love those Rivolis

2008-10-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Can you tell that I am smitten with these rivolis? I started beading them in late spring and continued throughout the summer.

I plan to hang these on my Norfolk Pine house plant at Christmas time. This plant is 3 feet tall and will be filled only with beads.

Some of these will also be gifts for family and friends.

I have only used 14mm, 16mm, and 18mm rivolis and surrounded them with peyote stitch.

Nora's tassels

2008-10-01T04:22:00.002-07:00

While my grand-daughter, Nora, was visiting this summer, she made tassels for herself and two of her friends. She used some of the leftover cord from my tassels to make these. She used a large finding on hers so that she could attach it to the wide strap of her school bag. The two for her friends are on split rings, so they can easily attach them to their back packs. She had lots of fun going through my bead stash to pick out beads for this project. Below is how her tassel looks attached to her school bag.

tassels

2008-09-30T05:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier this summer I made some finger woven tassels following Robin Atkin's book, Beaded Treasures. What fun! Now I have them hanging in my studio to enjoy. I loved hunting for beads to fit the color themes.

Tagged

2008-06-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Dee

1. What were you doing ten years ago?

I was completely immersed in weaving and quilting. As a weaver I was a member of the state weaver's guild plus also started a small group of local weavers in a study group. As a quilter I was a member of the local quilter's guild, a member of a small art quilt group, plus attended many quilt shows--Vermont Quilt Festival and Lancaster, Pennsyvania quilt show were the highlights of that year. I was weaving and quilting up a storm. I hadn't yet tried beading, so didn't realize how this would eventually take over my life.

2. What are five things on m to-do list?

Well, I still am into weaving so I have a floor loom to warp for napkins plus a table loom to warp for bookmarks.

I am presently beading rivolis and am halfway on a bracelet of deep blue ones. I am also beginning a beaded tassel using Robin's finger weaving techniques.

I also have plans to do some wet felting, now that I am at my summer home and can be as messy there as I want.

3. Snacks I enjoy -- fresh fruit salad including strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, watermelon, papaya, pears, apricots, black cherries, peaches, bananas, and kiwi.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.

My first thought is to split it four ways with my two daughters and two grandchilren. I would like to see them be able to do everything they would like to do without the constraints of bills and having to watch every penny.

5. Places I have lived.

Claremont, NH
Spring Valley, OH
Michigan City, IN
Oswego, IL
Evanston, IL
Cambridge, MA
Belmont, MA
Thetford Center, VT
Hanover, NH
Etna, NH
summers in Sunapee, NH

6. Peeps I want to know more about.

This one is not happening right now. Why don't all the people I would like to know more about have blogs?

Silk fusion hanging

2008-05-17T12:41:00.000-07:00

I finally have my silk fusion pages mounted and hanging in my great room. I decided to mount the pages back to back in pairs and attached to an ecru satin ribbon. Each side of the hanging shows 6 pages. I have them hanging so that I see one side when going from my studio to the great room, and the other side on the return trip.

Beaded page accordian books

2008-05-09T06:52:00.001-07:00

I have made two accordion booklets out of my encrusted bead pages. The upper one is January through June and the lower one is July through December. I decided to put them in this order because the colors seemed to have a better flow.

The beaded pages are mounted on heavy paper handmade by Langdell Paper in E. Topsham, Vermont. I visited the business last November and fell in love with his paper.

I plan to mount my silk fusion pages on another piece of the Langdell Paper.

My last three silk fusion pages

2008-04-27T06:04:00.001-07:00

I have finally finished my silk fusion series. This one is for November and includes some little star flowers.

We had such a beautiful and snowy winter. My December page is a remembrance of the snow that seemed to fall from the sky almost daily.

My April page is a pansy that I made from the Beaded Garden book by Diane Fitzgerald. Pansies appeared in the local stores during the month and are one of my favorite signs of spring.

To see my May silk fusion page, you need to look back in my archives. I made the page a year ago when I first signed up to be a participant in this bead journal journey.

May encrusted page and three silk fusion pages

2008-04-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is the May page in my series of encrusted bead pages--and the last. May is when our grass is finally green and the leaves will burst forth on our trees just before Mother's Day. It is late here in NH, but all the more appreciated after a very snowy and cold winter.

I found these fantail fish at a local bead shop. I just had to make them swim on a silk fusion page. Is there such a fish as a fantail cat fish?

I am heavily influenced now by the spring blooms. I do love seeing the flowers popping out of the ground. The crocus are finally blooming with daffodils showing buds.

This butterfly is from the book The Beaded Garden by Diane Fitzgerald and is done with brick stitch. This definitely makes me think of the summer months to come.

2008-03-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

I gave my older daughter a beaded heart pin last year which she wears on Valentine's day in her classroom (this year first grade). A fellow teacher asked if I would create one for her--this is the pin that I made. I have made several pins in the last year and think I will continue doing this for my next year of bead journal projects.

I am way behind doing my silk fusion pages. This one is for September. I like making little beaded beads so the flower was fun to try. The leaves are brick stitch. The flower makes me think of my Mother's favorite flower, the Aster. My father would give her a large bouquet of them every year on her birthday on September 5th.

This April page includes my first attempt at doing the basket weave effect with bugle beads. It reminds me of weaving. Perhaps because I am also a weaver I really like this stitch.

My March page has a cabochon, which was the starting point for my design. I find I really like using bugle beads and arranging beads in some sort of swirl.

More silk fusion pages

2008-01-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

Last summer I started two series of beaded pages. I have now made 9 encrusted pages, but only 3 pages (May, June, and August) on silk fusion, paper that I made. I figure it is time to catch-up.

This is my silk fusion page for July. We live on an island on a NH lake in the summer and go by boat to see the 4th of July fireworks. This is my interpretation of one of the fireworks.

In January we often have ice on branches, as well as snow on the ground. This depicts the icy tips of branches in the early evening when the snow reflects the blue of the sky.

February page

2008-01-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!
This page makes me think of an old fashioned Valentine with a lace border. The beading just seemed to flow onto the fabric. The center is moss stitch, a new stitch for me. It gives nice texture to the piece.

January page

2008-01-13T08:26:00.001-08:00

What a month it has been, and it is barely half over. We had lots of snow in December and the first part of this month. In our yard, we had about two feet on the ground plus 5 foot snow mounds at both the top and the end of the driveway. We were able to snow shoe several times in the yard and through the adjoining woods. This is such a beautiful time of the year in New Hampshire.
Last week, after single numbers, the weather turned warm with occasional rain. The snow began to disappear way too fast. On Friday we had sleet, freezing rain, and the trees were laden with ice. I loved the icicles hanging from the railings on the deck. The trees are so pretty when icy, but some of the young birches had their tips on the ground. We were lucky to have the ice melt overnight.
This month my page is reminiscent of the sparkling icicles.

December page

2008-01-07T07:50:00.001-08:00

December, with the longest day of the year, feels like a long starry night. This month I tried for the first time a peyote ruffle plus added colonial embroidery knots. Again I have chosen to not fill the page with beads. The different blues means the ruffle really stands out.

A few etc.

2008-01-07T03:34:00.000-08:00

I made these little booklets, each around 4-1/2 inches square, for my weaving study group friends. They are made with covers of Lokta paper, Japanese sketch paper inner pages, and waxed linen thread sewing them together. I added beads on the ends of each linen thread for decoration.

This scarf was a commission for my friend Margo. She cuts my hair then for payment she barters for some of my woven pieces. It has a tencel warp and a silk weft. The pattern is a herringbone twill. She doesn't like fringe, so I made a hemmed edge. The combination of tencel and silk is soft and drapey.

November encrusted page

2007-11-17T10:55:00.001-08:00

In the spirit of trying new techniques, this month I found a batik in my stash (I am also a quilter) that had a leaf on it. This beaded leaf is on top of the batik leaf. I almost felt guilty working over a given design, but then assuaged my guilt when I realized that I hadn't tried this before.

Leaves are now brown on the oaks and brown and dried on the ground from the maples, etc. This is one of my favorite times of year when it is cooler outside and I can see through and into the woods. I've always loved the color range of browns, although I'm now wondering why I used so few in this piece.

October

2007-11-08T10:31:00.000-08:00

Our trees were a little late turning this year, but the foliage display of reds, oranges and yellows were wonderful in New Hampshire. They also lasted longer than usual. This is also the month for pumpkins, so orange was my color of choice.
Instead of a swirl of bugles, I had fun making a swirl of a rainbow of oranges. I do love this color and own lots of it in varying shades.

September

2007-11-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

September was a beautiful and very sunny and warm month in New Hampshire. I purchased the swirl beads mid-month and knew that I needed to include them in this piece.

Note that I am beading even less of the background.

August

2007-11-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

For August I decided to continue the hot theme and beaded this piece in red-oranges. I tried a slightly different swirl, but in transparent beads that do not stand out as much. The center eye is a stack of beads that stand up from the page.
I also found that I was comfortable not completely filling the page to the edges.

July encrusted page

2007-11-08T07:39:00.001-08:00

July was a red hot month (although not that hot here in New Hampshire compared to other parts of the country), so felt that my page needed to reflect that.

This page has twisted bugles, which add some sparkle to the swirl. I also tried sewing on flat sequins and added fringe to the little flowers.

June encrusted page

2007-11-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

I am making two series of beaded pages--silk fusion pages and what I call encrusted pages. This is the first in my encrusted page series.

I plan to use a different main color each month and try new techniques to me.

This very green one includes a cabochon, my first time trying that, plus more of the bugle swirls.

Silk fusion pages

2007-11-07T05:44:00.000-08:00

The page with flowers is the May silk fusion page. The ribbon and glittery threads are imbedded in the silk fusion.

The green page is for June. The leaves and earth had matured to a deeper green. This is my first attempt at doing swirls. The resulting page makes me think of a sea horse.

The fish scene is my August page. I received these two fish in an assortment of beads and wanted to give the feeling of being underwater. I spend summers on an island on Lake Sunapee, so my mind is definitely on the scene before my eyes, as well as the fish thatswim in the lake and under our dock.

Bead Journal Project

2007-11-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

I joined the Bead Journal Project in mid-May 2007, a few days after the trees had leafed out in their new spring green in New Hampshire. Even though the project officially began in June, I couldn't help but make a May page showing the flowers of early spring.

My May page is sewn on silk fusion that I made about a year ago. I decided to keep the design simple so that the fibers of the silk. This piece/page is 4 inches square.