The Bead Spot

Happy New Year's Eve! It's been years since I've made resolutions, because without fail, I will break at least one of them before the first day is up. But I've decided to make one this year: To learn to sew. There are lots of things I'd like to be able to make: clothes for my daughter, dolls, quilts. But I have yet to even fire up the sewing machine my mom gave me back in July. So I'm making a resolution this year to relearn how to sew and read patterns. My first project will be a bag my sister-in-law* gave me for my birthday. She also recommended Tilly and the Buttons as a great resource for learning. What craft-related resolutions do you have for this year? *My sister-in-law sews and knits everything from quilts to toys. Her website is Knottygnome.com .

Before I started sorting one of my bead boxes for the umpteenth time, I started a daisy chain with fall colors. I haven't decided what I'm making yet, a necklace, a bracelet, both? It's on hold until I get the sorting done; maybe by then I'll have decided.

I've had the worst luck keeping this bead box organized. I mentioned in an earlier post that my daughter had knocked the box off of the kitchen table when she first learned to walk. Thankfully, the lid was closed, but it still mixed up the beads quite a bit. So, I emptied the box and started sorting through the beads, adding them back to their respective sections. Several months ago, my daughter picked up the box and shook it, kind of like a rattle, because it made an interesting noise. I was a little too slow to realize what that noise was, so she got them mixed up pretty good, and once again, I had quite a mess in the box. While in the process of sorting it yet again, I left the box open on my desk and knocked it over as I was reaching for something else. Beads went everywhere into my living room carpet, so yet again, I started sorting them. I still had quite a ways to go when I knocked the box yet again, this time, it flipped just once and thankfully, the lid was on, but

Anyone know where I can buy some more of these bead trays, or something similar? I got this one at Walmart several years ago. What I like about them is that you can seal them closed, making transporting a project in progress rather simple. However, the two trays I have are aging and just don't seal as well as they used to. I'd like to get some more, but I haven't been able to find them.

I spent the past week making more feather earrings like the one I did a few weeks ago -- another blue and white pair just like what I had before and one in Sooner red and white. Once I finish the red one, I want to make more earrings, I'm just not sure whether I'll keep with the same style, do some more round ones or start from scratch on the pattern. At this rate, I'll need to buy earring posts before too long, so that will be on my next bead order for  Fire Mountain Gems ,  Fusion Beads  or  Shipwreck Beads .

Ever since I first saw a trailer for the movie "Gone Girl," I've wanted to do two things, read the book AND watch the movie.* Apparently, I'm not the only one. I went to check out the e-edition from my local library and wound up at a waiting list that's 18 people long. Once I got the book, I sat down and started reading immediately. I put on hold any beadwork and home projects I had been working on and dove right in, and I have to say, it was definitely a page-turner.  But when I got to the end, I felt disappointed. (I won't say why because I don't want to give away spoilers. Besides, based on the book's popularity, I might be the only one who didn't care for it anyway.) My time, it seems, would've been better spent beading. *Quite often, when a movie based on a book gets my attention, I crave buying the book. I want to get inside the characters' heads in a way you just can't when you're watching the movie. And yet, for

As I tried to figure out how to make feather earrings a few weeks ago, I finally had the chance to do some in-depth work with Beader's Canvas  software. The Pluses Size Adjustments : One of the biggest challenges in plotting out a pattern by hand on graph paper is that all beads are not made the same, but all squares on graph paper are. Some beads are perfectly round, some are wider than they are long, and some are longer than they are wide. That means that a pattern will vary according to the type and size of bead used. Beader's Canvas allows for that, with the dimensions for Miyuki beads, including Delicas, and Toho beads already programmed in. Users can simply select the type (I used Delicas) and the size of the on-screen graph automatically adjusts. If you aren't using Miyukis or Tohos, you can manually enter the dimensions needed. Stitch Switch : I first started the feather project in square stitch, but unhappy with how all attempts were turning out, I sw

I've assigned myself beading days, three days a week in which I focus my at-home time creating beaded pieces and striving to develop my creativity. For three other days each week, I plan to work on DIY home projects such as decluttering, painting and redoing my kitchen cabinets. I'm tired of my house being incomplete, but at the same time, I want to stay on track with my beading goals.  For at least the first year or so after my husband and I bought our house, I worked on my home at least once a week. After a schedule change at work, though, that changed. It's not unusual for months to pass between DIY days.  And it's even harder to find the time now that we have a 3-year-old. So I've decided the only way it's going to get done is if I do it. But I don't want to lose sight of my beading goals in the process. I know myself well enough to know that I'll have a tough time sticking with my 3-days-of-beading, 3-days-of-DIY-plan, though. It will take more disc

At one of my nephew's football games a couple of weeks ago, a woman wearing beaded earrings made to look like feathers sat down in front of my mom and me.  "Mom, look at those!" I said. (My mom works with beads, too.) "I'm going to try to make some like that." Because I didn't know the woman wearing the earrings, I couldn't get as good of a look as I would've liked, so I have no idea what stitch was used or whether the beads were Delicas. I went home, fired up my Bead Canvas software and went to work trying to figure out how to make a feather out of beads. I initially tried a square stitch, because that's what I figured had been used on the earrings the woman was wearing. But no matter how I drew the beads, I couldn't come up with a feather I was satisfied with. So I switched to peyote stitch, then brick stitch, which is ultimately what I decided to use. They're not fancy, but I still like the way they turned out

On Tuesday, I was digging through my beading supplies looking for jump rings when I came across this peyote weave bracelet I started years ago but never finished. After several hours of work on it, I recall, I decided I didn't like it, and rather than toss the whole thing, I had decided to deconstruct it to save the beads. But on Tuesday, I started thinking that I was too critical, so now it's back on my to-do list. I don't know what type of clasp to put on it yet, but I think it's next on my list. I just hope I can figure out where I put the beads I was using. ...

I spent the past month working on a freelance project, but now that it's behind me, I've turned my attention back to beadwork. It's been a while since I've made rings, but because I've been in the mood to do projects that I can complete in one sitting, lately I've been pulling out my thin wire and making rings. ( Instructions for making rings .) In addition to the fact that it's a short project (I can complete a ring in about 15 minutes), I like that the materials travel well. The wire is thick enough that it's not likely to get knotted in a craft bag, and each small row is secure, so it's easy to stop at practically any point without worrying about losing a stop bead and a whole hour's worth of work. Plus, unlike with loom projects, all the stuff I need can fit in a rather small package. Therefore, this week, during my lunch hour at my day job, I've been pulling out my wire and beads, strapping on my headphones and spending my free ti

For as long as I've been beading, I've been wrestling with photographing my work. I've never been much of a photographer. Any good shots I have were the result of pure luck. One problem I have is that I have no idea how to hold a camera steady -- an absolute must when you're trying to get a photo of tiny little seed beads. My sister-in-law suggested I get a tripod, so I've put one on my to-buy list. However, even a tripod won't stop me from accidentally moving the camera when I click the shutter button, which clumsy me does just about every time I take a photo. So I went looking for a way to click my camera remotely, and what I've discovered is that I already have one -- on my iPhone. Did you know that clicking the "+" button on iPhone headphones will snap pictures? (Or at least it will on the iPhone 5 ... I don't know about other versions.) Now that I've found a way to hold the camera steady, I can start working on bigger things ..

Here are some books on beading and other crafts that I enjoy. I welcome any information on titles you enjoy as well, so feel free to comment, either on books within the list or your own favorites. Beading "Contemporary Loom Beading: A New Look at a Traditional Stitch," by Sharon Bateman. "Art of Seed Beading," by Elizabeth Gourley, Jane Davis and Ellen Talbott. "Beading in the Native American Tradition," by David Dean. "Little Bead Boxes: 12 Miniature Containers Built With Beads," by Julia S. Pretl. "The Beader's Guide to Color," by Margie Deeb. "Beadwork Creates Beaded Rings," edited by Jean Campbell. "The Beader's Bible," by Claire Crouchley. "Beadwork Creates Bracelets," edited by Jean Campbell. "Designer Beadwork: Beaded Crochet Designs," by Ann Benson. "Beaded Cords, Chains, Straps & Fringe,"  by Beadwork Magazine Other Crafts Basketmakin

I recently received the sewing machine my mom told me I could have. We still have to attach it to the cabinet, but for the most part, it's just waiting for me to relearn how to use it. My sister-in-law suggested I visit  Tilly and the Buttons to learn. The site, as she said, is very thorough, right down to telling me how to set up the machine. I have plans to make clothes for my daughter as well as tear dresses and dolls, but I know I got to start smaller. Maybe by this time next year, I'll be a pro.

I took a not-so-short break from blogging -- but not from beading -- over the past few months. With a lot going on at my paying job, blogging kind of fell by the wayside. In the meantime, I've made a few bracelets (left) and necklaces with beads that I've had a long time, I've started two sets of earrings, and in the interest of being able to bead while my toddler is home, I bought a large container of pony beads and some string, hoping my daughter would be content with to string up those while I work on projects. It didn't work like I'd hoped. The first time I got them out, she helped me string up necklaces, but she wasn't interested in making them on her own. I guess she's still too young for that. I love spending the time with her as we string beads. I only wish there were more hours in the day so I could get done all the projects I want.

I'd like to make a wallet out of deer skin. For quite some time, I've had an idea of how I'd like for it all to come together, so one day last week, I made a pattern on my computer, printed it out, pinned it to the deer skin and cut the shape. Immediately afterward, I began second-guessing my idea. What if, I thought, because of the thickness of the fabric, I have to take more for the seams than I had planned? What if the edges look bad? What if my needles won't go through the fabric? All of those "what ifs" spawned offshoots of my original idea, leaving me sitting there, holding the deer skin and wishing I could make up my mind. In short order, my deer skin project grinded to a halt once again. I am determined, though, to make some headway over the next week.

I took home economics* in ninth grade, and for one of our projects, we made shirts. Mine was blue with short sleeves. It didn't turn out too bad. Back then, I wasn't all that interested in hand-making anything, though, so I have not sewn anything (except for mending the occasional errant button) since then. Now, though, I'd like to learn again. My mom is giving me one of her machines, and I can't wait to give it a whirl. Can anyone recommend a good book for learning to sew on a machine? I need to know it all: How to load the bobbin, how to cut a pattern, how to read a pattern sheet, etc. Thanks for any suggestions. *When I was in high school, it was still called home economics, or home ec for short. Younger readers might be more familiar with the name "family and consumer sciences."

I bought some dual-hole Czech beads for the first time a few months ago, and after a lot of wondering what I could do with these little gems, I created these bracelets. I like the way they look, but I feel like they're very simple. I'd like to get really creative with them. I need to do some thinking. Has anyone other readers tried this? If so, what did you make with them?

Lately, I feel as if I'm having to rethink more craft projects than I'm completing. Several months ago, I started beadwork on deerskin, a first for me. I had read that some crafters will do the beadwork on felt first, then transfer it to the deerskin while others work on the deerskin only. Thinking working directly on the deerskin would look less bulky, I skipped the felt. Now I know I should've started with the felt. I had never stitched beads onto a surface like this, and I'm not very experienced at hand sewing at all. I was having to stick the deerskin with the needle so often to re-position stitches I had misjudged that ultimately the deerskin was getting very weak in places. Eventually, I just set it aside. Well, I'm about ready to have another go at this -- just as soon as I get the bead crochet thing figured out. This time, I'm going to do a few things differently: I will start with felt. If one day, I think I can handle doing all of

I can bead. I can crochet. I thought combining the two would be easy. For me, it hasn't been easy at all. I have instructions for a handful of crocheted bead-tube projects in several of the books and beading magazines I have, but, until this past week, I haven't tried any. After getting two more books from my husband's stepmom on crochet beading, I decided to finally give it a shot. The biggest challenge I'm having is seeing which layer of the work I need to pick up. I don't know if that's because the beads are in the way or if it's because I'm crocheting with much thinner yarn than I've used for past crochet projects. Either way, on each attempt to make a simple bangle, I've wound up with nothing but a cluster of beads and string that looks like no piece of jewelry I'd ever wear. I've unraveled it and started again several times. The last time I unraveled, the string broke. Perhaps my biggest error was thinking I could just dive ri

My wonderful husband, who reads my blog to give me feedback, surprised me with Bead Canvas , one of the few bead design software programs I mentioned in a September post . Here's a screenshot: Bead Canvas screenshot I haven't had much chance to work with it yet, with the holidays, snowstorms, freezing temps and nephews' basketball games all affecting my schedule, but so far, I'm very pleased with it! Setting the size of a project is as easy as setting up a table — set the rows and the columns — and assigning colors is as simple as dragging the tool across the cells you want. Users can change the format between brick, peyote, herringbone, loom, square and 3-drop gourd. I haven't made any patterns I intend to make yet; I've just been tinkering, trying to see how versatile it is. Once I have more experience with it, I'll do a follow-up review.