The Bead Spot

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.