firecat: beads (beading)
[personal profile] firecat
It's [livejournal.com profile] wordweaverlynn's fault - she e-mailed me a little bit before Wiscon and asked if I wanted to participate in a group Fire Mountain Gems order. I thought I might, but of course in order to figure out what I needed, I first had to drag out and inventory my existing stash of jewelry stuff.

And while doing that I came across a bag full of beads and supplies that I had intended to use to make something along the lines of the "Floating Fantasy Necklace" from Beadstyle November 03 issue. I set that aside and started to work on it after Wiscon, only I found out that a number of the small beads I had chosen had holes too small to be strung on the waxed cord, and that I didn't have enough teardrop beads. What to do? I had received the [livejournal.com profile] botmo collection from May 07, entitled "Dragons in the Garden," and it had a lot of smallish flower and leaf beads, so I decided to use those along with the other beads I had set aside.

I made most of the necklace in one evening while watching my Two Fat Ladies videotapes. The videotapes are better than the Food Network version of the show, which cuts out a lot of fun stuff to make room for the commercials.

I used a dental pick to make the knots between beads. I got it from a guy who sells inexpensive hobbyist tools at the San Mateo County Fair.

The Beadstyle article doesn't explain how to make the macrame cord - it suggests a simplified cord with some overhand knots. I didn't like how that looked, so I did a web search to find basic macrame instructions. Somewhere in my search I found a tip that suggested you could tie the top of your macrame to the clip of a clipboard, so I used that instead of a macrame board.

dragon's garden knotted necklace

Date: 14 Jun 2007 08:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] saoba.livejournal.com
That is very seriously nifty.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 07:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bastette-joyce.livejournal.com
Great icon. :)

Date: 14 Jun 2007 11:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fimbrethil.livejournal.com
Nice work! I use the tip of a bead reamer for my knots but anything slender works. How does it drape?

Date: 14 Jun 2007 11:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
I use an awl, which has the deconstructive value of taking unwanted knots apart.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 07:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
If anybody does a lot of knotting cord or thread, I have a friend who knots pearls for part of her income and she has a nice tutorial (http://martinseclectic.net/Tutorials/PearlKnotting.htm) where she uses a fixed needle to knot.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 11:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bookofnights.livejournal.com
Oh wow! I love that. That's really beautiful.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 12:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] treacle-well.livejournal.com
Ooooo.

Nice.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 12:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] epi-lj.livejournal.com
I'm having a hard time figuring out how it would lie when worn, but it's really very cool. :)

Date: 14 Jun 2007 03:39 pm (UTC)
snippy: Lego me holding book (Default)
From: [personal profile] snippy
I like that very much, it's beautiful. I think the leaves add a lot, in both shape and color.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 05:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] auntysocial.livejournal.com
So the two fat ladies still have the power to inspire! I'm glad you took the time to learn a little macrame. The whole thing looks great!

Date: 14 Jun 2007 05:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] starcat-jewel.livejournal.com
Pretty! Not something I'd make, but all the more reason to admire it for that. (I have trouble with "random arrangement" stuff -- it never comes out looking right.)

Date: 14 Jun 2007 07:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bastette-joyce.livejournal.com
Ooooooooo!!!!

Beautiful! And so complicated.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 11:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 19-crows.livejournal.com
That's very beautiful! It looks like something I'd wear, but not make. I especially like the red leaf beads.

Date: 14 Jun 2007 11:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
We share some other cultural beliefs, so let me tell you why I don't buy from FMG. The primary reason is that they ask artists for samples, implying that they'll buy the lampwork/polyclay/PMC/etc. from them, and then a bit later, those designs turn up in the catalog made in China.

The secondary reason is that they've stopped being primarily a bead catalog and more of a cheap imported stuff catalog. Offering things like $5 beaded bracelets from China in bulk sets up the folks who are the competitors of the people who make items with good quality supplies and good skills.

If you're going to buy online, I'd recommend either http://www.riogrande.com or http://www.whimbeads.com for the type of beads in this piece. For pearls, stone, and some silver & gold, I'd recommend http://www.monsterslayer.com. Monsterslayer also takes scrap silver in exchange for store credit.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 12:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
I don't buy in bulk anymore, but it looks like Rio is still selling to the public:

https://www.riogrande.com/home/RioBenefits.aspx

just says you get a customer account if you make or (my emphasis) sell jewelry. There's an link for people who want to find already-made jewelry. I don't know what the questions are, but I can't imagine you'd fail. ;)

Incidently, I use a database to inventory my seeds, which is what I have the most of. Other stuff I can remember.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 10:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elisem.livejournal.com
I agree with you wholeheartedly about not buying from FM. Thank you for saying it.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 12:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dandelion-diva.livejournal.com
Oh, that's gorgeous and looks like it'd be fun to wear. :)

ohh.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 04:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] suzimoses.livejournal.com
So pretty.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 12:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lorres.livejournal.com
Very lovely!! Your choice of colors on the black cord is beautiful. Congrats on mastering all those knots! The itty bitty ones look like they took a great deal of patience!

Date: 15 Jun 2007 07:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
A couple more recommendations! Tigertail is cheap and you get what you pay for. It tends to break if it gets bent or kinked. I like Softflex (http://www.softflextm.com/) and I have friends who like Beadalon. They're much better cables and will cost about 20 cents more per necklace.

Also, to keep beads from spilling: I use tape "flags" -- just wrap a bit of tape over the end and let the ends meet off the cable, making a flag -- but I know people who use alligator clips or other kinds of clips at the end.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 08:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
Oh, very nice! I see the cat wants to claim it. The clips would work for that -- it's extra work taking them off and on every time you put another few beads on, but it does keep them safe.

And, er, I see a barrel clasp, which are the most likely to fail.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 09:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
Oh! I see, that's the center of the necklace.

BTW, I'm looking at pictures of the contenders (http://sql.whimbeads.com/personal/bnb.html) for the Bead Dreams contest at Bead & Button, you might like to see them. From an artistic standpoint, I'm not that fond of Nicole's church, which won, but it is unsupported and apparently that really wowed the judges.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 11:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mjlayman.livejournal.com
Oh, you bead-embroidered on top! That's very pretty.

I liked the first one with leaves & flowers, the one with different ribbons, and the fairy wreath (particularly for the flowers -- I wonder who made those). I thought the duck might be a dodo.

I'm not fond of pieces overloaded with stuff. I know other people like that and that's a good thing! I thought the church looked over-decorated although I'm not sure it could help looking that way at that size.

I read a Delphi bead board called All About Beads (owned by Beki of whimbeads.com) and Nicole describes (http://forums.delphiforums.com/beads2/messages?msg=6535.7) how she asked to get into the case to flip a crystal in the right direction, and then through to winning. You can read without getting a free membership.

Date: 15 Jun 2007 10:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elisem.livejournal.com
Very nice! A proper treasure necklace, that. And good to see the Dragons in the Garden beads having some fun.

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firecat: damiel from wings of desire tasting blood on his fingers. text "i has a flavor!" (Default)
firecat (attention machine in need of calibration)

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