All about jewellery making

Lately I have been getting back into beadweaving and enjoying its therapeutic qualities.  Top of my list have been spiral ropes as I just love the final effect achieved by what is essentially a fairly simple stitch.  I couldn’t show them before because the blue one was a present for my Mum on Mother’s Day - the beautiful blue shades made quite a striking eyeglass leash.  Here is a picture of the whole piece:

It was difficult to gauge the appropriate finished length but Mum was very pleased and when she tried it on it fitted great.  Wasn’t sure if it was a bit too flamboyant but she loved it.  Watch this space for a tutorial on beaded spiral ropes coming soon!

Recently I have been working on this necklace.  It was to be a new piece to wear for the University concert last night but I did not finish it in time.  This was my first attempt at creating a necklace from the St Petersburg chain beadweaving stitch featured in the April 2007 edition of Bead and Button.  My version of this beadwoven chain is made up of fire-polished faceted beads and size 11/0 seed beads.  Although Bead and Button suggested using 3mm faceted beads I only had enough 4mm so I used those instead.  This worked out fine although the final beadwoven fabric might lay slightly flatter by using the smaller size.  The heart bead is Murano style foiled lined glass (from my shop) and completes the piece which was inspired by the rich golds that can be found incorporated in Venetian glass designs.  Ultimately I am pleased with the result and I will probably wear it for the next concert instead!