June 30, 2012

African Stripes String-Along Begins



When I think about African beadwork, I envision lots of beads... a multitude of necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and headgear.  The African Stripes String-Along has just started and I've been making swatches of bead crochet to check both patterns and colors.  It occurred to me that I shouldn't waste those pieces as an armful of brightly colored bracelets would complement the pair of necklaces quite nicely. It isn't that hard to string 42" of beads and make the swatches into 7" bracelets.  It's also the perfect place to use an art bead as the closure.

 Marlene Brady  had the same idea, but with great polymer accent disks.  I hope more of the participants follow along and we see some different colored bracelets show up - enough for an armful. 
Meanwhile, we've been busy talking about bead colors and types. This is an adventurous group as I've heard plans for doing the necklaces in 15's, 10 Delicas, and 11's. Can you mix Toho and Miyuki beads?  I do and don't think it's a problem.  However it can be a totally different story if you mix Japanese beads and Czech beads.  Their shapes and sizes are different.  If you want uniformity in a rope, it won't happen with that combination.

Section #1 is out for crocheting.  I'm jumping into the deep end with drops in a section of triangular rope to serve as a transition area.  I'm working on the next section and I'm excited as I think the two are coming together better than I had imagined.

It's always a challenge to design to an image in one's mind and not have the beads force it into a different direction.



3 comments:

  1. Well that was a pleasant surprise. I was scrolling through my RSS feeds and saw my name. Thanks for that. Made my day. Your info on the bead sizes was very helpful-thanks. -Marlene

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    Replies
    1. You are quite welcome Marlene. You do great bead crochet and clay combinations.

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  2. I really like Marlene's bracelet with the discs. It looks great. Will be interesting to follow what others do.

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