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Monday, September 23, 2013

SNAKES, BUTTONS, AND KNOTS

Black and white bead crochet snake

     August was a month of finishing up a  few bead projects in between supervising 2 major house repairs.  First was the black and white bead crochet snake necklace for one of my favorite clients.  It was interesting working with only black, white, and grey; so few colors requires a different kind of patterning. 

Wire crochet with daggers, niobium button, and farfalle beads
 
My second exploration involved a niobium button from my friend Marti Brown of  The Dragon's Odyssey.  Marti makes lovely niobium components as well as creating jewelry and teaching classes.  For those who don't know much about niobium, it is a soft, grey, metal used industries such as steel production and space vehicles.  Luckily for those of us who love jewelry, niobium can also take on beautiful colors when heated and anodized
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 At first I was thinking about making a bracelet and using the button as a fastening but I wanted to try something different.  Then I put the button down on a wire crochet flower that I made a few months ago.  The niobium button looked like it was just waiting to be paired with the daggers from York Beads, another of my favorite stores.  Some farfalle beads and a fire-polish center worked to fasten everything together.
 
Micro-macramé bracelet from class with Joan Babcock

My final project of the month was to finish the micro-macramé bracelet that I started when I took a class with Joan Babcock at Bead and Button in June.  I need to work on my tension and some of my knots are backwards, but I was pleased to be able to follow the instructions and finish the project. I know--because I say this to my students all the time--that my work will get better with more practice.

 
 
  

4 comments:

  1. Adele, you did so much better than me with the micro-macrame - good job! I bought all of Joan Babcock's books and a ton of supplies and only did one simple necklace (never worn). I had no luck with it...no luck either with Marti's Viking Knit! I sincerely tried both crafts, but got a zero for my efforts!
    Jeanne Evans

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    1. Jeanne, taking a class with Joan was a big help to me; I am not sure I could have done my first macramé project on my own if she hadn't gotten us started.

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  2. Oh my, that snake, that snake! Its beauty and craftsmanship take my breath away. Just gorgeous.

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    1. Thank you. Since I usually incorporate about 5 colors in one of my snakes, this was an interesting design challenge. The client was happy as well.

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