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

.

 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.