Bouquet de Lavande Necklace

I saw the Bouquet de Lavande necklace kit at a Laura McCabe workshop in 2016. Even though I managed to restrain myself from buying it, I kept think it would suit Mum. So I finally bought it when I saw it again at the workshop with Laura one year later. 

The design includes my favourite beadwork techniques, bezelled rivolis and rhythmic tubular herringbone. As usual a found a way to make the finished item unique to me. This could also be described as reading the pattern wrong and doing my own thing! In this case one of the tubular herringbone straps should have been a different shade of green but I think I got away with it.

Laura warned us that the bar in the clasp could become weak so we should insert something in the peyote tube to strengthen it. I found that the filament used by 3D printers was the the perfect thickness. 

 Laura's instructions are very comprehensive and her kits are beautifully presented. I still have the 2 workshop designs to finish but it's only because of lack of time. I hope to get at least one of the them finished this year. I suspect I finished Bouquet de Lavande because I had an intended recipient . I don't seem to be quite so focused when it is something for me. I am happy to say Mum was very pleased with the necklace and had not trouble finding the perfect outfit to wear with it. 

Christmas 2019

It's been a long time since I updated my blog. I was really hoping to get this Christmas update done in January but it wasn't to be. The theme for the Christmas decorations this year was red, white and gold. I'd like to say it was planned, but in reality it was a happy accident which fortunately coincided with Jennifer and Christina's colour scheme for the family tree.

I bought the pattern and kit for the Poinsettia Angel from Stable Lodge Beads at the Havant Lace Fair in November 2019. The pattern is by Iceni Bead Designs and is available online as well. She was fun to make and very photogenic. There are a few things I would like to fix - the wings are a bit floppy and the halo is loose. If I am motivated enough, I will remake the wings using Fireline because it gives a crisper finish. There was one improvement I did make on the pattern. I felt the body was a bit squishy so Graeme 3D printed an angel torso for me. It worked very well and I think I will use more 3D inserts in future beading projects.

For a while I have been feeling the urge to go back to bobbin lace. I picked up Christine Springett's Seven Pointed Star pattern at Havant Lace Fair in 2018. It was a nice pattern to make and didn't take too long. Japanese Embroidery takes up most of my time these days but I see more lacemaking on my horizon in the next couple of years.

While I was busy making bobbin lace, my sewing machine was making free standing lace stockings and mittens. These designs from Urban Threads are very well digitised and worth the money, especially if you manage to buy them in the sale!

The final decoration I made was the Anastasia Bauble kit from Spellbound beads. It wasn't ready in time for Christmas but it will be ready in good time for next year. When I started the hanging loop I realised I had used the wrong beads for the finials on top of the bezelled rivolis. I toyed with the idea of completely remaking the kit but I think I will leave it as it is and adjust the hanging loop to use the beads I have left. Love the decadent fringe on this bauble. It brightens up my window sill quite nicely.