Beading from Wolf Hall

By: ornamento.blog
Art, beads, Personal History, Right Angle Weave, , , 2 Comments on Beading from Wolf Hall

I’ve been doing a lot of reading during the Pandemic.  I’m currently working my way through Wolf Hall  by Hilary Mantel, a book I heartily recommend. It takes place during the reign of Henry VIII and focuses on the life and career of Thomas Cromwell, one of his closest advisors.   I’ve written before how I find distasteful (!) many of the aspects of the Elizabethan world. (Although I am also working on family genealogy and learning a little about what life was like for some of my ancestors who lived through it.)  Let’s just say that religious fanaticism is nothing new and leave it at that.

I’ve gotten to the part in the book where Anne Boleyn becomes queen.  The book concentrates more on the history and personalities and does not contain detailed descriptions  of clothing and jewelry.  Still, there are some and it got me to thinking and I pulled out some of my unfinished bead design projects.  I was trying to design a necklace as a surprise afor a person (who I considered a part of my funky extended family) who loved Renaissance Fairs and was also into beading.  But she died unexpectedly and I put the project on mothballs.

Maybe I’ll take it up again.  Many of the pieces use cubic right angle weave, a stitch that was very hot at the time.  I also love cross-weave beading (right angle weave is but one form of this)  and was experimenting with that stitch as well.  Here are some pictures. Rest easy Wendy and thanks for inspiring me.

Triangle Beaded Beads

By: ornamento.blog
Art, beading, On Line Video, Right Angle Weave, tutorial, tutorials, , , , Leave a Comment on Triangle Beaded Beads

I have been experimenting with cross weaving which is sometimes referred to as two needle right angle weave.  It definitely uses a different set of “head muscles” than single needle RAW, but it’s not that difficult to learn.    Below are some examples of beads that I discovered by accident while trying to do something else.    My beads are not new discoveries; I have since found other examples of them  on the Internet.

Triangle weave is not right angle weave strictly speaking because the beads are not pointing at right angles,  but it lends itself to a great deal of possibilities depending on the size and shape of the beads you use, how long you keep repeating the pattern, and the manner in which you repeat the pattern.   You can also weave a pattern similar  similar to hexagon angle  weave that to my eyes resembles more of a star pattern than regular hexagon weave.  Then again, these are more likely the same  patterns but they look different to me  depending on whether I use oval-shaped beads or round beads.

The two beaded beads below are extremely simple to make.  The one you see here  is made from six  beads.

I have been experimenting with cross weaving which is sometimes referred to as two needle right angle weave. It definitely uses a different set of “head muscles” than single needle RAW, but it’s not that difficult to learn. Below are some examples of beads that I discovered by accident while trying to do something else. My beads are not new discoveries; I have since found other examples of them on the Internet.

 

This bead is made from nine beads and I have added some seed bead accents.  

The 12 bead beaded cube is the easiest one of all to make.  Here is a good video tute to get you started.

Give these beads a try if you are interested in learning some of the more complex bead cross weaving.

The Best of Step By Step Beads

By: ornamento.blog
Art, beading, beads, Bracelets, Brazil, Budapest, crystals, Ethnic Jewelry, Europe, Hungary, inspiration, Interweave Press, Netted Beadwork, Netting, Personal Growth, Right Angle Weave, Rio De Janeiro, , , , 1 Comment on The Best of Step By Step Beads

I got a nice surprise this week when I learned that  my Tokyo Rows beaded bracelet project made it into Interweave’s  collector’s edition of  The Best of Step By Step Beads.


The Japanese Flower motif is not original with me but I love it because it lends itself to so many variations.   It’s easy to take one flower and make a simple pendant, and that’s just one example.

Here are some brooches based on the same motif

I once thought that  Japanese bead work made the most interesting use of the beaded flower until  I saw some stunning Brazilian pieces using this motif when I visited Rio De Janeiro a few years ago.  Here is one of the bracelets I bought there, that’s a variation of the design.

With forty projects, there’s plenty of material in The Best of Step By Step Beads to keep you busy for awhile.  The best part of developing a design, however, is when someone takes it in a new direction.   Triche Osborne ‘s  Candy Wheels Necklace is just one example of how you can take a beading concept and make it your own.

Thank you Interweave!