Mérida

I have not actually fallen off of the face of the earth.  Just working and sleeping.  This week I finished yet another cuff.  I spotted this loom pattern at a blog from Spain - Ruxandrabolorios - and followed it to Rux's pattern site.
Since I don't loom, I used square stitch.  I used Toho Treasures for the cream and turquoise and Delicas for the copper and bronze.  Toho cylinder beads are just a little bigger than Delicas so I had a neat surface texture contrast that I decided to exploit. Because there are an odd number of beads in each row, I ended every row with a group of three beads instead of a group of two. Stitching back and forth means that there is a bit of unevenness in the way the beads sit.  I guess the best way to describe what I was after is a bit of a cobblestone texture.  I also used smoke Fireline which took away the yellowy quality to my cream beads and gave them a rather antique look.

Mérida

closes with two snaps

15/0 picot to match the DB-oo22L scrolls

Add caption

What is that on the cream beads?

At first I thought it was pollen.  We are covered in a fine yellow dust.  Seriously, it looks like South Georgia has been sprinkled with mica powder.  But no.  I made chili last night.  I toasted my dried chili peppers and ground them in a dedicated coffee mill.  I threw tomatoes in the blender with chipotles and adobo (I believe that is where I picked up the gunk in the photo).  I roasted my spices to bring out the flavors.  It was delicious, but the leftovers on the cuff - Yuck!  Gotta give these a scrub.