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| preview: a big pile of the work I photographed this morning |
I finally got out the camera and the light box this morning and took some pictures. Above is a preview of some of the blog entries coming soon. Today I''m sharing the gold and blue piece.
A few years ago I caught a glimpse of
Gwen Fisher's Archimedes Star, but I didn't have the pattern.
Beadwork recently had a 50% off deal on back issues so I grabbed the Aug/Sept 2009 issue. I have been reading
Maggie Meister's Classical Elegance and am currently enamored of the gold and anything color combination.
I ordered a great cache of gold beads in all sorts of sizes and finishes to see what I liked best for various projects. Here I combined some
Preciosa Ornela champagne gold 11/0s with tiny 13/0
one-cut rocailles and Japanese
sky blue lined transparent light peach 11/0s. I've linked my sources and bead colors because I buy completely on-line. Perhaps once a year I get to a bead store and am able to buy seed beads, but mostly the stores I come across do not have the selection of seed beads I need. So I thought I would help out my fellow on-line buyers with the details. I can't tell you how many times I've ordered what I thought to be the perfect colors only to have something completely unlike the picture show up in my delivery. Don't I wish I had sample cards!
Although the pattern called for Japanese 11/0s and 15/0s, I decided that the smaller size of the Czech beads would be offset by the 13/0s. This worked out fairly well although the sky blue beads would have been easier to work with if they had been smaller Czech 11/0s as well, but in the end the piece is still very pretty. I like the antique feel the one-cut 13/0s give to the piece, but if I made another one I would use all Japanese or all Czech round beads for more modern, clean lines. I think the key to bead selection for me is to have opaque beads for the star and have jewel-like transparent beads fill the points.
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| I used Fireline and a size 12 needle and was able to make many passes through the beads. |
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| try this modified right angle weave |
I love the amazing Star of David motif repeated over and over in your beautiful design, Lois. Can't wait to see the rest!
ReplyDeleteWell done. I see another version of Archimedes star peaking out underneath the pile. I look forward to seeing it more clearly!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much ladies!
ReplyDeleteGwen - the other version you see is actually a pattern by La Bella Joya, but I just looked at the photo and I see the repeated triad of beads that makes it look like an Archimedes star, plus in making it, it also uses a group of six points (six 4mm's) to form the unit. Now you've got me running to pull out the bracelet and look more closely. Lovely math!
It's funny how designs overlap like that.
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