I picked up the beads for this cuff over the summer at The Isle of Beads. Normally I'm not drawn to grey, but when I saw these I instantly grabbed a hank of the gold and knew what I wanted to make - The Groovy Cuff. None of the photos really show off the how pretty the grey-blue seeds beads are. The color combination really reminded me of something my great-grandmother Mildred would have appreciated. The top layer is made with pale blue-gray lined clear 11/0's and black diamond 15/0's. The wider bottom layer is matte metallic antique gold 11/0's and the same black diamond 15/0's. I really learned right angle weave working on this. Once I got into the rhythm it was pretty easy to keep stitching and stitching.
This is the piece that was in the December 2009 Beadwork as The Modern Art Cuff (also on the cover of the Favorite Stitches edition). I think I like the brighter, more whimsical colors of the magazine pieces a little better, but these colors are sort of the opposite and are definitely understated and easy to wear. As soon as I finished stitching I wanted to put it on and I found this sari silk ribbon shimmering all pink and gold so I never got around to making a proper clasp. I love the big bow which does not actually sit on top, but flops over the middle just as a regular clap would.
I have also been searching for some glass sequins with which to embellish this piece, but haven't found any I liked. All that I've run across are just too plasticy. Of course that doesn't mean much because I have very few places to look. At some point this weekend I'm headed to Havana, Florida (just north west of Tallahassee) to a little bead show. Maybe luck will be with me. Do you have any good sources for glass or other good quality sequins or metal discs?
2700 size 11/0 delicas...and more dog hair than I would have liked. This pattern was designed for loomwork, but I square stitched it. About 2/3 of the way through I discovered two-bead square stitch which would have made the work go a bit faster, but I didn't want to change the spacing. Oh well, next time. Being a beginner has its drawbacks.
I learned a lot about needle and thread size on this project. I realized that I should have been using a size smaller needle and probably size B Nymo instead of size D. It took breaking a couple beads to come to this conclusion. For this project, I did switch needles to John James sharps and I love them. They last a long time and do not bend and break like the cheapo needles I was using from the big-box craft store.
I also realized that I should have returned the Transparent Rainbow Inside Color Lined Candle Lit White (those would be the lightest color beads which form the thick scroll at the bottom) because even though these little guys are Delicas, this batch was just the slightest bit larger in diameter. I didn't think that it would make a difference, but I can tell, particularly in the bird's eye and the scrollwork around the bird's tail.
The pattern is Medina Bird from FusionBeads.com. I changed the clasp by square stitching two rows of beads for the base of each strappy thing to give a little more heft. If you want to make this, don't buy the quantities they suggest. Buy one bag of each color. That is all I needed and I have left overs of each color.
