Sunday, January 21, 2007

The Sunday Files - and a question



I've been working on AmuseInk's Pyra, and have stopped because it doesn't look right to me. I thought I'd post pictures here, and see if anyone in the blog-isphere had suggestions. Pyra is supposed to be a peyote stitched bag. I tried doing the beading in the round, meaning that both front and back are worked at the same time. Now that I have an inch or so done, it looks weird. It doesn't really sit flat and nice like I think a bag should - it kind of stick open and looks funny. I'm tempted to take out what I have and re-do it, but I thought I'd ask for suggestions first. As an added incentive, anyone who comments and offers a suggestion is eligible for a bead draw! I'll pick a name and send them a bead (or beads or something even cooler than just a bead, depending on my mood at the time) for their time. Everyone is eligible for the draw - it doesn't matter if this is your first time to the blog, or I've gifted you with something before or you've never commented before - it's all good. Just leave a comment. I'll make the draw from all of the comments received by the end of Friday, January 26th.
(And Michelle - I haven't forgotten that I owe you something, it's just that I'm tryin' to do something nifty and it's not worked out yet. Soon, I promise!)

I also have an Alhambra update. If only I got this much done every week. I'm now motivated as I'd love to join the St. Petersburg Chatelaine that starts in April, but I need to get this one done before I spend more money. I'm looking at going on a trip between Prague and Moscow, through Poland and other places in Russia. I'm *really* hoping it happens - I have to re-arrange somethings at work and it depends on the trip actually running, which I can't control, but we'll see how this all works out.

I also have a bead update! I finished this set of tiger beads this weekend. I'm quite enamoured with a few of them - I don't know what they'll look like on your monitor, but in real life they're a deep rich carmel colour. I'm not totally convinced it's a true tiger colour, but I *love* the colour that they are - perfect for jewellery. I have a couple of trial beads in blue. I was trying out different types of vine cane on these ones. Vine cane is the background of the beads - it's supposed to look like a vine, and it sort of does on these beads, even though it's blue. I have three different types of vine cane on these ones - blue with lots of black (left bead), blue with a little black (right bead) and blue with darker blue (middle bead). I think I like the blue with a little bit of black - it provides enough contrast without being over the top. I'll likely make a set of these when I get a chance. These beads are all from the new set of tools that I bought from Zoozii's a couple of weeks ago. I'm still figuring out how much glass goes in them to produce the correct shape, but getting the hang of it slowly. The bead on the left is a "nugget" and the beads in the middle and right are "sprees" or straight sided lentils.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, I've done flat-peyote and tubular-peyote (beaded beads), but I've never stitched an amulet bag, so I'm not really sure I'm going to be helpful... but I did a quick Google, and I did find reference to people doing it both ways (flat, joined with a seam, and tubular, pressing it flat afterwards), so I guess it's up to personal preference. It does look a little weird right now, but maybe will be fine once you squash it flat? I would hate to undo that much beading, personally!

Love the tiger beads, btw. Especially that middle one. Lovely.

Anonymous said...

I've never done peyote beading, wish I could help you but can't. Alhambra looks great.

Christine S said...

I love the new beads and Alhambra!!! They all look fantastic.

As for the peyote stitch, the only time I've done it was making a beaded needlecase. The design was beaded around a round needlecase, so it needed to be that shape. Maybe the bag will flatten out more as you go along?

Anonymous said...

I know zip about beads. I just stop by to oohhh & aahhhh. Looks like you've been a very busy gal lately. I wish I was getting that much done!

Carol said...

My day is totally brightened once again to see your gorgeous Alhambra Garden! Thank you!

Amy said...

Ok, here's my "professional" opinion (LOL - yeah, right!): It looks fine so far to me. I looked at the enlarged picture, and all the peyote looks correct. I've never done a bag, so I don't know much about it, but my guess is that as you keep going, the weight of the bag will flatten it out. As you know, glass beads are HEAVY, especially when there's a lot of them! I'd say give it another inch and then decide. Love the colors though! And Alhambra looks snazzy!!

Anonymous said...

The bag is looking good. I've done several amulet bags. They will flatten down when finished. The stiffness is related to your tension. Let me ask - are you working around a form? When you started, were your beads snug against each other? One pattern that I have read instructions for suggests putting three extra beads on when you tie the knot around your form. Then once the form is to that size, break the beads off with pliers. This will give you about 1/4 inch play and make your tension slightly looser. Does that make sense? Good luck with your bag! One of my first peyote pieces was A Muse Ink's PMS Doll! She was a lot of fun to do!

Tracey
http://www.threadedneedledesigns.com
http://www.tangledthreadfestival.com

Anonymous said...

I have never done beading like this, so I'll be no help, but I did visit the link and that bag is amazing! I will be watching your progress on this.

Anonymous said...

Now, this is one of those replies... but for a peyote-illiterate me it looks all good.

Unknown said...

Peyote bag is all tension related - I have a very tight tension so mine will stand up on its own as well. When you are done with the bag you can work it some with your hands and get the thread to stretch some and it will become more supple for you.