another piece finished

As a result of my taking a day on Sunday to play, I have this lovely piece of jewelry complete.

Using the two new techniques I taught myself, I finished up this piece last night.

The stone is a really nice piece of mahogany tiger eye (it measures about 3/4 inch in diameter), and the "chain" is all worked in size 11 delicas using Right Angle Weave (aka: RAW).

The RAW is the most amazing stitch. Most of the instructions have you actually working around and around, but I just couldn't "get it" that way, so I did a flat piece the size I wanted the outside to be then "zipped" it by working the last row between the two edges of the flat piece. In a way the structure reminds me of when we would use those 4 pieces of plastic to "weave" lanyards when we were kids (it is based on 4 beads -- thus the Right Angle name), but it moves and flows like some of those serpentine chains...a very interesting feel.

I'm sure I'll be doing more with this stitch!


Meantime, I've decided to rework a piece that I've had for a while.

I originally did this piece in 2003, and it was the first one where I started thinking about beads as a painting medium, as well as the first one that really was a multi media piece.

At the show in Springfield it got a lot of looks, but I think the main issue is that it looks unfinished.

For one thing, its not quite square, and for another, I think it can be improved with some sea themed fringe.

I've pulled out a lot of blue/green materials and some shaped beads and we'll see where this all goes.