Florence Turnour's Blog

This peyote tube uses the same pattern as the first one except that I used different sizes of crystals. These top drilled bicones have always looked interesting to me, but I've not found a good use for them. Here, they make the tube quite stiff, so there was no need for extra reinforcement. Gwen used these beads in her version of Cindy's Sakura Charm . They look fantastic. For sale in Gwen's Etsy shop: http://www.gwenbeads.etsy.com I'm definitely going to have to give that a try. Time to order bicones; Fire Mountain Gems seems to have them on sale!

Here is my fourth or maybe my fifth attempt to make something using peyote stitch. It is stable, not to squishy and easy to make. I made fairly fancy ends (you can't see them from this angle) in an attempt to make it sturdy, and in the process figured out a better way to make it stable without the end structure. So on my next go, I'm going to forgo the end structure, and hope for a fuss-free non-squishy tube. In the meantime, I get to wear this one!

I made this movie by drawing on my iPad using a software called Doceri (Visit Doceri.com ). Doceri lets you play back your drawings one stroke at a time, or a few at a time, so it is easy to make animation like this. My kids like to watch their drawings draw themselves.

Benjamin has been asking me if he could sew with beads for a long time now, so one day, when he was home sick from school, I let him have a go. He did great. He seems to be a natural, actually. He picked up the small beads with his needle, and counted them twice to double check. I held the thing down while he stitched back through, but otherwise he did the whole thing by himself. Ta da! Here it is, the pretty little flower.

This is me, beading, back in 1973. And I'm still beading!

I'm beading again (la la la). I thought I'd share this pendant in turquoise and brown. The lighter roundels are probably chrisocola. I'm wearing it today!

Here's another picture of my new design. In the process of making this, I had a few (dozen) other ideas that I'd like to try, and I'm moving on.

Have you been following along as I log my progress toward a new design using herringbone with two different sizes of seed beads? I just finished my sixth piece in this effort. Here are the first four: http://florenceturnour.blogspot.com/2010/09/start-of-new-idea.html http://florenceturnour.blogspot.com/2010/10/start-of-new-idea-2.html http://florenceturnour.blogspot.com/2010/10/start-of-new-idea-3.html http://florenceturnour.blogspot.com/2010/10/start-of-new-idea-4.html http://florenceturnour.blogspot.com/2010/10/start-of-new-idea-5.html And (drumroll...) here's number 6. I'm liking how this one came out! Hey, Gwen ?!

Announcing beAd Infinitum 's first Design Team! Show your beAd Infinitum creations with links to our site in exchange for FREE PATTERNS! Call for Applications to Join beAd Infinitum's first Design Team beAd Infinitum is looking for a design team of 3 or 4 talented beaders to make and publicly display jewelry on the internet using our patterns. Term: We are looking for a 4- or 6-month commitment, beginning November 2010. During a design team member’s term, beAd Infinitum provides the team members with two patterns of his or her choice the first month, and a pattern of his or her choice each subsequent month of the term. credit and a link to the design team member’s blog, web site, and/or Etsy site on each gallery page featuring the team member’s work. a 50% discount on additional beAd Infinitum products during the term. this nifty design team banner to display on his or her blog. The design team members each commit to creating at least two beautiful pieces of jewel...

Back on track, I decided to repeat my attempt at try number 3, except with more beads, so the circle is larger. It came out nicely, and I like the effect of the herringbone decoration. I also like the color in this one. It wants a rivoli in the center! To go with that idea, I need to start with the rivoli and work outwards. So I didn't finish embellishing this one, or figuring out how to give it some structure (it is quite floppy). Shortly after Laura McCabe published that beautiful rivoli necklace pattern in Beadwork Magazine, we started seeing rivolis everywhere. We wondered if our Fringe Method technique would be a good way to capture a rivoli. In one of the rare occasions that Gwen and I were together in the same room, we quickly came up with the Rivoli Sunflower design, in which we modify the Fringe Method technique to accommodate the acute angles of the rivoli. Rivoli Sunflowers In my next attempt at a new design, I'm going to start with a rivoli captured by t...