I was able to get a bit of beading done over the holiday (you saw my latest RBG necklace), which I finish one or two and have several in progress. It does give me a bit of anxiety having 'in progress' pieces knowing how quickly I will get pulled under once I'm back in the office.
Anyway, for this 'in progress' piece, I pulled out a double cab set of azurite I picked up in Old Town Albuquerque from one of the many places specializing in Native American jewelry. They had a huge case of loose stones way in the back of the store. Like any self-respecting beader ... I headed straight to the back to dig. That pile of stones had me wanting to walk out with several bags, but I did show some restraint as I 'only' bought about 10 cabs. I brought in my reinforcement and had my daughter help me narrow things down.
Azurite has the look of turquoise, but for a much more affordable cost. It has intense, deep blue-green coloring and plenty of veining. So if you're in to that ... then azurite might be your stone. I prefer the veining, or inclusions, as it makes for much more interesting patterns in the stone. One thing I didn't know about azurite is that is slowly weathers to malachite (one of my all-time favorite stones). Apparently the elements, and particularly light, 'greens' the deep blue. Huh, that's cool. They say you should store azurite jewelry in darkness (a box, a drawer) away from heat. Perhaps that is why the case of azurite was in the back of the store?
This one is still on the bead table as I decide exactly how I want to connect the stones and finish off the back strap. But it is at least some progress in a fairly long drought of beading.
