Tuesday, June 17, 2014

A Time To Stitch 5 :: Same But Different

Therese and Christine are hosting another one of their famous bead weaving challenges called A Time To Stitch (#5 in the series) and this time we're focusing on using one stitch but creating variations on it.

I played around with several different stitches before settling on a simple flat spiral weave. I was actually hanging out with Christine when she showed me a simple stitch in a Beadwork issue and I realized that's it! I'll play around with this one.

That is one of the things I've learned from Christine; taking a simple stitch and playing with variations, and colors, and bead sizes, and bead shapes. She is a master at this and the theme this time has her name written all over it! Oh one of these times Christine you know we're going to do CRAW because we know how much Therese loves that stitch - LOL.

Ok, let's get started. The first set of beads I picked up were size 8s, or larger beads to use as the center anchor stitch. And then I picked up some fun brick red colored lentil beads with an off center hole. They made such a fun design with a 'paddle' look to it. I happened to have my apprentice in the shop with me (my daughter Anne) who loves to help with creating patterns or shooting photos. She was running around the yard picking up bits of nature to add to the photos, and so I let that name each piece. This one is then called 'wild strawberries.'

Next up I increased the size of the center anchor and pulled out these translucent celery colored tear drops. I love this color, and I miss it in the dead of winter when nothing outside is green. But Anne found the perfect reflection of it in this fern. You can see how the larger beads accentuate the curve in the spiral stitch for a piece called .... of course 'fern.'

I wanted to try yet another bead type for the accent, so this time I pulled out some dragon scale beads which can be tricky as you need to keep track of which direction they are going. Not always easy when you're beading in a spiral! In the 'fern' bracelet I blended the center anchor color and the accent beads, but in this one I wanted the center to stand out with it's own wave through the piece. So I pulled out silver which I really love with purple. Anne showed up with a fist full of 'wild flowers' for my photo and aptly named this one.  

For the finale I pulled out a beautiful wood focal pendant that Christine gifted me. It seemed perfect for my nature series, and I really just love its simplicity and beautiful tree blossom pattern. I wanted the pattern for this to look more like chain, so I went with smaller beads. I pulled out some cylinder rootbeer beads with a cat's eye finish. They felt like bits of branches to me, and so perfect to let the pendant be the star. I added small green-ish tear drops for the accent. It looks like a 'woodland blossom' branch to me, and a perfect way to finish my series in variations on flat spiral.

Please check out all the other bloggers participating in today's hop. Our hosts Therese and Christine. And all the rest of us: Kim, Maryanne, Lola, Dagi, Shirley, Alenka, LiliKrist, Amy, Crystie, Sally, Cynthia (that's me), Bobbie, Karin, LizE, Becky Pancake, Karin G., Ana, Wendy, Mary H. and Jasvanti

22 comments:

  1. These are all fabulous, Cynthia! I'm particularly drawn to the fern and wild flower ones. Beautiful pieces!!

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  2. These are so unique and creative Cynthia! I fell in love with the 'Fern' and "Woodland' pieces.

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  3. I smiled when I read "simple", as none of this is simple to me! Just love these bracelets - but I especially love the necklace! And I believe the stitch DOES resemble a chain! Fantastic!

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  4. These are really fantastic, Cynthia! Being a fan of spirals, I really like what you did with them. That pendant is so cool and looks great on that necklace.

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  5. Oh, oh, oh, these are also flipping beautiful and delicate and wonderful! I think Fern is my favorite, but it's fascinating to see how the shape difference have such an impact on the final piece. Lovely, as always!

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  6. I really love the way the different beads show. Woodland blossom is my favorite...yet how can I not mention Fern....love the colors! I always enjoy your stories of how your jewelry comes alive. Thanks so much for sharing!!

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  7. Stunning and to have help too.....lol. Your helper did good. I see that everything she used did so accent your pieces! Excellent job. I love the fern and the one with the dragon beads...

    veradesigns.blogspot.com

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  8. You never fail to wow and inspire me with your creations! And these look so totally different from the normal versions of flat spiral. They are all just gorgeous! And I love that your daughter is the inspiration for the names!

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  9. What a beautiful collection you created with one little stitch! Very earthy and absolutely gorgeous!

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  10. such beautiful pieces, and all so very different

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  11. Delicate leaves, fresh flowers, field-grown strawberries...you've captured the best of summer in these designs, Cynthia. And you have me wondering why I don't use this beautiful and oh-so-adaptable stitch more often!

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  12. Hi Cynthia,
    You cracked my up with the CRAW statement! I love what you created with this variation of the flat spiral stitch. Each one of your bracelets are so different and your daughter Anne was spot on with the colors from nature that she went out and collected. Hum you and Christine just gave me an idea for a future ATTS challenge. Ok back to your pieces. My favorite two of your pieces, even though I love them all, is the "Wild Strawberries" and the necklace. The rope you made was perfect for the pendant, it in no way over powers the pendant, and the colors you chose compliment the pendant to a tee. Thank you so much for participating in this round of ATTS it is always so wonderful to see what you have created. I hope you are going to join us for ATTS 6.
    Therese

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  13. Your designs are all so beautiful, but my absolute favorite is your last necklace, it looks so simple and yet intricate, there's a lot of mystery in it.

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  14. Love them all, but especially fern and woodland blossom. Simply gorgeous!

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  15. Delicate, feminine and charming. Not to mention the photographs were excellent.

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  16. Wow, these are amazing! I will never be able to create such beautiful treasures! I love looking at them on your blog ;o) Hugs ;o)

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  17. These are beautiful Cynthia! I love the organic inspirations for the pieces. The pattern has such femininity. I love the cherry blossom piece Christine gave you.

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  18. Wow, it's amazing how one stitch can give so many different results!
    Beautiful work!

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  19. You. are the best at taking stitches and truly making them your own. These are beautiful! Simple, wearable, beautiful. The fact that you live by no hard and fast beading rules is what makes your work so unique and edgy and exotic. Your color blends are always something special too...in the best of ways ;-) Anne did a fantabulous job staging these photos! Her nature elements work so well with your pieces and on their own as well. Thanks for beading with me :-D

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  20. All such gorgeous pieces! Love all the variations and the beautiful mixes.

    Can I borrow your Anne for a while?! :) or maybe I can employ her - I'll send the pictures and she can name the pieces! Excellent eye for discovering the essence of each piece, and for the pictures too!

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  21. Very innovative! Love this design xx

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