Black and Silver Necklace

This necklace and pendant were created while I was away. The last detail for completion had to wait until I got home so this morning I added the Swarovski crystals to the ends of the toggle closure. The necklace is Russian spiral and the pendant has a netting stitch base that was then embellished with rondelles, bugle beads and seed beads all in black and silver. The technique was shown to me by my friend who has completed several bracelets this way.



The pendant can be removed so that the necklace can be worn alone for added versatility.

Just A Quick Update!

I'm still away from home and have been since Friday, October 10th. At the moment I'm in a cafe with free wireless internet. After spending a week with a girlfriend in Manitoba, I flew back to British Columbia and bought a car. I haven't been driving for three years (while recovering from a bad car accident) and my #1 priority was to get something I'd feel safe in. What did I buy? It's a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder LE. And I'm loving it! It's got all of the bells and whistles, including heated leather seats (feels so good on my pain racked body) and a sun roof. There are airbags all around and I'm feeling very comfortable in my new toy.

I'm in a small town on the ocean in BC, called Powell River, where I'm hoping to buy a house. Even though there is just me and my little five pound dog, I'm making an offer on a five bedroom, three bathroom home with a wonderful view of the ocean and outlying islands. I'll be able to watch the ferry coming and going and the sunsets will be spectacular. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I spent the last two nights in a most charming hotel - The Old Courthouse Inn. Lovely place! Tonight, I'm going over to the island my son lives on - Texada. We're having dinner at The Tree Frog Bistro and it's also a lodge so I'm going to stay there overnight.

I expect to head for home, later this week. Haven't been doing much beading and I'm looking forward to getting back to it and sleeping in my own bed!

Etsy BeadWeavers' October Challenge - Animal Instinct

And...yes I'm participating again this month. I'm number 16 in the mosaic below and I'd appreciate it if you'd drop in there and VOTE VOTE VOTE for me! I've entered my necklace "Where's The Orca" and the competition is amazing! Voting is open until midnight on the 15th of October.

Odds and Ends

I'm leaving home this week and won't be back for a while so there may be a lapse in posts. I may be able to get a post up somewhere along the way, but I can't be certain.

Anyway, here are two items I finished in the last few days. The bracelet is another Russian Spiral and is a gift for a friend. The earrings are additions to my inventory as I've been selling earrings lately and stock was dwindling.

Where's The Orca - Necklace

This one-of-a-kind piece was created for the Etsy BeadWeavers' October Challenge with the theme Animal Instinct. So "Where's The Orca" necklace was created with Orcas in mind. I live in the Broughton Archipelago off of the west coast of Canada and it's home to both Resident and Transient Orca. I've been out whale watching several times and never lose the thrill of seeing these magnificent animals in their natural habitat.

My colour choice for the necklace is meant to represent the Orca's colouring of black and white. My representation is black and silver because when you see them in the ocean with the sun dancing on the water as they frolic in a group, there always seem to be flashes of silver glancing off of their shining flesh.



Check out my Etsy shop to see more views of the necklace.

And if you're interested here are some photos I took on a whale watching trip.

More Russian Spirals

The first Russian spiral I made went very well. No hitches at all. Then I tried again about six times, each attempt ended with being unbeaded about five times until I gave up and ripped the whole thing out. Finally, I sat down with the book one more time and closely followed the directions. And...found where I'd been making the error. The stitch starts with loading on 2 size 11 beads and one size 8, three times and forming a circle. From that point, the beads are loaded the reverse, one size 8 followed by two size 11s. The mistake I'd been making was loading the order of the base round!

Anyway, having finally gotten it figured out, I made the following two pieces with beads in my stash. The gold one is actually 8's and 10's.



This one is made with size 11 triangles (the silver beads) and size 11 seed beads in three different shades of blue. The colour goes from dark to light and back to dark again. I love how it turned out.



Now if I could just decide on what the pendant will be for them. In the meantime, I think I'll start another spiral. I have to...I just received another new order of beads!!