Work in Progress: Spiral on the Side

My new ideas and inspirations are on the back burner for the next couple of weeks as I work furiously on some top-secret Christmas presents. I have several projects on the go this year, including a lot of sewing and painting that will be keeping me up late at night. When I do get a little time to bead, I'm planning to add a stitch or two to the spiral rope necklace that I started and gave up on a while back. I've almost run out of the cobalt blue seed beads, so hopefully the rope will finish up at just the right length. If all else fails I can make the fringe on this one extra long.

Now that I have two bead trays on the go, it's a lot easier to just set something aside for later, rather than go to all the trouble of packing things up and then hauling them out again when I decide to finish a piece. Right now I'm grateful for the option! Of course, I haven't been keeping up with my commitment to put away beads and materials when I'm finished with a project, although I have been able to keep packages of beads contained to one area of my workspace so that I'm not drowning in them. It will be time for a big clean-up very soon or I'll start to have trouble finding what I need - perhaps I'll get around to it when the paper mache stage of my holiday projects comes around. Otherwise I might just stuff everything into a space in the closet until January.

My number one bead tray is looking pretty tidy at the moment. I just put the finishing touches on a new collar with a double mythology inspiration, which I will unveil very soon. In the meantime I'm doing some research on all-new icons for inspiration in the new year.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Progress in Work

I am happy to say that I have found some new inspiration that will keep me going for a good long while. At the very least, I am excited to start making things again, and to share the ideas behind each project as I go. My very first project will return to a favorite place: I'm making a new necklace inspired by my favorite Egyptian goddess, Nephthys. As someone who has long been fascinated by the science of death, I found an instant connection with Nephthys when I first read about her. She embodies the realm where life, death, and rebirth meet in the Ancient Egyptian understanding of the universe. At times she was also considered to be the mother of Anubis, and helped in the creation of the first mummy.

I didn't want to risk making a copy of my last Nephthys design, so I decided to shy away from greens for this necklace. Instead I added Montana blue sapphire to my palette for a chunky herringbone rope. When it comes time to add some fringe, I may regret going with a twisted rope, but we'll see how things turn out. I'm finding a lot of comfort in making a tribute to "The Lady of the House", and even if it doesn't quite work out perfectly, it'll be worth it.

The peacock dagger collar turned out quite nicely. I was so excited to get started on Nephthys that I had to force myself to complete and add the button for this piece. Luckily, it only took one beading session, and I thought it was important to finish at least one project before starting this new adventure.

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What inspirations are empowering you at the moment?

Mortira

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Dear Artists

Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Daggers and Spirals

Greetings, beaders! I hope that you've had a fantastic transition into fall. I am still struggling with finding the right work-life balance, and fitting creative time in where I can. Things seemed to be going smoothly for awhile: I had some projects lined up that I was really excited about and the first one turned out great. I was working on a new spiral rope lariat with lots of different daisy patterns, and I decided to go ahead and make a second one, thinking that since I was on a roll, I might as well keep going. This was a huge mistake. I got bored with the new rope pretty quickly, and then a string of graveyard shifts threw off my whole routine and I never got around to finishing it.

I picked up a new project a few weeks ago, and found myself something new to binge-watch while I worked on it. It took some time to decide what kind of project I could really fall into, when I remembered that I had some new peacock daggers to use. Not only is black with silver polka-dots an easy finish to work with, but the size and shape of the daggers are perfect for a wide-net collar. Rather than come up with a whole new project, I recreated my last successful dagger collar and had a pretty good time with the simple pattern. The colors are pretty similar to the previous design as well, although I had a little fun adding a hint of purplish cobalt iris.

I still haven't made or added a button to the new collar. A few late nights working on Hallowe'en costume elements derailed my beading plans yet again, but I'm determined to get back on the horse and hopefully have some nice winter projects to keep me occupied. I know that if I can get back into the zone with making again, more writing will follow as well. A little extra inspiration is all I need to come up with some new tutorial ideas for you!

What kinds of projects have you been working on?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Spiral Daisies

As promised I have moved on from herringbone fringe necklaces, but I wasn’t quite ready to give up on fringe yet. Not only is it really satisfying to make fringe, but I’ve been in the mood to use up not just my favorite accent beads, but some of the less-than-versatile Czech seed beads as well. One of my goals for this year was to be a little less picky about culling Czech beads, and fringe gives me the freedom to just go ahead and use seed beads that are just a little bit wonky.

I really wanted to try out some of the millefiori beads that I picked up at a thrift store about a year ago, so I started with a strand of black rounds with a daisy motif and worked up from there. A spiral rope lariat would allow me to incorporate a daisy pattern while also using up a hank of green seed beads that has been sitting in my stash since making the blue-green ombre project from Ancient Worlds Modern Beads. So far things are going really well, and I can’t wait to get started on the tassels.

The Egyptian stripe necklace from last week turned out really nice. I was worried about the pattern being a bit much, but once it was complete and the accents added on, things really came together. I tried something new for the fringe this time around, and matched the top of each loop to the beadwork base. I’m not sure if I love it completely, but it may come in handy for future projects without so many colors in play.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Nefertiti Stripes

My adventures with stripes and fringe are still going strong, and projects are chugging along at a much better pace. I had thought that I would want to try a new project once the latest necklace was complete, but I was still really in the mood for fringe, and herringbone necklaces are just the most satisfying way to use it right now. For the new necklace, I had a craving to do something a little more Egyptian, so I put together a jeweled palette. I was a little worried at first that the pattern would end up being too busy. I think once the entire piece is complete and the fringe is added it will come together just fine.

The last necklace turned out great. I hadn’t given any thought to accent beads when I chose my palette, and it turns out that the only thing I had in my stash that would match with the opaque colors was African Christmas beads. This is perfectly fine by me! I had fun picking out just the right beads to use and putting on the final touches.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Ongoing Stripes

I have been enjoying my summer down time immensely these past few weeks, just working and relaxing – and getting lots of beading done. I have definitely found a good groove with working multiple projects at once, and giving myself permission to pick up whichever one I happen to feel like working on at the moment. It also helps that I have a great series to watch to keep me coming back to my workspace. Star Trek: Voyager got me through the coconut necklace, the last mini collar in my scrapped challenge, and the new stripe necklace.

It was a treat to finally complete the fringe necklace. I picked a fun assortment of beads for the strands, including a couple that I purchased while on vacation. I couldn’t resist popping in to the bead store that caused a lot of confusion for me last year. It’s still the same, but since I didn’t pick up any of the bone beads last time, I decided to give in just for fun. I only spent $1.50, but I felt happy about adding something to the design that I didn’t have on hand before.

I’ve decided to continue working with stripes for the time being. Looking back, I realized that no matter what type of project I’m working on, if it has stripes – particularly black and white ones – I never get bored or feel like the project is taking too long to complete. I’m usually pretty content to keep stitching stripes. The new necklace will be another herringbone rope with fringe, which will give me a chance to play with lots of different accent beads. I find that this is a great way to keep from getting a creative block – there’s very little commitment to using a mix of lots of different beads in small quantities.

What are you working on at the moment?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Beadwork Potpourri

My tentative steps back into my normal beading routine have begun, and I have actually had some time to sit down with beads over the past couple of days. I decided it was time to just pick a project and go with it, then took some time to decide what I really, really wanted to do. For a while, I plan to just make things that I want to, and avoid anything that feels obligatory (though that doesn’t rule out a tutorial or two!).

I finally decided to do something with stripes, and to just go ahead and use some of my favorite colors without worrying about quantities. This new project is all about fun. So far I’ve got the beginnings of a nice herringbone rope. I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to add additional colors or just stick with the olive green.

To help keep things interesting, I’m also chipping away at unfinished projects, rather than dedicating all of my time to a single piece. Changing things up a bit may take away from the progression of each project, but I still feel a sense of accomplishment with each new stitch. Although I can’t say that I’m dead excited to sit down, it does feel familiar to be beading again, and there is comfort to be had in that.

Part of my newfound motivation is thanks to finally getting another creative project out of my system. My bead helper and I did some paintings this week that turned out pretty great. We’re planning to do more as soon as we get the chance, and to experiment with techniques and themes. The joy of making something is definitely helping to bring back my need to bead.

What are you working on right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Lazy Collar

It is taking quite a bit longer than I expected to get back on track after my recent hiatus. There’s something about a long to-do list that’s easier to put off than a short one. Plus I’ve really been enjoying some quiet time for reading and other hobbies. It was nice to take a break, even if I did feel things looming in the background most of the time. We’ve missed one week of the mini collar challenge, but I did manage to get one started for this week.

I really want to take things slow and get back to something resembling my old routine a bit at a time. For this week’s collar I’m going with a super simple design in some favorite colors. I have been saving the Autumn Tucson Gold for an upcoming peyote stitch tutorial, but I think I can spare enough to make this quick collar.

What have you been making lately?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Satisfactory Necklaces

My beading trays look much the same this week as they have for the past month or so. I’m making good progress on this week’s mini collar, using some of the greens I experimented with for a recent bead color challenge. I’m very happy with how this collar is coming along, although it is pretty tame compared to some of the previous projects that held a few surprises. I think for the next piece, I’m going to have to try something a little more exciting. So far I’ve tried to choose accents and build patterns on a whim, just to see what will happen, but I think a little more planning is in order for the next project.

I’m also nearly finished with the blue dagger necklace, at last. I have a whole bunch of tutorial projects lined up for my days off, so I’m not entirely sure if I’ll be able to finally finish this necklace before another week begins, but I’m certainly going to try. I have a feeling that it’s going to turn out great. Because the daggers have a curved shape, they don’t drape in a uniform way; I would have preferred a more even look, but in the end I think it will look great anyway. Only a few more hours of work and I’ll know for sure.

What are you working on at the moment?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Many Daggers

This week my bead tray looks like all kinds of progress. I’m about an hour away from completing a new mini collar for the challenge, incorporating the last 5 jet black daggers from a strand that has been serving me for some time now. It will be sad to see them go, but also nice to finally finish off the strand and not have them floating around any longer. I was also able to get a few more fringes in on the tropical necklace. The coconut daggers seem to fit into the design quite nicely. I’m not going to call it a success until both sides are complete and I see how it all looks with a symmetrical drape, but so far things look very promising.

Meanwhile, there’s only a little bit more work to go on the new Peyote Stitch Master Class project. There have been a few mishaps along the way and I had to do some of the work over again, but I’m sure that we’ll have this lesson wrapped up on time.

What are you making this week?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Getting Ahead

I am very happy to report that this week’s mini collar is already finished, and we’re only halfway through the week! This means that I’ll be able to make a little progress on the blue coconut necklace, but probably not enough to finish it just yet. Adding the fringe is extremely time consuming, especially when they just keep getting longer as I go. I would like to get as far as adding the daggers and finding out if it’s all been worth it.

Meanwhile, I also have the practice project for our next Peyote Stitch Master Class on the go. Our next lesson will cover tubular peyote and spiral peyote, though the Cellini spiral will get its own lesson and project after we touch on bezels. We’re getting very close to the end of this series, and I’m thinking we should follow with a Right Angle Weave Master Class. A lot of the principles are the same for both stitches, and there are just as many variations to explore.

What are you making this week?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Pink Magatamas

I’m just getting ready to start this week’s mini collar, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. After finishing last week’s collar, I had to get going on this one right away to keep up with the challenge schedule, so I basically just flipped open my tray of assorted drop beads and grabbed the first thing I laid eyes on (that wasn’t too similar to beads I’ve already used so far). I ended up with a few grams of pink-lined crystal short magatamas.

The pale pink of these beads makes them really hard to work a palette around. Most other colors make them look really washed out. Luckily, I have an easy solution that will make the beads stand out, and allow this mini collar to mingle with my other designs. I’m going with black and white stripes! It make take a few tweaks to get a pattern that works, and I’m still not sure if I’m going to use the black 8/os. Hopefully I’ll be able to omit them and put a pretty big dent in the package of magatamas.

Meanwhile, I haven’t touched the coconut dagger project or the final stage of the new ugly necklace. I’ve got a little bit of catching up to do, and hopefully I’ll be able to find the time to run more than one project at a time.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Work in Progress: So Tropical

This week I’ve got two necklace projects on the go, plus a necklace tutorial on the back burner that’s coming along slowly but surely. This week’s mini collar features long magatamas and large dagger beads. I’m trying out a new layout for drops, and if it works it might become a new favorite.

The fringe necklace with coconut daggers is still underway. It’s been awhile since I’ve done any scalloped St. Petersburg chain – if forgot how long it takes to add all those individual loops of fringe. I have a feeling that this necklace won’t be finished for quite some time, but it’s nice to have a back-up project to work on between other pieces. I did have the beginnings of a new ugly necklace for that, but it’s been all but forgotten thanks to all of the new inspirations I’ve found in the past few months.

I'm really enjoying the palette for this week's mini collar, although I did end up having to add in a second seed bead color to make the netting work. It's still very early in the challenge, but I'm already having trouble decided how to proceed. Should I comb through my drops stash and just start building palettes around the wants I want to use up, or pick accents and random and see what happens? There are just so many choices it's hard to know where to begin, which is really why I wanted to do this challenge in the first place!

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Tropical Coconut

This week I’m finally going to use some of my blue coconut daggers. Probably.

I had a great idea for incorporating them into a scalloped St. Petersburg chain necklace. I’m not entirely certain that the shape of the daggers will work with the stitch, but I won’t know until I’m more than halfway finished with the design. Fingers crossed! Even if it doesn’t work out, I needed to revisit the design again anyway because I’m hoping to create a PDF tutorial for it later this year.

I’m also working on this week’s mini collar. I’ll leave all of the details for Saturday, but it is going really well so far. Although I’m only two projects in, I’m still very happy with how well the challenge turning out. I’ve got so much inspiration for my tray of drops and daggers now that I’m on a mission to use them.

What are you making this week?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Blue Lime

I’m back down to just one bead tray this week, though I’m sure it’s only temporary. I’ve got a few more tutorials lined up that I want to get started on, but first I have to get caught up on some other design ideas. I had hoped that the new Christmas bead lariat would be finished long before now. It seemed like no matter how long I worked on it, the beadwork just never seemed to get any longer. I think this might be why I haven’t made one in so long. Fifty inches of chevron chain is a pretty big commitment.

I’ve just finished up the fringe on the lariat, and I’ve got my beads out for an exciting surprise project. I’ve built a palette around the cobalt and lime Indonesian glass that I paired up for last week’s bead faves, and I’m really eager to get started. I’m not entirely sure that I’ll be able to make the striped cobalt beads work for this project, but I’m definitely going to try. If all else fails, I can save them for another time.

What are you making this week?

Mortira

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Copyright 2016 Inspirational Beading

Work in Progress: Trade Bead Lariat

This week I’m taking a little creative break and making something just for the fun of it. I’ve been craving an African Christmas bead project for months now, and I decided to just go ahead and make a quick chevron lariat with lots of colorful, stripey fringe. It took a little time to come up with a palette that I liked. It’s always tricky to decide which colors in a mix to highlight, but I finally decided on cherry red with a hint of cobalt. I’ll be sure to go heavy on the yellow when the time comes to add the trade beads.

I’ve also got some shell beads and other accents on deck for an upcoming tutorial prototype that I hope turns out the way I’m envisioning it. I’ve been working on a series of nautical and beach inspired tutorials in collaboration with Blueberry Cove Beads. The first design, a Nautical Three-Strand Pendant, was a nice departure from my usual projects. I had a blast putting it together!

What are you making this week?

Mortira

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Work in Progress: Quick Stitches

Working multiple projects at once is becoming the norm in my workspace. I seem to be constantly juggling different designs and working on quick projects in between photo days. Right now I’m putting together the project for our next Master Class lesson in circular peyote stitch. From there we’re going to look at a whole bunch of variations on tubular peyote before working our way back to more flat variations like odd count and freeform.

This weekend I didn’t quite have the energy to start a big side project, so I decided to go with something easy that I could make while tuning out to favorite flicks. Since I had just pulled out the packet I’d put together for an ankh pendant, I thought it would be nice to finally use it. The orange glass beads from Blueberry Cove’s Autumn bead box have been great. The finish is really doing all of the work for me.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Work in Progress: All the Things

My bead tray looks like an absolute disaster this week as I juggle multiple tutorial projects and a few designs on the side. The new medallion took a back seat over the weekend so that I could get started on some new tutorials while I had time for photography. I decided to go ahead and start a bunch of upcoming projects at once, and now they’re taking over my workspace. I’m so close to finishing one of them that I don’t want to bother putting away all of the beads only to take them all out again. The trouble with tutorials is that I can only work on them so much during nighttime beading. When it’s time to take the next step-by-step photo, everything gets paused.

Hopefully I’ll be able to finish one of these projects in time to share the instructions with you next week. One is going to be a new PDF tutorial, and there’s a third project that I didn’t include here because it’s a big surprise. After that, it’ll be time to start on the next installment of our peyote stitch Master Class – circular peyote.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Work in Progress: More Medallions

The new 15/o seed bead Egyptian medallion is finished! I’m not completely thrilled with how it turned out – the beadwork is fine, but the trim ended up looking a bit uneven. I pulled out some stitches and re-snipped the edges to even things out, but it didn’t quite work. I’m going to blame my scissors and just move on. I don’t yet have a motif ready for another graphic medallion, but I wanted to get started on a new one right away. I like to have a few pendants lined up before I get the cotton cord out for stringing. I tell myself that it’s to save time but it’s mostly a harmless way to procrastinate and get moving on new designs quicker.

My mini bead helper is picking the colors for the new medallion. So far we’ve got transparent cherry and cobalt iris. Next up we’ve picked transparent emerald and opaque lemon. Should be fun! I would love to work in a row of black and white stripes with this palette, but I always make sure to give as little input as possible on these color choices. It’s really interesting what happens when we just roll with it.

What are you making right now?

Mortira

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Work in Progress: Egyptian Colors

The new Egyptian motif medallion is coming along very nicely, although I’ve already rediscovered the pitfalls that made me stay away from graphic embroidery for so long. The design is turning out mostly how I wanted, so I’m planning to keep at it and get some more practice in until I’m happier with the fine details. I just need to come up with some more images that I want to bead, and that go with my ridiculous collection of 15/o seed beads.

I’m really enjoying the palette I chose to work with for this piece, and I’ve already set aside a similar set of colors in 11/o and 8/o beads for an upcoming tutorial project. I’ve discovered that tutorials are just as good for keeping inspirations coming as any of my previous beading challenges. If you’ve got a stitch or design that you’re eager to learn, let me know! I can always use more ideas.

The mini collar from last week turned out very nicely. I didn’t even regret using my precious white-hearts. It’s nice to see them find a project once in awhile. Hoarding beads only feels good for so long, then we’ve gotta set them free.

What are you making this week?

Mortira

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