BFAC - Woodland Waterfalls

Whatcha doing? My latest creative endeavor was completing a project for Layne’s Legacy – Beading for a Cure by the July 15 deadline. When my hands weren’t busy beading, my mind was occupied with decisions on incorporating one of each supplied bead type into a design to be auctioned off next spring. The kit included seed beads (one tube of 8/0s, one tube each of four 11/0s, one tube of 15/0s, 10/0 triangles, #3 twist bugle beads, 11/0 hex beads), Swarovski crystals (20 3mm jonquil, 20 4mm erinite, 20 4mm indicolite, 2 each of 2 sizes of rose montees), all supplied by Bead Storm , and a lampwork bead made by Laurie B. Smith. I added round black freshwater pearls to the mix. Project titles kept leaning toward ocean themes (down to the sea, deep blue sea, etc.), but as I was finishing the set, Woodland Waterfalls seemed most appropriate.

Woodland Waterfalls Set

A spiral net rope necklace, woven of silver-lined celery-green 8/0 beads throughout and 11/0 beads in sections gradually changing from one color to the next (light pink-lined olivine, silver-lined rainbow light sapphire, silver-lined light grey green, and metallic iris black purple), fastened with a bright sterling silver Bali toggle clasp (attached with tubular and flat peyote in 15/0 rainbow ice-blue 15/0 seed beads).

The removable pendant features Laurie B. Smith’s lampwork bead on a peyote bail with ice-blue 15/0 seed bead edging; star-shaped circular peyote beadcaps; and multiple dangles of seed beads; hex, twisted bugle, and triangle beads; Swarovski crystal bicones and rose montees; and black freshwater pearls.

The dangles are repeated in matching earrings hanging from tubular peyote bead caps made of rainbow ice-blue 15/0 seed beads attached to bright sterling silver Bali earpieces with heavy sterling silver solid jump rings.

Now to catch up with other projects and chores . . .

Butterfly Blues

I recently completed this piece -- a Suzanne Wester pattern. The butterfly is perfectly symmetrical. I'm still not sure how I'll use it, but I'm thinking about surrounding it in green fringe and mounting it on a dark green jewelry box.

The pattern, Roseannes Butterfly, is available from The Bead Coop:
http://www.thebeadcoop.com/pattern.asp?PatternID=18473

2009 Breast Cancer Bead Quilt Project

Whew! I just made the deadline for submitting my breast cancer bead quilt squares last week. I completed six peyote squares with the 2009 heart theme.


I had planned to use several different stitches to make the squares this year, but had so many problems with "wonky" beads that I fell back to my "comfortable" peyote stitch.

These and other donated squares will be stitched together by Jeannette Shanigan into multiple quilts. The quilts are then donated to the Bead Artists against Breast Cancer auction held during the annual June Bead & Button show in Milwaukie. In 2008, 960 squares with a rose theme were donated and stitched into 20 quilts.

Beaded squares and completed quilts can be viewed at Jeannette's website,

http://shanigansbeadshenanigans.com