Boy am I ever proud of myself!!!!!! This is something that I've been wanting to do for a while. I actually learned it from the ever generous, Marilyn Parker at the Toronto Bead Society techniques night last month. Thank goodness for her written instructions, because I just didn't get it that evening. With a little perserverence and a lot of ripping out and swearing, I finally figured it out. Yeah! Funny, it seems that you need to follow the instructions.....what a novel idea for a totally undisciplined artist like myself! Okay, I admit that it's not perfect. I'm not all that happy about the veins, but it's a start. I'll need to make several more before I'll be comfortable saying that I know the technique. The leaf is constructed in a diagonal peyote stitch, using Miyuki delicas and size 15 seeds beads. I had to use the GOOD light for this one!
BTW, do you like my display rock/crystal? Someone gave it to me and I have absolutely no idea what it is. Any tips would be appreciated. Any geologists or rock hounds out there reading my blog? Like, say Kristi??
12 comments:
Your leaf looks good to me. It's a geode with quartz in the middle I think. I'm not a geologist either but the rock club was the only one they let the girls join when I was at the engineering college eons ago. Basically a geode starts as a mud ball that water seeps through and leaves the quartz as a residue.
That leaf is great and sounds horribly difficult to execute. Methinks I'm a long way away from acquiring that particular talent. As for the 'rock' - I'm pretty sure its a geode, but can't tell what's in the centre. I've seem them with amethyst. Doesn't matter what it is because it's gorgeous!!
yup, geode. For a xmas present one year, my older daughter got a pack of fist size geodes, whole, to smash open lightly with a hammer to see the inside.
I did several of those leaves from instructions in a years old issue of Beadwork. They're quite fun! very pretty...
Thanks, guys! The word "geode" had popped into my brain, but I didn't want to call it that without looking it up (and I was lazy). I guess something did stick around from some science class, way back when....you can't really see it, but the quartz does have a purplish tone. Not quite amethyst, but pretty just the same.
the leaf is very pretty, pale blue and pearl, nice combination. it looks complex, but soon you'll have done enough to cover the whole geode. k.
I'm not sure I'd make the leaf, but it's beautiful!!!
And the rock has been identified, so nothing to add there.
Beth-Near Chicago
A beautiful leaf and it looks so lovely set against the rock.
Thanks everyone!
Kaite, I actually used a medium blue delica as the main colour and a medium green delica as the accent. The 15's I used for the inside & the veins are silver.
Maggie, I love it against the rock as well. The poor little thing got lost on the grey background, but the geode gave it a lot more interest.
Beth, you could do it....I'm convinced that you could do anything you wanted to....just think of all those long, hot days in SA.....beads are fabulous to work with in the summer.
WOW--i have tried and tried that pattern and have yet to get it smooth and untwisted--power to ya!
You DID it!!! Looks great...are there more to come??
Thanks, A & A! I'm not twisted and I actually finished it.....yeah! I'll probably make some more, but have realized that the shiny delicas are not all that great on the leaves. I think that I might need to shop. Of course, we all know that's such a hardship. LOL@
I ran across a pattern for a russian leaf not even an hour before I read your blog. Too funny. It peaked my interest too. Yours turned out beautiful! Hope I have as much luck.
Post a Comment