herringbone

I wear a lot of blue, but don’t have any blue rings. Today, I remedied that. The stone is an inexpensive lapis cab, 14×10mm. The opaque blue is a French size 13 bead, with s/l blue Japanese 15s and white pearl charlottes as accents. The bezel is made with stack stitch, gives a nice smooth edge to the bezel that peyote doesn’t. The band is herringbone. I started in the middle of the back, and added rows to each side to get the desired size. I used a variation at the end of the rows so that no thread is on the outside of the beads. Now, I have a blue ring!

I owe a 20-something male a necklace, sort of. He broke one I made for him when he was a teen, just wore it out. He asked me to fix it, and make it longer, but I no longer have one of the beads, so I made him something different instead. I was looking through my beads for something that looked like it might appeal, and I picked these Toho 11 triangles, and then went looking for some little blue beads. Triangles are used 6 around, usually, in herringbone ropes. I was curious to see what it looked like with 4 — and then added a blue bead between each stitch. I rather like it. It’s got a bit of a flattened profile, but I think it looks best twisted, like below.

Okay, I finished the necklace. I decided for a mass of herringbone ropes and strung beads, all about the same length. They sort of self-tangle; not a mess, but cross each other as in the picture below. I like the look. The length is adjustable from 24″ to 27″. The findings are brass and base metal (the chain and clasp are brass). I wore it for several hours today, and the counterweight on the clasp worked well. I also received many positive comments. Now, off to AJ, the BFAC official photographer, to wait its turn for the next set of auctions.

Don’t forget to look at the current set of auctions, the schedule is available here.

Well, I think I’m maybe done with the herringbone ropes for this project. I have, let’s see, more than 5 FEET of herringbone rope in the coil below. Oh, and for a break? I made myself a herringbone bracelet.

I’m waffling on how to put these ropes together, and I’m going to have to play with them to decide. Do I want a smooth group of them, all the same length? Maybe. Do I want a graduated drape? I don’t think so. Do I want them neatly braided? I don’t think so either. Tangled artfully? Maybe. (Anyone have instructions on ‘artfully tangling?!’ I know of this one, and I’ll try it.)

Current thinking has me stringing a strand of the bronze hexes, a strand of the bronze bugles, a strand of the 4mm orange squares, and a strand of the green sixes. The 8s would just be used to cap these ropes. This still leaves me the Swarovskis, the drops, and the cathedral beads. I may try for a pendant, or hang them off the clasp somehow. One step at a time….

I decided on the ivory as a color to add. I haven’t always added a color (this is my fourth year), but I wanted to provide a contrasting value to the existing beads. I beaded a couple of inches of 3 different herringbone ropes, and then strung some of the beads (on whatever scrap of thread hadn’t been thrown away yet). Here’s what I’ve got (the bronze bugles are strung too, they are below the red squares).

I have to use at least one of each of the beads in the kit. This leaves the Swarovski squares and bicones, the cathedral beads, the bronze hex 8s, and the red lined chartreuse magatamas. SO, here’s the plan, at least today: I’m going to make all of these maybe 20″ long, interlace them loosely (or not, we’ll see), and put them on an adjustable clasp.

With ivory Ultrasuede, maybe I’ll make a pendant of some sort that incorporates the rest of the beads (and/or put them dangling off the clasp). The pendant will be able to be removed, if someone just wants to wear the ropes of beads. Maybe I’ll make some cones out of Ultrasuede too, to dress up where all 7 strands will be at the clasp.

The herringbone ropes will be a nice traveling project, which I always appreciate having on hand. I have several other things sitting partially done on my work table, but most don’t travel well.