Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Beaders are Collectors



Beads:
Beaders collect.  The most common situation is collecting beads!  You get a storage solution and organization…. and then find you have out grown it.  And this can happen pretty fast.  Then you redesign your storage and often your collection out grows that too.  Congratuations! You are a Beader!!!!  

Collecting beads is fun and allows us to play with those marvelous objects.  And, then there is that wonderful time when you have a project in mind and …. lo and behold!  all the beads you need for it are in your stash!   No delay for shopping or collecting, you just BEAD ON! 


Skills:
Another collection for many beaders (including me) is to collect bead SKILLS.  When you start, the first skill to master is the dreaded “threading a beading needle”!  Let’s be honest, it is a skill and happiness is achieved when it is mastered.  There are standard stitches like peyote, brick, ladder, right angle weave and on and on.  We want to experience each one.  Live it, add it to our skills tool box, and move on to the next one.  We marvel at what can be achieved simply with some beads and thread. 

Then there are beading processes which necessitate other things.  By this I mean loom work which requires a tool (the loom) and the skills needed to work with that tool.  Another process is bead embroidery which requires materials other than just beads and thread.  There is a process with bead embroidery and steps to take in the journey that is beyond just mastering the stitches used. 

The fabulous thing about taking this journey of collecting skills is the confidence it provides us.  Not every stitch or process is easy and some are just tricky to learn for some people.  But we push through the difficult ones and, in the end, add it to our list of accomplishments.  We also learn which stitches or techniques are more fun to us.  Some beaders like the rhythm and pace of one stitch, other beaders are more enamored of a different stitch or process.  We learn what appeals most to us as an individual beader by taking this “skills collecting” journey. 

And through it all, we CREATE!   and we smile…….

So, if you want to improve or expand your skills with creating beaded fringe, You can join me in a live webinar  “Fringe Glorious Fringe – Techniques for Creating Stunning Beaded Fringe” on March 10.  Click on the link for more details and to sign up.  





http://www.interweavestore.com/fringe-glorious-fringe-techniques-for-creating-stunning-beaded-fringe?r=BE150301&utm_source=BE150301&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BE150301FringeWebinar&et_mid=728665&rid=241356532

You can also read my new book:  Bead Play with Fringe – Techniques, Design and Projects available on Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.