Vacation Projects

I got more beading done than knitting while visiting with my mom and sister in Texas. This year I took a project for all three of us to do together. We all did a grapevine bracelet.

I ordered the kits for this bracelet from Poppy Fields. My mother knows alot about beading and helped my sister and I with the directions and techniques. The kits for the grapevine bracelets are no longer offered, but she does have a new kit for a garden party bracelet. The most frustrating part of the bracelet was doing the basket and the grape clusters that went in it. It was very tiny and hard to work with, and a little difficult to see where your thread was. Below is a picture of the basket overflowing with grapes. You can't really see the basket on this picture because there are soo many grape clusters in it.


Here is a picture of another necklace set that my mom helped me design. It is made with some frosted pink glass beads, Peridot beads, and some handblown glass beads. I had all the beads, she helped arrange it in a pleasing design. It's amazing how much energy you can put into getting it "just right"!


I also did a necklace from Beadstyle magazine by the same designer - Margo Fields. I love the way this necklace turned out and, of course, had to make earrings to match. I did make a modification at the center front of the necklace, the original called for 3 different strands with branches which would have made it too long for my taste. Since Blogger is refusing to upload any more pictures for me, you'll have to see it here.

The other project my mother helped me with was actually part of my birthday present from Jan. I had mentioned that I liked the garnet necklace that was in a beading magazine from last fall, and she found 3 different types of garnets to make a necklace. I started to string this necklace with beading wire, but the holes in some of the beads and pearls were too small, and I ended up stringing it with needle and thread. I got all the way done and we were doing the finishing up to get it on a lobster clasp, and part of it broke, so I had to re-string it again. Yep, I had to string the beads 3 different times. It was very frustrating - but it's done. Hurray! And, again, there are earrings to make a matched set.

Last weekend Hubby and I drove up the coast and did a little shopping and playing. I was trying to knit on the Tangled Garden fair isle socks and decided that just wasn't a good idea in the car. Fair Isle requires a bit of concentration. So I bought some yarn to knit up an easy shawl. The pattern advertises it for being and easy weekend or traveling project. By the time I got back home on Saturday evening, the shawl was almost complete. I have several more rows to do and the fringe, and I am done! I should be able to get to that this weekend. Stay tuned for finished projects!