"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Friday, June 17, 2011

Wild Flowers

I've started on another jewelry-making kick.


This is "Belle", from Marilee Rockley's book Up and Tat 'Em. I've made it before, but it was easier this time because I now have a better selection of focal beads, including teardrops, so I didn't have to fiddle. The thread is "Wild Flowers" by LadyShuttleMaker. I still need to add a satin cord for wearing; what do you think, white or light blue?

Next up, "Grand Aura" earrings, from the same book, in the same thread, but not made to match.


The pink seed beads came from a vintage necklace I picked up with some other beaded jewelry for a few cents at a yard sale. The bicones are Swarovski; anyone who has worked with these will know that a photo can never do justice to the way they catch the light.

Incidentally, "Wild Flowers" is the second HDT name that I know of where Lizbeth now has a thread with the same name, that looks completely different. (The other is "Berry Burst" by Tatskool.) I know Lizbeth is not intentionally stealing anybody's names, and their colors are also perfectly well described by these names. But it goes to show that when we're talking about a color name, we've got to be careful to clarify who made it.

I realize I haven't shown a picture of Squijum lately. He's all grown up now, over a year old, and still as cute as ever.


Well, this is it. My camera has died. And no, it's not the battery; immediately before it shut off for good, the computer stopped recognizing it, so it's definitely a problem with the camera itself. Luckily, today's photos were saved to the removable memory card, which I was able to plug directly into the computer. But I can't take any more pics till I get a new camera, so anything with large beads or other 3D components will look a bit blurry on the scanner till then.

6 comments:

  1. Squijum looks great! I was wondering what was up with him. He is so BIG!

    The purple motif by his feet is so pretty - wonderful colours.

    'Belle' looks great. The cord - not white!
    Fox : )

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  2. Your jewelry looks beautiful! I would definitely go with the light blue! : )

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  3. Squijurn looks full of fun, your motifs look beautiful and I think a pale blue cord look brilliant.
    Margaret

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  4. Don’t our ‘kitties’ grow quickly? Pippa is 9 mos now and is so long..she stretches on forever and can get into anything. The other day I looked up in my shower only to see those amber eyes looking down at me! She was balanced comfortable on the slender frame of the shower door; amazingly agile!
    I admire anyone who can tat jewelry from M. R. I must admit her instructions usually defeat me; I’ve only been able to do the cross with the rose and that was after a lot of trial and error; and, doing three of them before I came up with one that did the pattern justice. And all of her patterns are so lovely; frustrating for me! LOL
    xx bj

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  5. BJ, Pippa is one amazing kitty! I think it definitely takes a Bengal to achieve that!

    Marilee's latest book includes a lot more photos of the work in progress, which does make it easier to follow. She's also starting to post videos of some of her special techniques on her blog.

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  6. Great pendant and earrings! :) Love the colors! :)

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