Beading a Bead



Once I had made one it was very tempting to make another one because you're sure the next one will be better. Soon I had a growing line of beaded beads and I realised I needed to think of what to do with them. 



So far I've used them to hang from twigs and as and a 'cherry' on top of  fairy cake pin cushions. No doubt some will find their way to the Christmas tree next month.

If you want a go and you're not sure what to do this is where I got started with the 'Bead a Bead Tutorial' http://youtube.com/beadsfriends

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The second felt bag

This is the first felt bag. No beads needed for this. Just a pattern from Lisa Lam's  first book 'The Bag Making Bible'. I used 'The Reversible Bucket Bag' pattern with a few modifications. It is a slightly different size because you never quite know with wet felting how big it will end up and it is not reversible but has a lovely shocking pink lining instead. It hangs on a dining room chair with the current knitting or crochet project ready for me to grap to take out.

Whilst I was finishing this bag I knew what I wanted to make next. A felt flap for Lisa's 'The Oversized Fashionista Bag' and I wanted to add beads to decorate the flower centre on the front. I just needed to decide how.

So various ideas were tried.

And here is the finished bag. I made the main flower centre by covering a button with felt and then sewed concentric circles of beads around and then added a picot edge of beads to finish off. The smaller flowers are a flat circular bead with one ring of beads.

And yes there is a third bag on the way. This time a beaded dragonfly.

The difference a year makes

A year ago I was using beads to  decorate a felt pouch I'd made and I was quite happy with a random arrangement of beads for the centre of a the flower . But after Christmas I found Beadlust the blogspot of Robin Atkins and that inspired me to try and do more with beads.  I loved the idea of 'The Bead Journal Project' and thought next year I'll join. Over the past year I have visited Beadlust and looked to see how participants projects have been going and out of the corner of my eye I would see Robin's mantra of -just do it. So today is the day I register for the 2013 BJP and I have started to set up my first blog to record how things go with the beading and any other things I might make as I'm fiddle faddling away with fleece, fibre and fabric. So what have I been doing with beads in 2012? Perhaps that will be for the next posts.