Hooks and Fire

I'm a bad girl. Yup, I admit it. Why you ask? On a day like today, when we're excited about unveiling the Collaboration Exploration with Beverly Herman and Elaine Ray? Well, I'm bad because when I received the beads from Elaine, so many ideas ran through my head about how I could combine her beads with my spirals that I haven't really been able to settle on just one. You might remember my commitment issues with beads. I have a hard time committing lovely beads to just one design forever and ever.

I wonder if Elaine and Bev had a hard time committing? Maybe not - I'll be excited to see what they've done! A BIG THANK YOU to both of them for playing! This has been a blast! Thanks to Art Bead Scene for bringing us together!

Since I ran out of time before I was able to commit, I'm unveiling while still in the design process - today's design is number 4. Yup. I made 3 necklaces with this set of beads and took them apart to make this one. Design numero quattro! I'm still not satisfied with the design. Numero quattro is only a stepping stone to design number 5. But I ran out of time - we all agreed to post today.

So, this design is a whim - I wanted to try out the Cascade yarn I bought on a whim one day. The colors in the yarn are a bit brighter than the autumnal colors in the beads - a harbinger of warmer days to come. The yarn is 100% viscose so it's very soft (and impossible to knot). I love Elaine's off white oval beads, an unexpected surprise in the crocheted necklace. Since the necklace is full of such surprise and lightness, it's appropriate to call this Collaboration Necklace, "Whim."

Last month, I mentioned I was working on beads for a Collaboration Exploration this month with beadmaker Elaine Ray and designer, Beverly Herman. To pique your interest, I'm posting pictures of my previous collaborations and the beads I created for this month's Collaboration. I'll post links to my co-collaborators blogs and you can see what they've come up with. This is a surprise for all of us, we haven't shared our creations with one another yet - so it will be new for me too! I can't wait to see what Bev and Elaine have come up with!

Here's the Collaboration with Melanie of Earthenwood Studio and Jean Yates: Exuberance!


Here's the Totem Pendant I created this past fall with beadmaker/designer Bridgitte Tucker and designer Laura Bracken: Universal Truth




The set of beads and spirals I made for tomorrow's collaboration in autumnal colors - plum and steel gray-green. Make sure you stop by tomorrow to see the Collaboration!