I scream Ice-cream

Free Herringbone Tutorial

There is a lot going on in the beadworld, but first let me present: Herringbone Stitch Tutorial, a free pattern to show you what my patterns look like and of course for you to have fun with flat Herringbone, or make a regular or a twisted rope. See how well the page layout suits a tablet? That is why I write in landscape and with a big font size.

There are more free patterns on my Facebook page for you. Typically my style, but the work is not  representative of my patterns. This one really shows the way I write and illustrate them. You can share it, copy it, transmit the link. No problem. But please don't do this with my other patterns.

My heart beats for The Beat

I live on a small budget and really need the little extra you bring to my family. You have no idea how grateful I am, dear beader with noble heart who buys my patterns! You have an unknown impact on my life. You not only allow me to buy beads (for new designs for you, and  mental stability for me), but also tea (Oolong -  for my physical health) and Croc's + medical soles for in my shoes which aren't reimbursed by my insurance (I can't walk without these). In addition, you make me dream. Dream that one day I might be able to buy new books or my favorite perfume again (my old bottle is desperately empty since months...). Books and perfume soothen the pain...


I dream of offering a big aquarium to my hubby one day. And maybe one day I won't have to worry about how the heck I'm gonna pay for the new computer... And you know what? I wouldn't need a new computer if I didn't write patterns, because even if the software is free, it needs power to run...and my old machine just can't have it anymore.

I never go on holidays, never go to the theatre or a concert, etc... but that is also photophobia-related and I have to live with it (or actually, without a lot of things). And I do. With passion. I'm a beadist!

At 'work'

What is a beadist? I hope that I don't mis-use the word. One day I saw that the brilliant Jean Campbell used it, and I immediately thought "Wow, a Beading Scientist". A searcher. A researcher (searching again, like "how did I do that, what if I change this") and teacher.
Yes. That is what we, pattern writers, are.
We search for new designs, we explore techniques 'to the bone', try to develop new stitches and threadpaths and tricks and teach them further, to you. We ask for as little money as possible for the huge amount of time going into this work. Yes, work. Many of us could have a job with paycheck at the end of the month. It might seem nice to bead and write tutorials. It is. It is as nice as selling ice-cream. Customers are always happy and smile when they buy it from you. Most tutorials are the price of two flavours on a cone.
Now, it may sound odd, but imagine that people steal your ice cream... You are so lucky to do that job, lucky to have so much ice-cream... hey! how can one make a living with selling ice-cream! You surely do it for the fun, don't need a job.

La Venezia,
Home-made Ice-cream Success Story

Would you continue selling ice-cream? No. You'd find another job, because you need the extra money, because it's a hard world for you too. Some, like me, have no other option than doing this type of work from home. Some beaders choose to stop a 'good' job they didn't like, sacrifice a lot to try to make a living with their passion.

People stand in a row, queuing to buy Daniele's divine icecream... He started with his tiny little ice-cream shop La Venezia all alone 20 years ago. His gelateria now not only pays the rent, but also the wages of several part-time employees... Yes. Those who are successful grant an income, even small, to others. Apparently, selling ice-cream can make a living for more than one person. Of course it has to be good. I remember him saying "that is 'XXX sport' when we said that his vanilla ice cream was the best in the world - which meant the 250th new, improved, recipe. Beading is also a question of doing a good job. Testing it. Recommencing.

Rania - Dangle Earrings
Less then two ice cream

So if certain people buy a pattern, why do they share it with all their contacts via PM or e-mail, of which some contacts share it further with all their contacts, and so on? Because they want to be loved by others. They want others to be grateful for the gift. And so the pattern goes round the world, gets added to huge 'libraries' of patterns stored in computers, sometimes on servers with limited acces - only available to those who are part of the club and won't tell anything... and the designer feels miserable because nobody seems to like what s/he makes. Why not pay for the pattern? It will bring you hours, and maybe years of fun (making and wearing your own jewelry). Ice-cream far less...

And honestly, what's the fun in making beaded jewelry and not being able to show it to all your friends online? Also, wouldn't you love to have your beautiful work showcased by the designer? It feels mighty good to be featured you know! Except the one who paid for the pattern, nobody can lightheartedly showcase her (his) latest beaded marvel, certainly not on FB or in groups, in public... Maybe at meetings  or on forums under cover of a nickname... But hey, the beadist - who also has a nickname on forums -, sooner or later will see it, or his/her friends will report it... And it hurts. It feels like a knife in the heart... It leads to bitterness and grief.

Now, why spend endless hours beading and re-beading and photograph and photoshop and write and illustrate and list and customer service, and, and, and? Because there are customers who are worth it and because we believe and hope that there will always be customers worth it. And we dream of / believe in a world with more honest beaders.

Many designers believe that we can reduce copyright infringement, little by little, through education. There is a new Facebook Group where designers get together to discuss these issues. I am going to join this group because I want these Korean thieves to take down my design, offered a few years ago to Firemountaingems. And because I believe in this 'education' idea. And because I believe in you.

You don't want to bead bad

May I scream? Please buy my patterns! They're good! They're fresh! As good as Ice-cream!

Out of BOTB'13, still BOTB-ing!

It is a particularly beautiful Summer in Switzerland this year. It is fantastic and much much appreciated after 10 months of cold. Being 'allergic' to light doesn't mean I don't like it, even if I have less freedom than a prisoner with a bracelet at his ankle.
I don't take apointments, do no shopping, nothing. It is like this the entire year, but particularly July and August. During these two months, and if lucky, beyond, I practice BOTB-ing as much as possible.

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My apartment faces the North-East, the sun is there until a certain hour in the morning and I keep the curtains closed until the sun is on the side of the building.

Today, the noisy grassmower of our building woke me up earlier than usual and I have mixed feelings about it. It is the loudest, oldest, noisiest mower in this area. It is also clear that it is useless trying to explain that grass does actually not grow much in July and August, because it uses its energy to not dehydrate and save its roots. The very little shade it has left for itself is priceless... so now the grass will burn. Like every year when the replacement of the concierge-on-holidays takes the job too seriously.

Now I've heard that some newbies in the building complain when the grass is not perfectly mown, sleek an chic, fully under control. As if the slightest little flower popping up makes it seem wild and neglected... Too serious people, too? Ha! that makes me think of a scene in Asterix and the Britts... With many thanks to Goscinny who knew how to highlight with much kindness what we, his human fellows, sometimes take so seriously. He succeeds to make me appreciate too serious people in a certain way...

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I'm waiting for the sun to turn (well, the earth to turn) and do some Beading On The Balcony, my sweet little balcony in the shade, and write a new pattern for you. I often think of the lake, so close - I can actually see a tiny tiny portion  of it -, and the water, the  boats, sailing, swimming, icecream, wind in my hair... and am grateful for beads and a shower in my bathroom.
And icecream, too.

This is my summer. I practice BOTB-ing. Beading On The Balcony. Funny that it has the same initials as the Battle Of The Beadsmith. Of which I have been eliminated in round 4 by Eva Dobos, who made a super beautiful necklace! I am not sad at all. I am not particularly proud about having gone up to round 4 either. I could have been eliminated in round 1 by one of the truly incredible, magical pieces which are now in the final group. I loved participating: the wonderful compliments from my peers made it truly enjoyable. Many thanks!

BOTB'13 is  a game more than a contest. If you participate in it, better not take it too seriously.
Same as life, better apply rule no. 6 - a very clever rule developed by the brilliant Mr. Benjamin Zander. It makes everything so much easier!

Mr. Zander at TEDTalks.

 

And you? Do you BOTB? Or maybe you BIP (Bead In Public) in a park?

Sometimes you've got to have faith...

Today's post is about my Kanagawa Wave Bangle, made for Contemporary Geometric Beadwork Vol. II. 

Kanagawa Wave Bangle

It started with a sentence in the Basics section, obsessing me since the day I saw it:

'If you place the final bead of your round and skip passing through the bead from the previous round [...] you will transform the work from circular to spiral.'

CGB Vol. I, page 25 Paragraph 4.  

I wanted to make a spiralling triangle when I read that. But when making it, I found myself making something in between a Geobead, a design by Jessica Beels and a pillow bead like those made by Carol Huber, available for free in one of those lovely free e-books proposed by Beading Daily, called 'How to make a beaded bead'.

Geobeads by Jessica Beels

This brought me back in memory another design by Jessica, published a few years ago in Beadwork magazine... a croissant.

Beaded Croissant by moi

Suddenly inspiration hit me like a lightning bolt: waves! Big waves around my wrist, waves like those in Katsushika Hokusai's artwork 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' - I was sure that it would work thanks to the flexibility of the  MRAW bellyband in the center. But I had no idea how to find the right size. so I just went for it, with a very unusual number of units at the start...

It felt like wing suit flying. You know, those guys who jump off the cliffs with a pinguin-like suit... (and a safety parachute).

I like this picture of one of them a lot, he looks like a little fly near this Jesus:

I knew that only when completely finished, the wave would be visible... You can see it taking the shape only when you reach the very last rows of the work. So  either it would be ok, or a disaster - I really feared not having started with enough MRAW units...the bangle would have been too small in this case... It was a relief to see the adorable little waves finally curve... YAY!!!

Close-up of Kanagawa Wave Bangle

The Great Wave - Hokusai

The little horns on both sides appear to not only be necessary for the aspect (they represent a smaller wave and Fujiyama Mount far in the distance) but also for balance and keeping the bangle flat.

It makes me think of Mandy Hale's words:

"You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens."

Contemporary Geometric Beadwork - from 'What if?' to 'I want (because I can)'

I want POINTS

I often read in magazines that most designers play with beads and try 'What ifs'... and this brings new ideas and fabulous designs. Although I am a 'Whatifer' too, I am also an 'Iwanter'. In that sense that 'I want to use this bead, make this shape, have points here, wings there, cut-out openings...' You can do anything with beads, or nearly anything. And if you doubt this, you might not have read Contemporary Geometric Beadwork Vol. 1.

CGB empowers the beader, bringing tips and tools to go further and beyond trying. It makes sketching easier (you know that you CAN do it). It enables you to make things you would never have thought possible.

Ribbon?

It took 4 days of beading to make this collar. I hesitated a lot between toggle and ribbon. I love ribbon on this type of collars, it is so comfortable, but making a geometric clasp was just irresistible. I hope you like it too.

This piece was inspired by the work of two wonderful bead artists. Firstly Jennifer Chasalow VanBenschoten, whose collar for the Battle of the Beadsmith 2012 made me want one like that. When I saw it, I really fell in love (and I still am). It took me more than a year to come up with my own 'pointy' collar.

I want a SQUARE toggle

I had indigo Tila beads and lovely burnt Sienna Delicas to make it, but I was missing something complete this piece. When I saw Mikki Ferrugiaro's Lotus Flowers, someting hit me. This was exactly what I wanted for the lower part of my necklace.
Do I need to mention that the nifty instructions in the book Contemporary Geometric Beadwork by Kate McKinnon to make the zig zag and points were very helpful? 

Last but not least - for reasons of motion, I built the lower part on Delica beads added like Kate shows in her 'Guide Round' - available to those who pre-order Volume 2 of Contemporary Geometric Beadwork.

Looking for a name...

Now I need to find a nice name for this collar. Do you maybe have an idea?

Country Blog Hop Reveal - and more to celebrate...

Time goes by fast and slowly at the same time, a strange feeling. It was about time that I wrote a new blog post, because a lot of things have happened, but it's not as if I hadn't written in ages either. I actually haven't really found time and words...

So the main subject of this post is the Country Blog Hop. I enthusiastically participate in "My Country, of Thee I Bead" organized by Nancy Smith. Canada and USA having national celebrations very close to one another, she had the sweet idea to ask the entire world to bead something related to their country (of origin, or adoption).

I am a Dutch girl living in Switzerland and love both countries, so something for each naturally resulted in this pair of flag-earrings made with little warped squares. They are strung freely on round 15mm sterling hoops, and I can put any warped square on to them.

I call these Hop and Hup - when they encourage their sportspersons, in particular footballers, the Swiss say 'Hop Schweiz or Hop Suisse' and the Dutch say 'Hup, Holland, Hup'. Isn't that funny, knowing that this is a blog HOP???

Hop! Hup!

Having just finished and listed my patterns for nautical flags and pennants ( alphabet and numbers), it seemed natural to try a few flags of nations.

Did you know that Switzerland is the only land to have a square flag, i.e. not a rectangle one? There is a funny anecdote my husband remembers about the new European Parliament in Brussels, a few years ago: all the flags were rectangular, even the Swiss flag... which wasn't much appreciated by the Swiss delegation invited for I donnowhatkind of negociation.

Please take time to visit the rest of the participants. A full list is available at Wired Nan


As I said above, there is more to celebrate.

I am grateful for the many wonderful people in my life. My husband, friends, cyberfriends and fellow beaders.

My BOTB'13 piece has gone up to round 2. I am so very sorry for those who did not go up. To be honest, I didn't really bother about 'winning' any round, I justed hoped for a good welcome... and wow, there are no words to describe how wonderful it is to feel the support from other beaders, to receive so many compliments. Even from my opponents, who are very talented ladies!

I finally got my pattern for the fuchsia flower listed in my Etsy Shop - I am very happy with it and hope to see many other persons making them, too. I am  working on other patterns, so stay tuned!
I am thankful to those who buy my patterns. I so need your support! Being photophobic is really disabling. I don't know what else I could do. Beading keeps me from going insane and the sales allow me to buy beads, thread, and findings... And the online contact with you all is so rewarding, and is nearly the only social contact that I have. You are important for me.

So I offer you a special reduction code OF 33% discount in my shop for the coming 7 days:

CELEBRATION

My private life has also known a few ups. Hubby has developed some kind of allergy to plastics/synthetics of all kinds... Even though this sounds pretty nasty (it is), we are grateful for finally knowing it, because he was often in pain or fell bad for unknown reasons, like sitting on a plastic garden chair... now we know why! His eyeglasses were the big revelation-factor: his face got really swollen, and it started where his glasses rest on the nose. This has been a long errance... For example: swollen anckles due to socks - we thought that it was simply water... Swollen eyes - we thought pollution or pollen... and so on.

We've thrown away a lot of clothes with 'hidden' elastine and ordered new. Yesterday evening he sat on the sofa, smiling, and said that he hadn't felt good like that in ages... And that makes me truly happy.

My lovely flowers

It was great to have a few days of really beautiful, warm, awesome weather, allowing us to sit and eat on the balcony... I am so happy to have an apartment on the shady side of the buidling, my photophobia would kill me if I were on the other side. Today it is raining again. I have to admit that I am very impressed by the bravery of my flowers on my balcony, they are doing impressively well.

And last but not least: a very dear friend  living in the Netherlands and whom I had lost contact with over the years, found me back on Facebook and it is simply fantastic to catch up with her. I think that I was 16 or maybe 17 when I saw her for the last time.

Now even in the bluest skies there are little clouds. I have to buy a new computer - screen and everything included. Because it is simply not possible to continue making illustrations on my portable pc... it still works but is too slow, the screen is too small and some things are broken (like my cd-reader, plus a problem with the ventilation)...

So please, don't forget the reduction code CELEBRATION for 33% discount in my shop for the coming 7 days and please share this information with your friends.

Thank you for reading this very long post. You are wonderful!

Happy celebrations to all

and for my American friends:

Happy Independence Day!