Experimenting with Bead Embroidery

The end of 2012 I was working on the Bluebell Pixie by Nora Corbett. Naturally I got distracted when I was oh so close to finishing her off, and started stitching her Petal Fairy instead. But after 3 days of cross stitching I realized I needed to change it up a bit and decided to try my go at beading again.

Bluebell by Nora Corbett

For those of you who don't know I kind of went through a phase where I didn't see the point of putting all this effort into making beautiful things only to be swallowed by all of the resellers found on Etsy (Etsy is for Handmade or Vintage...a reseller is someone who buys mass produced items and then sells them off as handmade for easy money.) I pushed by beads to the side and indulged in my OCD and cross stitch and managed to finish a few projects. 2012 was the year I finally finished my first cross stitch pattern and got it framed. It then got me obsessing over other projects and managed to finish a total of 6 along with numerous other starts.

Anyways, after deciding to bead again I ended up frustrating myself with my bad habit of looking for something and tearing everything apart looking for it only when to find what I was looking for to say to myself "Oh I will clean this up later" and then eventually just shoving it all into a photo box or bin. So I started sorting. All the findings in one bin, seed beads in another, crystals in another, special beads....well you get the point. Once everything was inventoried in my head I came across an article my nan had cut out of a newspaper for me to read, it was bead embroidery, which I have been meaning to try.

This is as far as I have gotten so far:

 Notice a theme in color? I swear that was unintentional lol! The center portion is lace agate, so are the two beads on either side that have a criss-cross over top. Swarovski crystals are also used along with glass beads. I am designing as I go so it will be a one of a kind piece. I am thinking of adding a rectangular lace agate above the white long beads (picture below) and doing a peyote stitch around it like I did with the center bead, then adding another Swarovski crystal above that creating a dramatic tear drop shape.

I don't know what I should name this piece when it is done. Any ideas? What does it remind you of?

New Project

I was cleaning the patio room (Which is technically my crafting and creating room but I prefer working in the media room with a TV) and I came across a Mill Hill book. I flipped through it and saw some wonderful patterns in it. People who have read my previous posts will know I love beading and cross stitching so this book allowed me to combine the two of my loves and create a new project.

So I picked out some of my own seed beads (non Mill Hills) and found some pretty Swarovski Crystals from my stash and a loosely followed a pattern from the book and this is what I came up with:

It took me roughly 3 hours to do it...I did it in between cooking dinner and watching those crime shows like Dateline and 48 Hours. I think it turned out rather lovely. Still don't know what to do with it though, perhaps maybe I will turn it into an ornament or maybe a little purse. Any ideas?

Emerald Mermaid is Complete!

I took over from my mom on this cross stitching of Emerald Mermaid by Mirabilia on February 19, 2012. I finished it at 4am on March 21, 2012. That was with a week and a half of not working on her because I wasn't feeling in the mood to put the beads on her. It took about three days to put the beads on but to be fair I was distracted by watching hockey games on the weekend (Go Canucks!!) She is done on 32 count linen and has almost a total of 3 packages of Mill Hill beads in her. Here is the finished photo:

She is so pretty! I can't stop looking at her. My nan is going to be super happy with it once we get it framed. My mom pointed out after I finished her that even though her and my Auntie both cross stitch as well that this is the most ornate stitching in the family! Sure is going to be an amazing heirloom to pass down to future generations.

After finishing this one though it has inspired me to pick up my Midsummer's Night Dream Fairy by Mirabilia to work on once again. I have found in the depths of our storage room that we actually do have a q-snap frame!! I currently have my Cinderella by Heaven and Earth Designs on it at this moment to finish a page but once that page is done I am going to do the fairy. Having the frame will make it easier to work with the huge fabric piece and is more handy than a hoop. I used a hoop with the mermaid because it made counting the linen so much easier. I couldn't use it though when attaching the beads so I wish I had found the frame sooner!

Here are some bonus photos to show all the details of it!

Beads on Cross Stitching

I have spent a couple hours attaching beads to my Emerald Mermaid by Mirabilia. I am loving the look of all these beads on this beautiful mermaid! There sure is a lot more beads than I had originally thought! I am just happy I am used to holding a beading needle and stringing one bead on at a time for my bead weaving I do, tips and tricks I have learned by doing that are coming in handy in this project and threading a beading needle is second nature to me.

While looking for some new beading needles I came across this other project I had done a year ago. It involves beads as well:

It is Beaded Rose by Just Nan. Took me a total of two days to stitch it up and it challenged me with some special stitches and attaching beads.

For attaching beads I use two strands of a color that matches my fabric's color. I use the loop method so I reduce the bulk and I can start in strange places that aren't close to other stitches. I also do a full x in the beads so they are snug and secure on the fabric. For picking up the beads it helps if your fingers are a little moist then they will stick right to your finger and easier to put onto the needle.

Emerald Mermaid

Here is my latest almost finish. I plan on working on the beads this weekend and hopefully be able to call it another 2012 finish.

She is Emerald Mermaid by Mirabilia. My mom had done the upper part of the garland in her hand then put her away for a few months. I then decided I felt like starting a new project. I picked this up off of the table and decided I would finish it. The stitching part took me about two weeks to finish it all up. I took over from where my mom started her on February 17, 2012. It then took me about two weeks of stitching to call it done. I put it away for a few weeks while I did other hobbies but I came back to her this weekend and decided that I will finish her all up.

This project was started for my nan. She had bought the pattern over two years ago expecting my mom or I to do it for her. We don't know if she remembers buying it so she will be in complete shock when she gets it for Mother's Day all framed and ready to hang!!

I want to note that the pattern calls for two spools of #4 very fine braid...I only used half a spool of it. I like using long lengths of it to prevent the back from getting bulky with all the startings and finishings. It did take a little longer to stitch but I figured I would have been using the same time with constantly finishing off and starting a new thread. For fun here is a picture of the back of my work!!

I am now considering doing this pattern again but switching up the colors so that way there are two different ones in the family instead of two of the same ones. I also plan on doing Mermaids of the Deep by Mirabilia as well since the colors are all very similar and complement one another so well. I already have everything for that project!