Tuesday, September 16, 2014

WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT COLOR BEADS......

The marbled fabric project I blogged about the other day was not only calling me....it was screaming for attention.
 Despite gathering my supplies, when it came down to it, the Delica beads I planned on using to attach the agate (with the even count peyote stitch) just weren't the right colors. 

What to do??  This agate slice is especially thick, with more than normal uneven edges.  You can see by the photo above how unattractive that edge is.
 So I tried a new method.  Stacks of regular seed beads, with one lime Delica bead on each were stitched around the agate.
 Next, I added a bead between each lime bead, pulling the thread tension tight to help encase the embellishment.
BUT.....I wasn't keen about the appearance...a bit uninteresting in my opinion.
So, I threaded up my needle again and added an additional lime bead on top of every other Delica bead.....giving it the appearance of the peyote stitch...well one row of the peyote stitch......

Now I'll be pondering what comes next.  Most often an embellishment this large is added towards the end of the project, but because the marbled fabric was so busy, I needed to get this focal point in place before I moved to smaller bead and hand embroidery motifs.

4 comments:

Nancy said...

I wondered how long before that beautiful rescued fabric would demand your attention. You solved the problem beautifully with your 'caged" agate and it looks quite secure so you can still move the fabric around without it popping out. Very nice!

The Idaho Beauty said...

What a clever girl! I'm guessing that like me, you get nearly as much enjoyment out of solving problems like this as you do the finished product.

That definitely is an over the top marbled piece, so beautiful, and indeed, I wondered how in the world anything added to it would show up. This is a great start.

Robbie said...

The look of your stitching the beads is really cool! Looks like peyote!!! Colors are wonderful.

margaret said...

so worth persevering with you now have a loved beaded piece on your marbled fabric