A New Creation

Corazón Inflamado, Necklace of lampwork glass and sari silk kumihimo, Anna Lear, 2010

A dear friend gifted me this exquisite lampwork glass heart almost 3 years ago, and I knew something special was in store for it when I found some flaming bright sari silk ribbon at a fiber arts show last summer. Kumihimo (Japanese braidwork) with sari silk is no minor feat, but of course I had to try it and have just loved the results. Put this amazing heart pendant on a plain chain or thin silken cord? No way. As bright and shiny as the silk is, it doesn't upstage but rather complements the heart beautifully. And I'm very pleased to be able to photograph this creation so accurately and artfully....

New Kumihimo Braids (Yes, I still make jewelry)

Kumihimo Lariat 1: Sari silk ribbon, glass beads, and rayon/cotton with glass button clasp

Kumihimo Lariat 2: Sari silk ribbon, mohair, silk cord,
and rayon/cotton with glass button clasp

I found some beautiful sari silk ribbon at Convergence last month and decided to see whether it would work for kumihimo. Although it's much wider and a good bit heavier than the silk, cotton, and other fibers I generally use, its brilliant color and texture work very well in the round braids, especially with the larger (size 6 glass) beads I'd strung a while back for a different project. I have this particular braid (an 8-strand) down pat but have only recently figured out some good ways to finish the ends; here I've strung a handmade dichroic glass button on one end and made a beaded loop on the other, leaving the fiber ends loose at the button end for a more dramatic look. I don't even think this necklace needs beads; the button and tassel seem to work well as a focal. I finished braiding the piece above on the plane trip out to Philadelphia last month, and finished braiding the one at right on the plane trip home two weeks ago. So these have a bit of "heaviness" emotionally as well as physically... but their spirited color seems appropriate for honoring my mom, who I only got to see for nine hours during that visit before she passed away. The second kumihimo lariat here uses one of her yarns, in fact: a beautiful hand-dyed mohair and silk blend she had used for one of her many projects that became cherished gifts. I brought home this and many other yarns, as well as two unfinished projects that I will finish for her this fall or winter.

As for the sari silk, I have plenty more and will figure out how to use it in my jewelry and other handiwork. This tutorial for sari silk and stone bangles seems a great way to weave together ribbon and wire, and Stefanie uses a lot of sari silk in her exquisite creations. These are more than enough inspiration for new fiber projects, which always start coming to mind as shadows lengthen in August and autumn approaches...

Kumihimo Necklace

The Bead Soup Blog Party has indeed sparked my creativity again; I just finished this kumihimo necklace and am about to finish another much more elaborate one that I'll show later this week. This one uses a kumihimo (Japanese braided cord) of embroidery cotton with a handmade brass wire and turquoise clasp and brass end caps; the exquisite stone is Mexican green turquoise and was made by dear friends Dean and Conne of Two Cranes.

So yay for beading parties, real or virtual; even more fun than getting my package of goodies from Wanda and creating with them has been meeting my fellow party-goers! As part of the celebration some bloggers are having giveaways; Denise Yezbak Moore calls hers "the best bead give-away ever" and I would definitely have to agree! Even if her various color collections are split up, this is an amazing and generous giveaway. Please visit her blog and leave a comment to enter in the giveaway, and then stay to see Denise's wonderfully creative jewelry designs. Such talent, and I'm so glad to be part of the Internet Age so I can see what other people do and learn from and be inspired by it all! Speaking of inspiration, the Bead Soup Blog Party continues; see today's reveals here and enjoy the show!

Green Goddess

I finally figured out how to finish the ends on Kumihimo cords: end caps that can be glued AND pinched on, for full security. I don't like to make things that fall apart, especially things that I sell. So now I've finished off four necklaces using cords I've made over the past year or so, including the green one pictured above that I wove from 8 strands of cotton embroidery thread and glass seed beads. I made the cord to match the gorgeous glazed ceramic pendant from BeadFreaky and finished it with a simple brass wirewrap, brass petal cord ends, and an antiqued brass flower S-clasp. The necklace at right uses a thinner cord, just 4 strands of hand-dyed silk and gold embroidery thread, looped through a Creekmore-Durham dichroic glass pendant and finished with a brass clasp I made myself. I don't expect to total up much time at the workbench this week thanks to a grueling trip to Las Cruces yesterday and family medical stuff tomorrow ; even photo time has suffered, though I am thinking of taking the kids on a photo trip in the next few days, armed with their own little cameras that their Uncle Charles gave them for Christmas. The family that plays together...

Stone + Fiber = Cool

I've been dabbling at Kumihimo (a traditional Japanese fiber art) for about six months now and love how it looks with stone. For this cord I used some exquisite hand-dyed silk that I found at the 2007 Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta to make a 12-strand braid that perfectly matches this amazing chrysocolla stone given to me by Dean and Conne of Two Cranes. I have five or six other braids finished but have been kind of stumped about how to finish the ends for jewelry. The piece above shows one way: attach a button (this one is from Sara and David of Creekmore Durham Glass, from whom I also obtained the lovely pendant at right) and make a loop on the other end. I could also try more formal, finished end caps, but they can be expensive and so far I haven't found them entirely reliable. So, more exploration on that issue.

In other crafty news, the grouting of the cross piece in the last post did not go well; the very dark grout just muddied the whole piece. So I have to decide whether to scrape out the grout, or at least the top layer of it, and try a much lighter color. *Sigh.* I guess it's all part of the learning process. Maybe my bout this week with strep throat threw off my color judgment... or just tired me out.

And in other general news, my dear friend Evelyn is now on hospice care at home and will probably leave us soon. I know she's lived a full life and has had some peace in these past few years, but it's still way too soon. I love you, Evelyn, and will come say Goodbye today or tomorrow. Also, my father is in the hospital because he needs bypass surgery, which will happen next Monday or Tuesday; this was quite unexpected (for me, anyway); he has always been healthy. AND... my mom needs another round of chemotherapy; her cancer is back. DAMN. So I may not be updating here for a while.