Spring Flowers

 

Phew, putting the necklace together was trickier than I had anticipated. At one point I considered putting the beads into a bowl to be admired and forgetting the necklace altogether! These beaded beads are heavier than my candy cane ones,  The white 'pearl' beads must be heavier than the ones I usually use. I threaded the flower beads onto the same size 40 thread that I used to crochet the beads, but it didn't feel secure. I left the thread in place and added a thread of nylon beading thread. It's like invisible thread - I felt as though I were making the emperor's clothes. I did a stitch through the felt of each bead, but it doesn't prevent the beads from swiveling. So be it. The necklace does feel stronger and more substantial with the two threads holding it together. I threaded both threads through the clasp, took them back through the green beads at the ends and then secured them in the felt of the first and last beaded beads. 

More Flowers

 

I don't have quite enough for a necklace yet, but I have made progress on the flowery beaded beads. The ends look very messy, I know, but I'm going to thread them in after I've assembled the necklace so that I can use them to orient the beads. 

Back To Beads

 My flower beads have been on hold; life got in the way from several different directions. But today I am back to crocheting flower beads. I thought I'd show the inside of the bead before I put the felt ball in. There's a rather large hole at the bottom, but I've crocheted over the starting thread and will pull it tight at the end to close the hole. 

Test Tatting and Lambs

 I'm doing some test tatting, which I'm enjoying. Of course I won't show you a picture because it's not my project.

Mixed news on the lambs. Only Lily survived. It's a shame that the weather was cold and wet, which didn't help, though in truth their chances of survival were very slim. Lily is fine. Here's a picture of her using a friend of ours as a climbing frame:

Lilly, Lucky and Tom

 

Despite living in suburbia now, we have three little lambs in the garden. It seems you can take the man from the farm, but he remains a farmer! Jack rescued them and is bottle feeding them. I don't know if they'll all survive, we'll have to see how it goes. The farmer had assumed they would die, so if Jack can save even one of them, that's a bonus. 

Masks In Progress

 

Because I can sew, I tend to forget that others can't or don't want to! I mentioned masks on an online group this morning and promptly had a request for five. I'm seeing the person tomorrow, so I had better whiz them up today. These are rather boring compared to the brocade ones  but hopefully they'll do the job. 

Flower Beads

 

This is the plan I was hatching, a beaded bead with a flower on it. I took the flower from a beaded rope pattern by Mariam. It fitted fine onto my grid. The green 'vine and leaves' I did freehand. It took me several goes to get right, but I think I'm there now. You can see on the top right bead how many gaps in the vine there were!  The white beads I was using are rather uneven and I thought that detracted from the flower. I found some tiny plastic 'pearls' that are more even and I think that works better. Now to make enough beads for a necklace.