Feeling Blue

Blue Geometric Beaded Tapestry

I'm not actually blue, I just needed a title for this post. I'm actually quite happy for a change. I mean, it's not like I'm depressed generally or anything, but there's a few things in my life that are going well, and I am happy about them.  It's about damn time, really.

I went to see an exhibit of illuminated manuscripts today. I always think I should draw some ideas for my tapestries from illuminated manuscripts, because they are small and don't have a whole lot of shading to them--but then I see them, and I see how much detail is actually in them--there's NO WAY I could make anything even approximating the detail and thin lines, ect that went into the manuscripts. Not with the beads and patterning limitations I have.

I would, some day, like to make a series of illuminated capitals as beading patterns, which I'd sell as custom work, so you could just buy the letters you were interested in, and I'd make them, send 'em to you as a set or as a long scroll--but somehow pattern design is one of those things that I've been falling behind on lately.

I wish I knew where all my time was going--well, not this week because I can account for most of that, but in general time's just been...slipping away...

Unicorn

Unicorn Beaded Tapestry

Unicorns. Not quite as exciting as dragons, but interesting in their own right. I like the idea that they were hunted--actually, I like unicorns a lot, except for their association with silly little girls and innocent virgins. Not that there's anything wrong with virgins, just that it seems to be a rather odd proclivity for a mythological creature to have.

I guess I don't care for their beards, either.

But the myths about them healing, and their purity, those are interesting. So many creatures of myth have to do with death, dying and killing things, but here's a creature that's said to purify wells, and visits only to the innocent, it's a really nice contrast.  Of course, unicorns aren't entirely without death, since they were traditionally hunted (well, "traditionally" since it's hard to hunt something that doesn't exist...), and all their parts used for magic, but that's not really the point. And they didn't generally kill things themselves.

I also like the idea that con-men would sell narwhal horns as unicorn ones. And, of course, my favorite fact is that when the Northern Europeans first saw the rhinoceros they thought, 'Ah, the unicorn at last.'  Because y'know, fragile pretty horse = giant horn-nosed monstrous creature. Makes perfect sense.

But the whole rainbows, happiness, and fit-only-for-seven-year-old-girls modern unicorn, that I don't like. I'm not entirely sure why--and I'll take a unicorn puzzle over a Thomas Kinkade puzzle any day (but still a dragon over a unicorn)--but it might be because I like to resist the popular trends. Everyone like unicorns? FINE. I will like cockatrices. They have feathers.

Foxhart

FoxHart Banner

This is a use for beadwork that I think is really interesting;  Heraldry.

This type of beadweaving, especially with the Czech seed beads, work best with a few simple and flat colors, perhaps a bit of simple shading here and there.  All of which are also true of heraldry, since they needed clear and simple shapes and bright colors that you could see from the far side of a battlefield or down a distant road.  Heraldry wasn't always simple, I know, but it makes for a neat place to draw pattern ideas from.

This banner isn't anyone real, but is instead based off a story I wrote where two neighboring kingdoms are combined into one, and this is the resulting flag, I guess. They are on a peninsula and... you know what? Let's just say that I've put too much thought into making the symbols in this work just so and leave it at that. I don't want to bore anyone, after all.

I keep meaning to put up a 'custom beaded heraldry banner/flag/thing' but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't really know what--I mean, if I were selling at Ren Fairs or right to the SCA I'd feel fairly comfortable making the offer and knowing there was interest in it, but just tossing it out onto Etsy worries me that I'll just be missing the target audience--or anyone who might be even remotely interested.

Maybe someday, after I get my life in order, one part of which is a goal to join the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronisms, that is), perhaps then I can put out feelers to see if there'd be a market for such a thing.

Or maybe I'll put it up on Etsy anyway. One thing not selling doesn't make a big difference from another thing not selling, I guess.

Oh, and I relisted the Flag pin and the World Map Pattern on Etsy today. I just didn't have anything to say about them, so I went with this.

In All the World

World Map Beaded Tapestry

I've always wanted to travel the world, but I'm way too scared to do so on my own.

And it's funny, because I can get up and sing a song without accompaniment in front of 200+ kids and their parents/chaperons by myself and not worry about a thing, but the idea of traveling alone has me shivering in fear.

I've done it--I've traveled from Wisconsin to New Hampshire to work, then moved to Oregon, then moved back to Wisconsin and from there returned to New Hampshire and Massachusetts for more work, and maybe it wasn't the same as traveling, working or living in a foreign country, but it rather felt like it at times. Well, except for the bit where everyone already spoke my language and used the same money and laws as me, for the most part. But it was still traveling far from home.

And I learned, when I got there, that I was more inclined to locate a place of safety/home and stay there than I was to go out and explore these new parts of the country.  With the exceptions being when my friends were involved, because as soon as there was anyone going somewhere else, I was more than happy to jump along. And then, you know, cling.

It seems that at heart I'm just a homebody with delusions of travel. *sigh*

Merman

Merman Beaded Tapestry on Etsy

This is a fun tapestry, although it's given me hell in getting it photographed.  It's the tapestry I've taken pictures of the most often, and yet this is the first batch that turned out anything close to correct in colors.

Part of the reason it's been so difficult is because I had the brilliant idea to use black thread to weave it. I didn't think it would make a huge difference--or I thought it would enhance the colors by making them...more intense or something--but instead all it did was make the whole piece really disappointingly dark.  Cameras apparently hate the dark color, even when I photographed it in full sunlight.  If the darkness wasn't a problem, then the color-change near the end of the tail (which it changed from red-and-purple to hot-pink-and-purple) would be interpreted as a place where the image was over exposed, and would be treated accordingly.

Or maybe that's just because all digital cameras hate red; I don't know.

The Face of the Moon

Full Moon Beaded Tapestry on Etsy

  

I grew up reading fantasy novels (surprise! I bet you never would have guessed *that*), and they always made a big deal about "oh, we can run away tonight, no prob; there's a full moon."  I never really thought much about it.  I just assumed the authors knew what they were talking about and went with it.

Then as I got older I started to notice that the moon really wasn't all that bright--not in the city, anyway (my hometown is a moderately sized college town).  And I started to doubt that the authors really knew what they were talking about.

But then came the first summer I worked at camp.  I was just a Junior Counselor that year, so I was stuck somewhere in between being a camper and being staff.  Because I wasn't old enough to live with the staff proper (I was only seventeen and technically a minor), but was still working for camp and thus couldn't live with the campers, I and the other two JCs were stuck in this one tent on the far side of a large field.

The very far side of a very large field.  Actually three fields depending on how you walked across them.

A typical summer is about two and a half months long, although I think I started a few months late that year, but every night I had to walk across that giant field by myself (it was mowed grass and not dangerous unless you hit the flag pole).  I decided it was a good enough time as any to practice getting over my fear of the dark, so each night I'd try to walk a little farther without the flashlight.  I quickly got to the point where I could make it across the whole field without my flashlight--

But then a week later it was far too dark to see anything.  It took me a few days to catch on, but eventually I realized that it was because the moon was (gasp!) new and not shedding its light down on us little ones below.

Ultimately that summer gave me an incredible appreciation for the stars and the moon and all the things that our ancestors knew but that we've forgotten in our artificially-lit lives.  I try not to be overly spiritual most of the time, but seeing those stars wheeling overhead while my feet were guided only by the light of the moon--it's a set of memories I treasure greatly.

Not Everything is Black and White

Black and White Beaded Tapestry

Some things are black, white and red! Like this tapestry, for instance.

This is a beautiful little number.  I love that I only used three colors but came up with something so very striking. The further you are away from it, in fact, the more interesting it becomes--those simple color choices make pretty little optical illusions, and if you don't believe me, just step back from your computer screen a bit.  Then you'll see.

I'd actually wanted less red in the tapestry--I'd wanted no red at all, really, but black and white got boring fast, so I added a bit of red, and then a bit more red, and not I'm really, really happy with how it turned out.

One curious thing about it--and I don't quite know how or why this happened--but it's not perfectly symmetrical.  Top-to-bottom it is, and side-to-side, but if you try from corner-to-corner, it's not quite the same. I spent a long time trying to figure out why not and fix it, but eventually I gave up in the hopes that it would be square when finished.  Clearly it's not square, but I think the slight lack in symmetry only enhances the experience of looking at it--more to see the longer you stare.

Avast Ye Landlubbers!

Pirate Ship Beaded Tapestry on Etsy

I know we've already seen this one, but now it's actually getting posted, so I figured I'd talk about it again--there's always something to talk about with pirates, after all.

Actually, I thought I'd talk about production today.  I know it seems like I make something new every day, but we're actually on a delay here, as I'd had my Etsy shop for several months before I started this blog, so we've plenty of back items.

The truth is that I can only bead for two to three hours a day or various parts of me begin to hurt--usually my fingers/wrists, but occasionally my back.  My speed is such that I can make a bracelet in a day, but the tapestries take significantly longer.

I was very curious how much I beaded in a day and started keeping track. At first it was just the number of rows completed, but that wasn't really very informative since all my tapestries have different widths, so I started counting the exact number of beads I sewed on in a day.  My number chart got messed up for this particular tapestry, but I can tell you that on the fourth day of making my Airship Beaded Tapestry I did 893 beads--and that I averaged 800 beads per day for that whole tapestry. 

However, for the second Luna Moth Beaded Tapestry, I did closer to 900 beads a day--probably because I was pushing the time limit, although what I listen to/watch affects my speed as well.  At a glance I generally do 700-800 beads per day, which isn't bad, even if not being able to do more means I'll never get rich selling things.

"Selling things" ha. as if.

Inverted

 Geometric Beaded Tapestry

This fun little tapestry is actually the inverse of the last little tapestry that I posted about--and I do mean little quite literally.

The Inverse

One of the best things about making geometric tapestries that have mirror imagery from side to side and from corner to corner is that I can then take the pattern and flip it inside out to create something completely different.  I did it with my first geometric pattern, and it worked just as well with this one that I made here.

I think that I prefer the original one (at left) but the second one is nice, and my little sister says she prefers that one, and she's the computer graphics design major, so I suppose she might know.

My little sister was actually home for a day this week, and she came up with a few new ideas, and took four of my bracelets to see if a consignment shop near where she lives would like to sell them. She did leave me without a heart bracelet right near Valentine's day, but I've got that covered--watch for hearts over the next week or so.

You Knew It Would Happen Some Day

Pattern - Rabbit Beaded Tapestry

Considering how much I love my bunny, is this really a surprise for anyone?

I actually made the pattern ages ago, and the tapestry months ago, but I hesitated about posting it because, well, because it's MY rabbit, and I don't know who would want to make a beaded tapestry of MY rabbit--other than me, of course.

But no one buys anything from my shop, so does it really matter if no one buys this, either?

As for my execution of it, I think I did a fairly good job with it.  It took me forever and a day to collect the proper grays for it--and once I had about ten colors of gray or black, it still took me a day to pick out which I was going to use. I did okay with the final decision, but I double-guessed myself with the white/lightest gray, and then I didn't realize that my second-darkest would look so very unfortunately similar to my third-darkest. But you live and learn, and I'm not selling the tapestry itself--just the pattern.

I also chose Japanese beads for the background green, which makes the bottom ripple a bit. I knew that was going to happen, and I'm okay with it, but my mom saw it and was all 'how are you going to fix this horrible rippling?' as if it was an amendable flaw of technique--and then she went on about it like it was the worst thing ever, and it ruined the whole piece. I think I know what I'm doing after several dozen tapestries, Mom, thanks.

I hate living at home; please buy something so I'm that much closer to moving OUT.

A New Geometry

Geometric Beaded Tapestry

Well. Someone looks tiny.

I mean, it is tiny, but they never really look it...until I put my hand in the picture. And boy does that throw everything into perspective.

Or I have really big hands--which I've actually been told I do have large or 'man hands' before. Yeah. I dumped him.

Okay, well, my little sister was home for Christmas, and she suggested that I make more geometric tapestries.  Of course her idea was that she would make the patterns and I would make the tapestry, but in the end she left without anything concrete, so I decided to take matters into my own hands, as it were.



This is smaller than my other beaded tapestries, but I rather like the size because it means I can finish the whole tapestry in four days (with time left over for a pin). The beads used are all Japanese cut size 11, some my poorly-cut ones, and some my better-cut ones.  I actually made the pattern in these colors with those exact beads in mind, which is strange because they seem like the six colors should be rather garish together, but instead it's a really intricate and sophisticated piece.

I changed the colors slightly and made an inverse of the pattern, but it's not as good. I'll put it up when it's completely completed (which probably won't happen until I'm done using it as a cell-phone cozy).

Merman

Pattern: Merman Beaded Tapestry

So this one, let's see.  I made the pattern a long time ago, but for some reason I made the pattern too big--I think I just didn't check the size before I started cleaning up the clip art I was working with (this one barely resembles the original), and didn't notice until I was finished that it was 105x119 beads--which is HUGE by beaded tapestry standards.

So I scaled it down to a nice 79x89 beads, but even that was too large, so I made a 60x65 version, and that's the one that I beaded.  You can see it for sale on Etsy: Merman Beaded Tapestry.  But that merman has many flaws, so I found myself wanting to make a second one.

Only this time I went with the larger pattern--the in-between one, specifically.

It works out some of the flaws of the smaller piece, especially the flaws that were from color choices, but he's got a few issues of his own (you can see the side bulging by his hand, for one) I do like it, though, and I'm not sure if I'll sell it or not--try to sell it, that is. I don't know if I should have two mermen tapestries up at the same time, though, so for now we're just going with the pattern.

Why a merman? Well, all you ever see is mermaids, and female fairies, ect. And while I like mermaids and female fairies, I've always felt that the playing field could be a bit more even; why should I, as a girl, have to see scantily clad women fey/mermaids/whatevers? Why can't I see scantily-clad male fairies? and when you DO see males from fairy-tale/myth, it's old Tritan, or a knight in full armor or a prince who's not pretty but has a nice personality.

I like to think of this as evening out the playing field. Equality goes both ways, you know.

Day Three

Well, it's the third day of reposting the same thing every other day, but since the viking bracelet got way more attention yesterday, I wonder if I chose the wrong thing to repost.  Well, if it doesn't get more than three views today (even though I posted it early) then I'll move on to something else.

Or maybe I should just photograph everything with Legos.

Today's topic will instead be about maps:

Map One

Map Two

This is one of my favorite patterns. Probably because I ended up making it from scratch all on my own. I mean, I had a map to go off of--actually, I had two, but the one had only the outlines of the continents, while the other had some of the details, but I couldn't get it to convert, so I had to...fuss a lot with my patterning software, and eventually ended up making the whole thing pretty much on my own.

It also has a larger number of colors than I was accustomed to using, and since they are all placed very precisely to create this beautiful thing--I just love it.

Map One

I loved it so much, in fact, that I made a second one. There are some subtle differences between them, most notably that I used a different green in the second one.  It ended up being a delica green, since that was the closest I could get to the one I'd used before, and the beads are an entirely different size and shape, throwing everything off. I think I did something similar with the off-white in the corner, but it's a more subtle adjustment.

I actually wish that they were a bit more different, since the words on the map are rather odd.  I used this as the central piece in my senior show in college, where all the beaded tapestries I made had a myth/legend theme to them, so I titled it 'Here There Be Legends,' but I have no idea why I didn't remove the letter from the second one.  Or change it to say 'here there be dragons,' which is a more traditional thing for a map to say.  Weird.

Map Two

I've thought about cutting it out and replacing the words with blank beads, but I've a different size thread, and the beads have been stewing in the attic for years, and I suspect they've changed color--which means any replacing I do will be pretty obvious.

So instead I just pretend it's intentional as I try to sell Map Two on Etsy. The pattern is also up for sale, if you're interested in making your own world map.  I've even removed the words from it, although I can add them--or have it say 'here there be dragons' instead, if you prefer.

Draem Catcher Beaded Tapestry

Dream Catcher Beaded Tapestry

Back in college I had an assignment for one of my art classes (I actually have a degree in art, have I mentioned that?) an assignment wherein....actually, I can't recall the details of it. It might have been the 'embellish something' assignment, but I don't remember.

The point of this is that I made a sort of dream-catcher cage for it.  I made the hoop set-up that generally used for 3-d dream catchers, but then instead of linking all the sides so there was this visually complex and confusing one-sided-four-sided thing, I wove each side into a dream catcher with black, so I had a bird-cagey thing instead.

I then filled the inside with colorful paper cranes, tied a few black paper cranes to the outside and added some twisted-wire bead-like things.

It was a 'reverse dream catcher'.  It had some visual interest, so when I got home from college I hung it up in my room, and when I moved away (tried to, at least) after college I went to take it down and my little sister said no, I should leave it up, so I did.

A few months later I returned home for a visit and found the 'catcher hanging in a different room.  When I asked about this, my little sister said that she'd moved it after realizing most people didn't have regular nightmares about their high school burning down.

This made me reflect back over the times I'd slept in the room with the 'catcher during and after college.  There had been a rather surprising number of dreams featuring fighting or other military activity during those times.  I'd always thought it was tension from growing up and being beack home, fighting with mom, ect.

...but I haven't had a single one since that dream catcher started hanging out in the other room, and really my outlook and location in life hasn't changed much from those days.

Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Ahoy Maties!

Today's Etsy listing: Christmas Candle Bracelet

Today we've got another set of triplets to look at, this one the pirate ship, which is in fact for sale on etsy: Pirate Ship Beaded Tapestry--OR, if you prefer, you can make your own after purchasing the Pattern-Pirate Ship Beaded Tapestry.

As you can see, I've attempted this pattern three times.  The first time is the white-sailed ship.  It's...not bad. I began it far back either in college or near the end of college, but I ran out of the beads I'd used for the sky.  I couldn't find more no matter how hard I looked.  It didn't help that the beads were originally from a craft store tube rather than a bead store so... I basically gave up on the entire pattern.

After I made the second tapestry I came back to this one and decided I'd finish it.  I took a few of the sky-beads to my local Bead and Button show and found something that matched. I'm not sure I made the best choice, and it's rather obvious so it's not like I'll ever be able to sell it; but at least the whole ship is finished now.

When I returned to beading after the long dry spell I thought I'd give the pirate ship another chance, and I made the black-sailed ship.  I actually fixed the pattern between; you can tell that it's a slightly different shape (especially in the sails).  The new pattern was adjusted for the shape of the beads, so it's not as stretched, but it's all smaller.  The beads I used for the sky are slightly wider than those I used for the ocean, so the tapestry is a trapezoid, but I love the color, so I don't mind.

After that I wanted to sell one--and maybe I wanted to use up some poorly-cut Japanese size 10^ beads I had.  Don't get me wrong; I love Japanese-cut beads as much as the next person (except Delicas which I have no use for), but I got these at a bead show from a place that was going out of business.  They were cheap, and ended up being a different shape and size than...anything I can work with.  Several of the colors are worse than others, but for the most part I can only use them together...but luckily I had enough different colors to create this lovely tapestry.

The sails are actually a deep red, but I can't get it to work properly in the photographs--I've got to be content with it turning out red instead of orange.  And actually, before I messed with the settings on the camera the red sails were turning the whole IMAGE an orangish color. Camera is not as smart as it thinks it is.

Dream Away

Today's Etsy re-listing: Floating Boxes Christmas Bracelet

Let's Talk about Dream Catchers today, shall we? 

I actually collect dream catchers. I don't quite remember why, but I got one from my godmother for a birthday gift one year, and then sometime around then I learned to make them, and over a decade later I've got over 50 (at last count).  It's been awhile since I had them all out and about, I've moved around a lot, so I usually keep them in the attic and just bring a token one or two (or three) along.  Right now they are pretty much my 'tourist souvenir' collection; I have one from Wall Drug, one from Cape Cod, two from Salem, MA, one from a rest area on I-90, one from the "Big E," one from Oregon, and so forth. 

I like that I can get them everywhere and anywhere, and I like that they are unconnected to the places except by my memories, I guess you could say.  There's no 'this is from the Rocky Mountains National Park' tag on the one from the Rocky Mountain National Park, but I still know that's where it's from, so it collects memories without bragging.

Well, and they are pretty and fluffy.

I also make dream catchers.  It's silly but I think it's a rather unique art-form that's not really explored enough. Craft-form? I know most of my ideas for dream catchers still verge on the edge of 'kitsch,' but the idea of a dream catcher where instead of feathers dangling off the bottom it's plastic icicles--catching dreams of winter, perhaps--that really appeals to me.  (I'd do pictures of that one, but my dream catchers are in the attic with the other 90% of my stuff).

 In college I was trying to stretch the boundaries of both what I could do with dream catchers and what I could do with beading, and I thought I might try to combine them.

My first attempt to do so was the dream catcher with the mushy pink/purple background.  It's... not entirely what I expected it to be.

These pictures actually make it look pretty good, but I was trying to use up certain colors of beads, which I was somewhat successful at, but they were all different sizes, so the sides wobble; I used small beads for the hoop, which makes it somewhat hard to distinguish; I used the metallic gold for the feathers, which never ends well; and I didn't really understand how delicate the tension was with the webbing, so it pulls inwards a bit too much.

So when I picked my needle back up I thought I'd remake it--but with a few changes.

 First I changed the background into something that was...something instead of pink and purple mush. I used an awkward patterning software to do so, though, and it could use a bit more editing, but it's not bad.

I used the copper-lined beads for the feathers because it was before I'd realized they would rust. Oops.

I also altered the hoop so it came out mostly round in the finished piece (instead of oval), and so that it was wider and more noticeable. 

I used a clear nylon thread to sew the whole thing, which is an experience to work with (I'll probably talk about it some day...) --except for the webbing, where I switched to a blue thread so you could see it better. I used blue beads in the web as well, so they could be seen against a white wall.

But I'd cut the blue thread way too long, so I was able to add this awesome dimensional feather to the 'catcher, which is probably the best part, even if it has a slight blueish cast from the thread.

Of course, I loved this second 'catcher far too much to sell, so I made a third one:

 This one is identical except for a few color choices, and the fact that I used white thread instead of clear.  It doesn't have the extra feather, either.  And it looks like I went back to white for the webbing.

But since it is nearly identical to the second dream catcher, I've been able to convince myself to try and sell it: Dream Catcher Beaded Tapestry.

I have mixed feelings about the pictures on Etsy--especially the very first one--but hopefully some day someone will see how bloody awesome this dream catcher is, and will wish to buy it.

Until then, I'll just keep dreaming...

Seeing Doubles

Today's Etsy relisting: Sparkly Christmas Bracelet

Since we're all done looking at the fringed tapestries I've made, I thought maybe we'd hop over to look at tapestries I've made multiples of, mostly because I've already photographed some of them. 

This is the second dragon pattern I came up with, and I'm pretty sure it was also from a bit of clip art; good inspiration, those.  I made the blue one first--way first, actually.  I'd say it was the second tapestry I've ever made, but I don't know if that's counting the long boat or not.

I liked the pattern because it is compact with little empty space, it's got plenty of colors and textures for me to play with, and it's, well, frankly its awesome.

The green one I made at my after-college job, making this the very first pattern  I ever duplicated.  I don't really like the colors I used for the green dragon quite as much, but I was limited by what I had (and the fact that the local bead store resents greens), so it has some odd details. Like the fact that I used gray for the darkest parts; what was I thinking?

I figured it all out with the red dragon, though. I thought I was making that one to sell on Etsy, but I could never bring myself to part with it.  I keep thinking maybe I'll make a second identical red one, but I don't have any more of the beads I used in the background, which makes it rather difficult.  I can get more, of course, but it's a silly thing to do when I've already got a million (five) different off-white colors--but none of them are the same size, so I'm worried using one of them will make the edges less-than-straight.

  Here are their detailed shots:

I think I like the red one best. I don't know how I imagined I'd be able to part with it if it sold.  But then, at the rate things sell from my shop, I probably wouldn't have to worry about it, anyway.