Do you want to learn beadweaving?

Some of my teammates have recently begun trying there hand at bead embroidery.  I am so impressed with what they are learning and in fact they are taking it to a level I have not yet reached which does make me kind of envious.  However each time it comes to actually beadweaving they are left feeling a bit like this....

How many of you have picked up a magazine and looked at the diagrams and thought you were looking at some sort of alien script?  I have heard so many times from those who look at beadweaving in awe that they could never do it.  Either they are afraid of the tiny little treasures or they are just plain stumped.  I myself felt that way when I first saw it.

I am more of a visual learner.  Meaning I like to see the needle actually go through the beads how they are supposed to instead of reading things like, pass through the starting bead or step up through bead A.  I love tutorials that have images of the actual beading.

Maybe you are not ready to purchase a tutorial or you need more than just pictures.  Well I am going to reintroduce you to........YouTube.

Yes there are hundreds of videos out there to show you all you need to know.  Really I am not kidding!  I am going to tell you about 2 of my favorite channels.

First up is Jill Wiseman Designs.

Jill is one of those designers that gets excited about bringing new beaders into the craft.  So much so that she has videos on many of the basic stitches.  She also uses terms like "sticky uppy bead" that really explain where you are going.  She also has free project videos for those stitches and more when you feel you are ready.  Sometimes when I am not sure how to start a stitch I will refer back to her videos for a refresher.  You may need to give yourself a few watches to feel comfortable but I know you will love learning from her.

Now sometimes you just need a boost to get your mojo going or you need to get a jump on using the new beads out there then I have another site for you to check out.

Potomac Bead Company has a YouTube channel that is chock full of projects using the latest beads out there and especially their exclusive RounDuo beads.  Which if you haven't heard of them you need to check them out.  I have done a few of the projects and I really enjoy them.

Let me know what you think and if you have done any of the projects.

Pondo Play

Everyone has been sharing their new adventures so I thought I would share mine with you.

I decided to give Pondo stitch a second try.  I had attempted this stitch a couple of times but I struggled.  I do not like struggling with a stitch and giving up.  It was a good thing that I had thought about it again to use to finish a piece on my tray.  So out I went to find a video on YouTube.  I did find a couple and this is the one I think is the best.
 

http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdaVaYEE0v58&session_token=qk3fS--a3YrS9fBGLhmOXIzI3j18MTM4OTgyMTk1NUAxMzg5NzM1NTU1

Here is a little background information about the stitch I found.

The Pondo

Pondoland is named after the Pondo people. This is the area of South Africa that includes the South Eastern seaboard of Cape Province. The Pondo people speak Xhosa, a language spoken by approximately 18% of South Africa’s population. Although the Pondo speak Xhosa, the Pondo people are in fact the descendants of refugees who fled from the north several hundred years ago.

Even though the Pondo people have incorporated some modern innovations, their lives remain relatively unchanged from that of four or five hundred years ago. They still live in their round, thatched houses. These are still built with the doorway to the east so as to catch the first rays of sunlight each morning. They create incredible craft work, including ‘Pondo baskets’ and awesome bead work. Traditional colors are very important to the Pondo. You’ll find that pale blue is the dominating color in celebratory clothing for adults, and red or orange for children. The style of beading known as "Pondo stitch" was first found amongst antique bead work that was made by the Pondo tribe. This stitch has since been found in work made by other peoples at various times


I was even more intrigued when I read about it but it still took a bit for me to get it but once I did it was the AH HA moment I needed.

Here is the piece I started with.

The on problem that was messing me up was how the accent beads work.  If you do watch the video I am sharing a little tip with a picture for you.

The vertical accent beads go with the hole vertically and the threads going through where the red lines are.  On the horizontal the accent bead holes face horizontal and the threads go through where the red lines are.  I hope that tip helps.

Here is the finished piece I had in mind when I set out to learn this stitch again.

I am really pleased with how it turned out.  I have had this focal of Lisa Peters done for a long time just looking for the perfect finish

What new are you thinking of trying?

Kristen