Being a woman of middle years, I came late to the digital revolution. Back in the mid-90s, when colleagues at the college where I teach were getting online I held out: e-mail and all that stuff was a time-sucker and a fad. Then of course I bit the bullet but resisted switching over from Netscape to IE back in the day. And no Moodle for me and my courses, thank you very much. And as God was my witness I was never going to own a cellphone or have a Facebook page. Ah well…the irony is that every time I gave in and tried the new thing my response was the same: "Why did I wait so long? I love this!" Convenience doth make devotees of us all.
Where was I? Oh yes, the same goes for beadwork. Those of us who have been beading awhile can see the fads, the vogues, the revivals. When I began beading in the early 1990s amulet bags were all the rage. I well remember the Bead and Button issue (August 1994) that featured Carol Wilcox Wells' beaded bags and how to make one.
Up to that point, as usual, I had resisted the Delica siren call. I didn't want to invest more money in a new type of bead (yeah, this was a long time ago, I know better now). But I wanted to make a bag and Delicas, with their mosaic effect, were amazing to look at. So I caved in, bought some, and made my first bag based on Carol's article. I decided to use a repeating pattern so I could focus on the stitch and here is the result:
I call it "Prom Dress" as the fringe (I got a little carried away) made a fancy flaring skirt on the body of the bag.
And here's another photo showing my weak tension. I could have had a nice job beading watches for Salvador Dali to paint.
On the other hand, there are times when I wish I could summon up my younger beading self because tight tension does not always a successful piece of beadwork make. Gentle beading indeed!
I never thought you progressed in beading like everyone else with loose tension! You are quite a good writer, Kay. You really should write a book because your remarks are so witty! I love reading your posts!
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you, thank you Karen. You make me want to keep doing it. Yes, we all start out at some point, and then we get better!
ReplyDeleteGreat story...and I too have a problem with keeping the tension correct...so thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteThank you and glad you liked it.
DeleteKay
ive never made an amulet bag. i have a book on amulet bags from around the mid 90s, I must give it a go when I find the time. Oh how I could I forget? i bought an amulet bag kit that I havent started as I don't trust my chart following skills to start, but thinking on it I realised I could make 2 dummy rows. i bought Pyra, by amuseink. thanks for the blog post & the amulet bag reminder! bec
ReplyDeleteOh, I did a beaded bag by AmuseInk too! That took forever. Following the chart did take some practice, and crossed eyes.
DeleteOh, yes, these beaded bags were so posh in Bulgaria, too! I love the colors of this one and I think that the fringe is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, that fringe just kind of evolved but I liked what it turned in to.
DeleteLove the fun colors and design. It would be interesting to see those beaded bags updated - maybe with chain instead of beaded ropes? I could see them makings a come back!
ReplyDeleteThat would be fun to try - I have done a little with chain as a decorative element in my beadwork. Future post!
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