It's working. Maybe.

The jury's still out on the background I'm adding to my lace motifs, but I think it's going to work. I need to do more before I'm sure; I'm not ready to photograph it and share. I want to live with it overnight before I decide.

Strictly speaking, it's not a background at all. It does serve the same purpose, to connect the motifs and make a fabric of beads; but it isn't groundwork in any sense of the word. It's bold. It needs embellishment, but that's good, because I want to embellish it.

It's not what I thought I would do, but I think I'm going to keep it.

Maybe.

Is it jewelry, or is it lace?

Well, of course, it's both. Or at least it will be. Right now, it's still in process, and isn't really either.

What you see here is the foundation. The motifs have been woven of beads and basted to a needlelace pad; next I will link them together and embellish the flowers.

If this were strictly lace, I'd weave a very fine net for the background, but it isn't strictly lace. It's going to be a piece of jewelry. And even the smallest beads are not fine enough to make a ground for motifs this delicate.

So I think I will put on my jewelers hat and make a firm ground of bars in a very contrasting color. I'll find out tomorrow if this is a good idea; I found out today that netting was definitely not a good idea. Of course, if the bars don't work, I could always revert to lace making and make a fine ground with thread, but I'd rather use beads if I can.

It is meant to be jewelry, you know.

Hijacked by mimosas

I did a little bit on my beaded lace today, and then my husband and I went out to buy a new vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners sure have changed in the past 20 years; they have features that I would never need, and parts that I have no clue what they do.

But I digress.

After buying the vacuum cleaner, we decided to go out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant around the corner from our house. They were still serving brunch; they had an all-you-can-eat buffet that included a choice of mimosas or champagne. I chose mimosas because I'm a bit of a champagne snob; when I don't know the quality of the wine, I prefer to have it mixed with something else.

Our waitress was very vigilant about keeping our glasses full, and we were equally committed to eating as much as possible. By the time we all conceded defeat, I knew that weaving tiny beads into lace was over for the day.

Can't say I'm sorry, though!

Making lace again

I've started a new beaded lace project and I'm really excited about it. It is going to be something rather different for me; much more delicate than anything I've ever done before.

Of course, it is going to take awhile. But that's good; I'm back to looking forward to long-term projects. Whew. I had myself worried for awhile there! But I'm back to being me again, and back to enjoying a nice, long, fiddly project.

Isn't it funny what makes me happy?

Why I make asymmetrical necklaces

I know that I should make both sides at the same time, doing a row on one side, then repeating it on the other, if I want to make a necklace with symmetrical neck straps; but it's hard not to get caught up in the fever of designing.

I have a tendency to want to keep going as long as the ideas are coming; making notes, and believing that I will remember whatever I don't write down. You'd think I'd know by now: by the time the first side is done, my notes turn out to be cryptic at best, and I remember nothing.

It's embarrassing, but I'm reverse-engineering my own work.