Star… and a bit more beading

This is a motif I had started working on last year but for some reason had abandoned and never completed to my satisfaction.  I was inspired when I found it again and decided to work on it some more.  It was six-sided originally but I thought it would make a nicer star so I changed it to a five-point motif.  This is not quite the final version but it was the prettiest of my samples so far.

I wanted to have a repeated star effect…

the first one made by the small rings in the centre,

then by the first round with lock chains

and then again with the second round with lock chains.

The other interesting problem this pattern presented me with was that I wanted to make it in one pass (as always!) which required the use of a split ring but as I'm using two colours for this motif, I ended up with a two-colour split ring when I wanted a one-colour ring!  This got the brain cogs whirring… and I came up with a solution:  my split ring is in fact a single-shuttle split ring… made with two shuttles!  So you make the first half of the SSSR holding the two-shuttles together to make the stitches; this enables the colour you are not using to be enclosed with the core thread and hidden but end up at the other side of the ring, ready to use for your next chain.  Perfect.  Then make the second half of the SSSR as normal.

Now I'm not saying I've discovered something new - no doubt someone else has thought of this before me, but I was still chuffed to have found a solution to this problem which may present itself in other designing ideas.

And secondly, here is a beaded necklace I made for a friend (I'm pretty sure she doesn't look at my blog).  She likes apple green so I hope she will be pleased with it.  

Best wishes,

Frivole