Finished Bracelet... and more

I've carried on playing with Jane's pattern and completed the first bracelet in autumn colours.  I ended up adding a flat back pearl in the centre as I wasn't completely convinced I liked the look of the brass findings on their own... they seemed a bit unfinished to me.  I do like it with the pearls though.

I think they really finish the look.

I found some bronze pearls which I ordered today

and they would probably look even better

with this colour scheme.

I like this design so much I started another bracelet straight away.  All the beads give this lace jewellery a nice weight and it's a lovely piece to wear.

The bracelet is called "Starry Button Bracelet" but I think I will stick with my buttonless version of it.  I like working with the metal findings and I like the look.

Here's a blue one:

The first two were made with variegated threads so I decided to use a plain colour for the next one.

Here's the last one... and my favourite so far.  I have a slightly different arrangement for the beads and the way they are placed around the centre finding.  

This is plain green thread with five different colours of beads,

plus a centre pearl.

I'm pleased with the idea for an alternative centre I've come up with and plan on using it for a future design.  The pearl in the centre makes it look like little flowers...

Best wishes,

Frivole

Beaded Bracelet

Ever since Jane Eborall posted the first of these Starry Button Bracelets, I've really liked them.  Took me a while to get around to tatting one as I have to admit that I don't enjoy working with beads as much as Jane obviously does!

But for this gorgeous pattern, it was worth having to deal with the numerous beads (more than 100 to be strung on each shuttle plus others to be added as you go).

First I thought I'd try just one element.  Then I only had one button that was the right size (and even then I think it was a tad too big) so I played with other centres.

Apologies for my laziness, I didn't sew in the ends...  not yet anyway!

The left one is with a button as per the pattern; for the middle one, I made my own centre with some silver beads and the one on the right has a metal finding in the centre.

After those samples, I thought it was time to tackle a whole bracelet.  I decided to use the bronze findings (no more buttons of the right size!) and so thought that Lizbeth Autumn Spice would look good with the bronze.  I am limited in my stash of beads so the only ones that went with that colour scheme were some red seed beads and some larger green and gold beads.

I have to thank Miranda for the little bronze findings (they were perfect with 8 petals!) - she had kindly sent me a selection of findings a while ago and I'm glad I found something nice to use some of them for.  I so appreciate it when people send me stuff even though sometimes it can take a while before I find just the right thing for them.

They're not really colours I wear unfortunately but they look good together, yes?

I managed to go wrong in a few places but now I've got the design figured out so the next one will be better.  Definitely need a trip to the bead shop tomorrow.

I love the pattern Jane!

Best wishes,

Frivole

Taffilicious Twirly

I see that Fox and I had the same idea!  Jane's Twirly was next on my list, so I started it and then saw it appearing on Fox's blog too.

I decided to use Jess's Taffilicious which has lots of pretty colours in it.  I love the thread but I don't think it was a good choice for this motif.  The colours distract from the pretty shape of it.  I find that's often the case with variegated and more often than not, I decide, in the end, that a plain colour would have been better.  But there are so many gorgeous variegated threads!  I'm always tempted by them.  It's just finding the right pattern to best display them which can be tricky.

Jane seems to have endless inspiration with all these patterns she comes up with - thank you Jane!  I was torn between making Twirly or the latest Ferris Wheel which is neat looking too.  Perhaps I'll have to do that one next.

Best wishes,

Frivole

Button Brooches

I was taken with the last button brooch that Jane Eborall showed on her site (the one tatted in Sea Island Citrus).  It grabbed my attention with its lovely colours and layered effect.  So I went for a forage in my button box and was disappointed to find that I had very few large buttons.  But I had these big mother-of-pearl ones which I hoped would do the trick.

For this brooch, I grabbed the first thread and beads I could find just to try out the pattern really.  So the colours are a bit random and the beads aren't very good beads, not uniform in size.  I added another small button in the middle at the end (Jane used a large bead).

In fact I enjoyed making it so much that I made a second one straight away where I was a bit more careful with my bead and thread choices.  I used delica beads this time which are smaller than the ones I used in the brooch above.  I recently purchased Lizbeth Charcoal (Med) which I like a lot and hadn't tried before so I used it with some Lizbeth Silver.

On this second one, I tatted an extra small flower for the middle with a crystal bead at its centre.  The dangle is made of various beads with a semi-precious fluorite nugget at the bottom.

These brooches feel lovely with the extra weight of the button and the beads - they feel.... substantial!

I thought the variety of colours showed a bit better in this sideways photo.

And you can see the layers and the button.

Best wishes,