Beads, Beads Everywhere

Our beading weekend was fantastic!!! We had such a good time that we are already planning the next one. Nancy graciously invited us to her cabin in Chesnee for the weekend. We headed up on Friday after I got off work.


Nancy has been a beader for years as well as an accomplished knitter and painter. She has also been waging a courageous battle against several types of cancer for the past few years. Millie another knitting friend who started beading last year was our driver and co-coordinator of the trip. I rounded out the group of three.

We stopped for dinner and picked up some goodies along the way and once we got to the cabin we settled our things, took over the dining room table and immediately started working on our projects. On Friday we visited Horsefeathers Bead Store in Campobello, SC which is right up the road and dropped some cash. It is off the beaten path but worth visiting. They have an excellent selection of Delica beads.

We also visited North Woods Farm Fiber and Yarn Store in Inman, SC. They have a wonderful selection of yarn, books, needles and bags. In addition to these items they also have an alpaca farm and process their own fiber. I was tempted several times to purchase yarn but managed to stick to the no yarn buying plan. I did purchase some ChiaoGoo needles to test since I have heard such good things about them and this is the first store I've been in that had them. They also sell KnitPicks and Blackthorn needles. I forgot to take my camera with me so I didn't get pictures of either place. I would have loved to get pictures of all of the alpacas especially the babies.

Once we got back and had dinner we began beading in earnest. I started my most time consuming project having found the perfect beads to complete the design at Horsefeathers. I purchased some Rivoli's from Fire Mountain Gems before we left and the colors were not what I expected when light reflected on them so I found some beads that coordinated better at Horsefeathers. This was my first time creating bezels but I was anxious to try the new technique.

We resumed work on our projects Saturday and I finally remembered to get out the camera. The first picture is Nancy, the second Millie and the last me.




I finished two projects and only need to add the button closure and loop on the last.


From bottom to top: Rivoli Square Dance bracelet, Triangle bracelet and Wave Ring


My favorite project is the rivoli bracelet but I learned from all of them. I feel the need to challenge myself with each project and I'm driven to learn all that I can about this new hobby. I'm sure that I'll eventually settle down with some favorite methods but for know I'm having fun trying new ones.

I did manage to get a little knitting done on the way up and back. My Adamas shawl has reached the point where I have to decide if I want to make it bigger or work the final chart. I have two full skeins of yarn remaining so I can easily make it larger. That's it for now. I'm off to put together some beads for some more Wave rings.