Practice, Practice, Practice

The only way to become really good at something is to practice. While we all may be born with natural talents or gifts we still need to work at improving or perfecting them.

We try to have a beading get together once a month and each time we work on a new project. I usually finish that project and don't work on anything beading-related until the next get together. Today I decided that I need to work on my beading skills and tackle projects on my own to see if I can understand and interpret the instructions. To that end I started on some new projects.

The first project used the spiral peyote technique I learned last month. It is a pair of turtle earrings. I had some trials during the making of the first turtle but once I ripped it and started over I could clearly see what needed to be done.



For the first time I am making an entire set which will consist of the necklace, bracelet and earrings. This combination is more formal than all of the previous beading I have done. I started with a base of pearls and silver charlotte beads.


Once the base was completed the arches and picots were added in the same pass.



All went well until I put the necklace on and one of the threads broke causing two pearls to fall out. I put it aside until today when I fixed the part that started to come loose from the thread breaking and replaced the missing beads. I can tell that my technique is improving. For a long time I struggled with joining new thread and tying the old threads off. They wouldn't hold and the piece would fall apart. That wasn't my problem this time as it appeared that I'd actually went through the core of the thread more than once and causing it to ravel and break. Now I'm confident enough to go back and finish some incomplete projects I'd put aside for the above reasons.

I would like to thank Monica and Kathy for your responses to my questions. I've decided to use Saturdays and Sundays for sewing and working on the knitting machines especially now that it's March Madness. The beading and knitting projects are portable and I can carry them into the den and work on them while I watch the games. The other two aren't and since there isn't a tv in the craft room I'd rather work on the other two when I have more time in the day. I can bring the sewing machine into the den and set up in there if absolutely necessary so I have more leeway with my sewing projects plus some of them will require hand finishing which means I can bring them into the den.

I'm at a point in my life where I no longer want to sacrifice one hobby for another so it is essential that I find a way to work them all in. The only thing left to find time for is the cross stitch and the spinning or maybe it's time to give something up.