Another First

At the moment I'm finding it quite difficult to focus on any one form of needlework.  The days are short, I have to draw the curtains in my stitching area, making the house dark and gloomy - you name an excuse I'll tick it.  However, I decided yesterday it was time to try a technique I first thought about over three years ago.  You have often heard me say I love bling, and I do.  I have all sorts of neck adornments, etc., some I've made myself.  I shall share a few in due course.  I discovered a necklace in an American Beading magazine that I thought would look great with winter sweaters, gathered all the goods together, and that's as far as it went until yesterday.  The main part of the necklace involves a technique called Ndebele or Herringbone weaving.  I think I've nailed the gist of it, and have made a little progress on what I hope will be a new addition to my wardrobe [perhaps next winter].  Much of the work is done with very small beads stitched together to form a square 'tube'.  That stitched tube is broken by two different sizes of beads in Dalmatian Jasper, a stone I really love.  The centre piece is a round donut shaped bead.  I am changing the design a little, as it involves two rows of tubing/beads, which I'm not quite sure I'll wear.  I think one strand with the donut at the centre will be my limit.

At times I've had an issue with the holes not being large enough to allow the necessary number of passes with the needle, and of course, a bead will break a little way back from where I am working.  It is not easy to unpick in order to do a repair, so I'm hoping the end result will be quite strong.  The seed beads are #11, all a matte finish.  The large ovals are quite heavy, so I have used a few smaller ones to give it a different look.  

I am thoroughly enjoying the process of weaving these beads into a tube.  I like using the black thread, as it adds a sort of shadow effect to the area where the cream beads are used.

As I've been working on some of these different crafts of late, I can't help but wonder about their origins and the people who first decided to pick up two sticks and some string and knit, or gather a few 'beads', some thread and start weaving.  Here we are with all our modern conveniences, and yet still find pleasure in the workings from the past.