Floral Melody, Leaf 9

There are two part leaves on each side that I originally outlined in orange beads and filled with the pale topaz tricuts.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Later, I wondered if the inner curve should have been outlined with the small silver beads. I decided to give it a try so out came the row of orange beads ...

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

... and in went a row of silver beads.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

But ... I don’t like it so the silver beads will be coming out and the orange ones are going back in.

Happy Stitching

Tricut Beads

Tricuts are similar to seed beads and come in many of the same finishes but whereas seed beads are (should be) rounded, tricuts have three facets on the surface. The cuts are irregular so no two beads are the same. Charlottes are similar but only have a single facet and triangular beads are, as their name suggests, a triangle shaped bead.

Matsukawa-san seems to have a particular liking for tricuts; I think she uses them in nearly every design. And who can blame her? Any bead will add glimmer and shine to a design but tricuts add something extra. When the light strikes the rounded surface of a seed bead there is a relatively small area of reflected light. When the light strikes the flatten surface of a tricut there is a much bigger area of reflected light and because the facets are irregular the tricuts glitter and sparkle.

Most of the beads used in this flower are seed beads but even the metallic gold beads around the central green bead cannot compete with the glitzy red tricuts of the petals.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Floral Melody, Leaf 8

After filling in the large leaf on the left I decided to make change to the other large leaf. On the left-hand leaf I had radiated the tri-cut beads to follow the curve of the outline.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

On the leaf that I had beaded previously I had stitched them in parallel lines.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I think the radiating lines flow better and enhance the shape of the leaf.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Floral Melody, Flower 2

I’m pleased that Marjolein mentioned the beads “with no specific colour” because they are the subject of this post. In fact there are two different beads in the background of the leaf. I have used tri-cut beads along the bottom edge, as viewed in this picture, and seed beads elsewhere. Both beads are light topaz in colour but the seed beads are slightly paler than the tri-cuts.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

When I stitched the first large flower, I used the tri-cuts to fill the background.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

When I stitched the second large flower, I used the seed beads and filled the background more densely.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I decided that I preferred it this way so reworked the first flower to match.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Floral Melody, Leaf 7

The large leaf on the left was one of the first motifs that I beaded but I had not filled in the background. At first I was not certain which beads and which techniques I wanted to use. Completing the other large motifs helped me reach a decision on how to proceed. I forgot to take progressive photographs but the two pictures below show the leaf before and after I have beaded the background.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

After beading a couple of partial motifs I reached the first land mark on this piece, the completion of the large motifs.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching

Progress Report – November

I’ve put in just over 80 hours on Floral Melody to date, which means that I did a little over 10 hours last month. That is well short of my target but when I look at the difference between the October picture and this one, I seem to have made a lot of progress. I thought that the smaller motifs would go in quickly but I am amazed at how much I done in such a small amount of time. Most of the small flowers are done, only a dozen or so remain, then I will start of the leaves and stems. Completion by Christmas seems a realistic target now and I’m still enjoying this piece immensely.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I’ve also made some progress on the Chinese Flower. Again, I have not done as much as I would have hoped. I’ve nearly completed lesson three and am pleased with what I have done so far.

© Trish Burr/Carol-Anne Conway

I had a four day Japanese Embroidery class at the end of the month. I took Camellias with me to work on. With all that I have learnt from the Floral Glove, Chinese Flower and the lesson with Phillipa Turnbull I was feeling quite confident about working on this Phase again. That is until I got started, then all of my doubts and anxiety about LSS came rushing back. I really don’t understand why I get so stressed about it. I completed the two tone flower on the right-hand side. I don’t like it but I won’t be removing it because I honestly don’t think that I can do any better at this stage of my journey.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

So as not to leave the month on that pessimistic note, I had a great time at class. It was wonderful to spend some time with friends just stitching. Plus, starting tomorrow, I have a two day class in gold work with Hazel Everett to look forward to :-D.

Happy Stitching

Floral Melody, Leaf 6

Mamafrog - I have a used a variety of techniques. Some beads are stitched down individually or in groups. Where there are 3 or more beads on a stitch, I take a couching stitch every second bead. I have also couched down strings of beads. Any line of seven or more beads is most likely done in this way. Thank you for visiting the blog and leaving a comment.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

Happy Stitching