February 4, 2014

Red!?! Oh, Horror of Horrors!

Mexican red snowflake jasper beads

When I was asked to work up a couple of micro macrame demo pieces using natural stone beads, I said sure!  And when asked what stone, I said, "Anything as long as it isn't red or orange."  As you can probably guess from the post title and the photo above, the beads I received were Mexican Red Snowflake jasper.  RED is even in the name of the stone, for crying out loud.  And if that's not bad enough, it's paired with brown.  *sigh*  Well, I'm not one to back down from a challenge or break my word, so I figured I'd better find some inspiration.  And believe me, I hunted.  I even ended up in the fabric department looking for interesting color combinations and finally found a paisley that added some unexpected coral tones in with the red and brown.  Okay, I'm thinking, I can work with that.  So I dug through my stash and came up with this:

Bead and cord palette based on mexican red snowflake jasper

Now we're talking.  My next challenge was to fit my cord through the beads.  One cord would pass easily through all of them, but for the design I had in mind, I needed to get two cords through the hole.  Uh, huh.  I resorted to dipping my cord ends in Fray Check, which I don't usually have to do any more, and I had to use the bead reamer on a couple of the beads, but I did get them to work.

Micro macrame bracelet by Sherri Stokey of Knot Just Macrame

Well, now.  That's kind of interesting, if I do say so myself!  The central stones are 8mm and the ones around that are 4mm.  I used dark red, brown and a peachy shade of cord and accented with glass seed beads in dark red, peach and coral-lined crystal.  Then I had a thought (shush - it happens!).

Turquoise colored glass seed beads and cord

What if I brought a little turquoise color to the party?  

Mexican red snowflake jasper beads knotted in micro macrame with turquoise colored accents

I heard a choir of angels singing in the background, I swear I did.  Now that's my style - even with the natural stones and the warm colors.  I won.  I worked through it and conquered my fear.  I am triumphant!  Okay, so maybe it's not as good as curing cancer or making it to the top of Everest, but I'm feeling pretty good and I take that wherever I can get it.

Two micro macrame bracelets knotted by Sherri Stokey

Two micro macrame bracelets featuring Mexican red snowflake jasper, knotted by Sherri Stokey

And now, I think I'll reward myself by snuggling up in a blanket on the couch in front of the fireplace and watching a cheesy movie.  Hopefully I can find something with dinosaurs.  Or ancient Egyptians.  Or ghosts...  

11 comments:

  1. Now that wasn't so painful after all, was it? Very creative :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahahaha - well, I don't know.... I did probably whine and stall longer than I should have :D

      Delete
  2. Well, if you could come up with those combos from that stone and/or that paisley, I'd say you deserve dinosaurs, Egyptians, and ghosts all in the same movie. (I actually like the one without the turquoise; you sure worked through your horror.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I actually found a dinosaur movie (they discovered a lost valley of dinosaurs, as usual) AND a ghost movie (creepy ghost haunts an isolated cabin on an island), so I watched them both!

      Delete
  3. successful challenge! The two bracelets are beautiful.
    I love your technique of closure of the wires. Explain it in your tutorial?
    if you tell me in what they purchase it? thanks I'll leave you my email address cinziab2007@libero.it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This might help you? https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.354969701183659.104582.206284059385558&type=3

      Delete
    2. thanks sherry are a treasure

      Delete
    3. perfect, this l 'but how do I get it to do untie the knots when the wires are cut? I have a proposition for you: why not write a manual and pubbluchi?
      I'd be your first customer, count on it ....

      Delete
    4. I have tutorials available here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnotJustMacrame?section_id=6212133&ref=shopsection_leftnav_4 and classes (that include video) here: http://craftartedu.com/fiber/micro-macrame Many of my patterns end with that same style of closure and more complete directions are included in those classes/tutorials.

      Delete
  4. Ohhhhhhhhhhh sublime
    Bravo
    Oceothymath France

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am so proud of you, you worked through your fears, hahaha. I really like the turquoise addition. But as you know, I also have a turquoise fetish. Cannot get enough of it. Now take a deep breath and enjoy another movie.

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear from you!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...