Last month's CRAW prompt seemed to be a fun one for the folks in the group - we had some really wonderful work showing up, and it was definitely fun for me. I decided to start one of my Color Play ropes in my favorite bead soup colors (which I always name Universe in my head, because it makes me think of deep space for some reason) with some of my hoarded lamp work beads;
I do plan on finishing it, and have even bought a few more bead soups from the lovely Beverly Ash Gilbert to make a few more down the road, just because they are hugely fun for me. :) (If you would like to check out some of Beverly's soups for yourself - and who wouldn't? - her shop and her remaining soups are HERE.)
July's prompt is herringbone stitch - also known as Ndebele stitch. It makes a gorgeous pattern all on it's own done completely in seed beads, and can be used successfully with many of the newer shaped beads as well. It can be a supple and sinuous rope, both straight and twisted, or a lovely flat base for embellishment, and when reinforced well, it can even be a beaded bead. It's slightly fiddly in my experience, in that you have to make sure that the two beads you're adding sit properly before you move to the next stitch, but I find it sooooooo worth the extra attention.
There are a metric buttload of tutorials for herringbone out there, I can't possibly share them all to inspire you. But here are a few that I particularly like.
Lynn Davy has two up that I think are just so pretty - and the first one, rather than herringbone along the length, is herringbone along with width, which turns out so beautifully! (And I never would have thought of it myself...) This is a photo of her Wave Cuff Tutorial, which you can find HERE.
And her Tweed Cuff tutorial, which shows you how to add in lots of texture with different kinds of beads can be found HERE.
Carol Ohl has a wonderful tutorial that shows how to use some of our lamp worked beads in a herringbone rope called Village Lampwork Necklace, which you can find HERE.
Melissa Grakowsky Shippee has this amazing Princess Victoria bracelet tutorial up, such a fantastic combination of stitches!! You can find it HERE.
In my own shop, I have the Royal Herringbone Ropes tutorial, which uses two holed Dobble beads in one rope and 6mm rounds in the other. (You can use single hole 8mm rounds in place of Dobbles, too.)
I've done a number of things with herringbone and enjoyed each of them a lot. I hope you find this month's prompt to be something that excites your muse! Happy beading until next month!
