As you've seen, I mainly seem to do big and bold beadwork. My Mum, however, is a much more delicate beader. Her work has a timeless elegance and a grace that I simply cannot emulate - no matter how hard I try! I thought that in this post I would showcase some of her work so that you can see how different it is to mine. Her choice of pattern, her palette and the style is ephemeral and daintily beautiful. We are complete opposites in our beadwork and I adore pretty much everything she does.
This piece was from a pattern (unfortunately I can't remember where she found it) and I love how she used a creamy seed bead with that warm amber colour as the accent. It's delicate and lacy and just so elegant.
This was another piece that she made from a pattern, and even though she's done it in haematite and black glass, she still makes it look so delicate and feminine. This necklace looks blooming gorgeous whenever it's worn!
A choker this time, in a modified Right Angle Weave. I'd have been tempted to do this in all black but she conjures up the Renaissance with her colour choices.
This was her first ever cabouchon! How unbelievably neat is that?! She thought the delicacy of the rose quartz would be lost on a beaded rope so instead she found some pale pink organza ribbon that matched the cabouchon perfectly and used that instead. It tied at the back in a large floppy bow and is ultra femme.
This was made from a pattern from
The Bead Shop kit that she bought a few years ago. The beads that came with it were much more vibrant but she loved how the pattern flowed so she made it in silver and amethyst. It looks so delicate but is actually pretty robust!
Mummy's very lucky in that she can go from being uber glam to being right in there with block colours and chunky cuffs! This was a pattern in one of the beading magazines we buy (either Beadwork or Bead & Button) and she absolutely adored it as soon as she saw it. The closure on the original pattern was with Margaritas but she wanted to echo the Art Deco drama so used gunmetal cubes for the closure instead. Personally I think this works better than the original pattern!
And then we go right back to old school Victorian beadweaving. She's a bloody marvel! I love this pattern so much because it sits at the base of the throat, collar length, and really makes you feel like a princess when you wear it!
This is another of her cuffs made using elements from
Jean Power's Freeform Cuffs and then framing the beads. I love how subtle her colours are and how they blend and complement so perfectly. Her refined use of colour is what I am most jealous of.
And then once in a while she will make a real show stopper like this Gothic Reticule. We are lucky that in Leicester we have a huge selection of fabric shops and
The Golden Mile, which is host to not only the most beautiful and ornate jewellery shops, but also a delicious array of Indian fabric shops selling the most exquisite silks and saree material. Together we trotted off down there to gasp at the opulence and she bought this fine silk fabric with which to line the reticule.
And then she made a bridal one in a slightly different pattern. Unfortunately this picture doesn't even begin to to do this reticule justice, nor does it show the detail of the tiny brick stitched hearts around the top.
Finally, Mummy at her most simple. A plain peyote tube hung with haematite arrows and slid onto a neck wire. Gorgeous.
So there you have it. This is all the work of my fabulous Mummy. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I always do. We are polar opposites - I think that just adds more depth and fun to our beading adventures in that we can look at the same component and dream up completely different ways and styles to use it!
