DIY Beaded Purses

Did that last post get you excited about making a beaded purse of your own? If so, here are two sites you will want to explore:

for Patterns: Bead Lady Designs
for Kits: Purse Paradise

Fashion Tapas: Beaded Purses

Here are some of the purses that were on display at the Pittock Mansion. The exhibit was not set up for photography, so please pardon the poor quality of the photos. Still, you can glimpse enough detail to appreciate the incredible workmanship of these bags.

Steel beads embroidered on velvet drawstring bag.

Beaded knitting on a bag constructed of two circles with a wrist loop.

Embroidery and bead embroidery on a small frame bag.

Dense bead embroidery on a frame bag.

Crocheted beaded rings and bead fringed frame bag

Frame bag of beaded knitting with stranding and loops

Drawstring bag of beaded knitting with stranding between stitches

Bead knitting with beaded fringe

Some of Mrs. Pittock's personal collection. Tapestry bead knitting.

In the Studio: Back to Bead Knitting

I've been doing a lot of bead crochet lately while developing some class ideas for this summer and realized that I haven't done any bead knitting for a while.

This project was hiding in the work-in-process pile:

It's a simple beaded wristband for those blue-jeans summer days. It's being worked on size 00 knitting needles. It will be good practice before returning to working with the smaller size 0000 and the tiny size 000000 needles that were probably similar to the ones used for the parasol in the previous post.

Press! ... and Roses

All the staff, Valerie, Amelie, Samba, and the midgets, were so excited that they threw a big old party last night to celebrate. They were all wandering around bleary-eyed this morning. 


The occasion? Knot-Cha-Chá!™ has received some press over at the Lillyella blog because Brenda, of Phydeaux Designs fame, interviewed me for the blog's regular feature, "On Top of Your Day Job." In the interview I reveal so much more about my nefarious past than I do here on this blog. 


The Lillyella blog is a great spot to read about fashion, food, home decor, and handmade goodies. Be sure to go check it out.


Meanwhile, I'm still busy reshooting photos of inventory in the shop, like this hand-knit OOAK art scarf that I knit from my own handspun yarn.

The Rose Trellis Scarf

More Bead-Knit & Bead-Crochet Accessories

Here are more items that I've been working on:

This lilac bracelet is for me. The beads are a lovely pink/lilac color that perfectly match a favorite new Ralph Lauren cable-knit sweater that I found on sale at the end of summer. Both the bracelet and the sweater make me feel quite glamorous.

This bead-crochet necklace is going to go in the store as soon as I decide on a clasp to finish it. It will probably be sterling silver in a simple design--possibly a magnetic clasp.

These bead-crochet barrettes are models for some DIY kits that are going into the store in March. They are fun to make and really dress up a pony tail. They look good worn with just about anything from casual jeans to ballroom gowns. The barrettes are about four inches wide.

Upcoming Bead-Knit Bracelet Class

Morticia's Cuff is a design whose pattern write-up will possibly be finished this weekend. The pattern instructions need to be finished because I am giving a class in making this very bracelet on March 8.

The bracelet is made with size 000 knitting needles using size FF bead nylon and size 11 seed beads. It's finished with a magnetic tube clasp. It is fun to make and is a great introduction to seed bead knitting.

For anyone in Portland, Oregon, who might want to join the class, it will be held at Dava Bead and Trade at 2121 NE Broadway on Sunday March 8. See the Dava Bead website for more details. The knitting skill level is advanced beginner or early intermediate. Only basic stitches are used. It is helpful if you have previous knitting experience using size 2 or smaller knitting needles.

Here is another sample in a different color.

I'd love to see you in the class next month, but if you live out-of-town you will soon be able to buy a kit from my Etsy store to make a Morticia Cuff of your own.

Beads, Knots, Knitting, Crochet, & Micro Macrame

Beads call to me just as much as fiber does. The sparkle and facets of crystals, the depth of color and vibration of gemstones, the variety and delicacy of seed beads--they all get my blood pumping and my imagination running amok.

Knots are my thing, so I typically pair beads with fiber, thread, or cord rather than wire. I've mostly design knitted and crocheted beaded jewelry, but the sensational result of Viking knitting with wire and the wild possibilities of micro macrame have me itching to learn more about these techniques.

My favorite local bead store in Southwest Portland is called Village Beads which is located in Multnomah Village. That is their wall of beads that you see in the first photo. The interior of this store is very cheery and full of light. It make your heart want to dance.

What really is a selling point about this place is the genuine friendliness of the owner and her staff. You know how when you go to some other bead stores (just like with some yarn stores) you are met with an attitude of superiority that makes you want to turn right around, march out of there, and go order online somewhere? You don't get that feeling at this store. Everyone is helpful and enthusiastic.

The classes at Village Bead are great. The class size is small so you get lots of help and the teachers are very good. This is where I first was brave enough to try bead knitting with seed beads.

This bead-knitted bracelet was a gift that I made this summer. I'll be putting up some similar bracelets in my Etsy store soon.

And this was a gift made of bead crochet. There will be some of these in my store as well.

Right now, one of my bead works in progress is this dancing donut-head doll that will dangle and jive from a macrame cord necklace. She was started in a micro macrame class at Village Bead. If you're in Portland, come to the village and check them out!