Looming Snowpeople -- Progress Report

Over the weekend, I attended Part II of my looming snowmen class with Erin Simonetti at Bead Soup in Savage Mill.

Once again, Erin did not disappoint.  

We learned ways of adding dimension such as the pop-out eyes, the noses, the pompom and the scarf...

I still have to finish my icicle swag and give the big snowman some scarf fringe and a flower for his hat brim. 

Erin Simonetti Snowman Bracelet In-Progress

One thing I'm still not sure about is the top edge of the bracelet.  I'm not sure if I'm finished up there or if I should add something else.  I'm going to wait to see how big my icicle swag gets on the bottom edge before I decide.

One thing I discovered is that the Coronet Braid that I had in my stash works really well as a warp.  

Normally, we use a twisted cord called C-LonTex 400 but I didn't have any so I found this braid made for needlepoint worked very well.  The sparkle from the braids were perfect for this design.

There is so much potential with this technique that my mind hasn't stopped spinning since class on Saturday.

The more comfortable I become, the more I'm thinking of the loomed "base" as a piece of "fabric" that is prepped for embellishment.

I am thoroughly enjoying learning this new technique from Erin whom I believe to be a master in the creative possibilities of loom weaving. 

I have to figure out the clasp and a few finishing details so it may take a few more days before I'm wearing it.

But it's a pure shot of happiness to work on something so festive and fun...

 

What's not to love about all that sparkly, icy goodness?

Happy Monday!

Stacked and Loaded

Like most of you yesterday in the Mid-west and the East Coast, we had a snow day.

Jack got his wish and a day off from exams and Jim came home from work around Noon.

While the snow blew around outside, Jim and I spent the afternoon binge-watching Breaking Bad on Netflix and I did something that's needed doing in a looooong time...

I numerically sorted all my delica beads.

I know.  Not only did we have Polar Vortex II but perhaps hell froze over as well.

For years I've used the old plastic-baggie full of plastic-tubes method of storage...

And yesterday I migrated to this new, space-saving, stackable method recommended by Erin Simonetti (I posted about Erin before here and here)...

I was lucky to find these stackable containers online at Joann.com and on sale.  Check it out here.  Erin has also had success ordering them from Walmart.

As I work through many of Erin's loomed designs, we have been using small numbers of beads with many colors.  Though a kit is provided through the Bead-Soup store, I was wasting a lot of time and money by not using what I already had.  The only problem was I didn't know what I had.

Now I do.  Erin places the containers on the inside of the loom as she's working.

Picture courtesy of Erin Simonetti's blog heading

No need to pour beads out onto a mat or anything...you just bead directly from the container.  When you want to travel, just re-stack the containers and off you go.

I am all set and ready to go for our Mystery Class in February.  I needed to order a couple of beads to make the scarf for my snowmen so I'm waiting for them to come in.

Another snow day for us here and I am working on Japanese embroidery today.

Happy delica day!

P.S.  A few of you asked about the looms we were using in yesterday's post.  These are looms that Erin's husband makes and, as yet, they are not commercially available.  I know that Kathy Fritz at Bead Soup is looking for a supplier to make the looms so when ordering information becomes available, I'll let you know.

Looming Snow

We're expecting a little snow tomorrow with Polar Vortex II.

Jack has two hard exams tomorrow, Calculus and AP German so he's praying for LOTS of snow.

This past Saturday I was back at Bead Soup in Savage Mill to continue my education on bead looming.

The incomparable Erin Simonetti was back, once again, with a spectacular design...

a snowman cuff bracelet.

Loomed, designed and copyright by Erin Simonetti

What I love most about Erin's work is all of the three-dimensional elements she adds to her loomed pieces.  Like the fringed scarf, 3-D pompom and flower on the hats.

And the ICICLES!!

I am trying to learn her looming tricks because I see a real possibility with adding textile and embroidered elements down the road.

And learning from Erin is an absolute HOOT!

First of all...the woman knows how to embrace a theme.  Her fingernail polish always coordinates with the class project...

Here she is helping someone with their first row.  Just like knitting, the first row can be a bit tricky and Erin doesn't want anyone to go away from her class feeling frustrated.

She dressed for snow with her shirt and her handmade necklace...

And then she gave each one of us a necklace with either a bottle of snowflakes or snowman face parts...

I kind of like my emergency snowman kit!

Thanks to my neighbor for letting me use her shirt as the backdrop for the photograph...

Check out how neat and organized her beading set up is...

Something for me to aspire to!

Everyone always has fun in Erin's class...

And, as if all of this wasn't festive enough, Erin cranked it up about ten more notches when this guy showed up about halfway through our class...

His name is Rick Wright and he is a caricature artist and friend of Erin's from high school.

He drew a caricature of each one of us to take home, all courtesy of Erin.

I know, right?  It makes you want to move to Maryland just so you can get in on the fun. 

I was heading to our annual Tea with the Nieces and Jack right after class so I was wearing a tea cup sweater, hence Rick's version of yours truly...

Thank you Rick and Erin.

This morning, I finished the basic looming on my bracelet...

I chose a two-snowman version and a colorway that uses Miyuki's new Luminous delica beads.

That's yet another thing that I love about Erin's designs.  

She provides lots of options for customizing her designs.  Smaller design options for smaller writsts, different edgings and fringes to choose from, different methods for modifying the clasp, etc...heck, at the December class, she even provided a chocolate and vanilla version of Santa.  It's just great.  

You can follow Erin's work on Facebook here or on her blog, Beads Beading Beaded.  If you read back through her older posts, she provides tons of information on her loomed beading approach.

As for me, I'm a fan for life.  I'm off to add noses to those snowmen and figure out which 3-D elements I'd like to add.  We have class again on Saturday so I'm hoping to finish my homework today.

Happy Monday everyone.