Japanese Beadwork With Sonoko Nozue

I've long admired the talented beadwork of Japanese beaders, but must admit I'm not as familiar with them by name as I am those from the US. But there is 1 name that will stick with me from now on, the talented Sonoko Nozue. The intricate details in her beadwork is awe inspiring. They are both delicate and complex at the same time. This wonderful Lark Crafts Master Series book covers projects suitable for both beginners and advanced beaders, something for everyone.

Maggie Meister's Classical Elegance

Reading this book, I feel as though I've stepped back in time. Maggie Meister of Amphora Designs has managed to recreate the essence of century's old jewelry designs, but in seed beads. In Chapter 3, she shows a gold seed bead bracelet that is so breathtaking and the original that inspired the design. It's truly fascinating to read the history behind the designs in this book, all museum quality pieces. This is a must have for any serious seed beader!

Jill Wiseman's Beautiful Beaded Ropes

I recently had the pleasure of reading (and drooling over) Jill Wiseman's (of Tapestry Beads) new book, Beautiful Beaded Ropes, a book released by Lark Books. It's a stunning book full of many projects. What I like about this book is that it has something for everyone, from simple peyote ropes, like the Dancing Waves Necklace on pg. 47 to the much more intricate and advanced Abundance Necklace (the cover photo). This book will take you through them all.

Being a lampworker and a seedbeader myself, I also enjoyed seeing how she combined the 2 in her Falling For You Necklace on pg. 27. Definitely on my to do list. But I went ga ga over her Flirtation Bracelet on pg. 30. LOVE the dangling fringe on it! Such a great look!

Review: Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies

I had the pleasure of reading and drooling over all the lovely creations in Sabine Lippert's Beaded Fantasies, another in Lark Books' Beadweaving Master Class series. I'm a huge admirer of Sabine's work and have several of her patterns so was anxious to read this book. As an added bonus, Lark is offering 50% off on their books through 12/11 through Barnes and Noble, so don't delay! Get your copy NOW!

The photographs are beautifully done and the illustrations are easy to follow. I really appreciate that she adds dimensions for the finished size on all the projects, both in inches and centimeters. This is a wonderful thing to do, especially since it's often hard to grasp the size of a bracelet, pendant, etc. when there are no sizes posted. Really helps in the planning process in case adjustments have to be made.

One of my favorite designs of Sabine's is covered in this book, her Granada Brooch. It's chock full of blingy goodness! Here's my interpretation...don't look too closely or you'll see some of my threads showing. Oh well, better luck next time because there WILL be a next time. I just love how these come out & am already dreaming up my next color combo.  

Book Review: Lark Books' Bead Riffs by Rachel Nelson-Smith

I was recently asked to review several Lark Books. Which to read and review first since they're all idols of mine?? So, I randomly selected Rachel Nelson-Smiths' Bead Riffs. What a fun read! Different from most beading books I've come across, Rachel makes the connection between her love of beading and her love of jazz. She's spent about 10 years singing jazz and almost 2 decades beading, so is well versed on both topics. I love knowing something about my beading idols besides just their work, sort of like seeing one of my schoolteachers in the grocery store. They DO have another life! ;-)

I first came across Rachel's work when she came out with her Ootheca cuff. This was a design that I just couldn't quite fathom how she made it. Looked WAY too difficult to me, from photos alone. Now that I've read her book, I feel confident that I COULD tackle it given Rachel's wonderful tutorial writing abilities. She takes us from the basics of the stitches involved with some very good basic hints (more about his later) to step by step instructions and very understandable illustrations to over 20 projects ranging from the basic to advanced designs.

As to the basics, I had an "AHA" moment when reading her instructions for right angle weave (RAW).  This has been one of my most challenging stitches. I mostly gravitate to double needle RAW designs, but on page 16, Rule 1 for RAW states: " Each subsequent unit travels in a circular direction opposite from the previous row. For example, a unit formed with a clockwise thread path is followed by a unit formed with a counterclockwise thread path." So simple, yet in all the years I've been beading, I had never thought of it in those simple terms. I struggled with each and every pattern I attempted to make. Following beautiful patterns shared by talented artists is great, but an AHA moment is priceless.

Sherry Serafini’s Sensational Bead Embroidery

Sherry Serafini's latest book is a true work of art! It looks and reads more like an art book, than a pattern book. So beautiful in fact, that it would make a lovely coffee table book. The numerous project photos are simply breathtaking!

It is set up differently from most other pattern books in that it has a chapter at the beginning that delves into the various bead embroidery stitches, color theory, design, tips, etc. Then, for each subsequent project, Sherry gives a supplies list and then verbally describes the steps for each project. If you're a visual person, you might find this a bit more challenging since there are no step by step photos. However, bead embroidery is essentially a freeform art form and she does have the specific stitch descriptions in the front of the book.

Here's a bracelet I made inspired by Sherry's work, similar in design to her Fade to Gray Cuff. I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think?