Friday, June 5, 2015

Spangles

Oh, the frustration. I was getting ready to work on the bobbin lace piece and as I worked from the freshly turned corner I realized that I had made a mistake well before that turn. I hemmed and hawed over whether I could undo back around that corner and then I just grabbed the scissors and started cutting. Yep, I just lost it and said never bloody mind. I think I just need more practice on prior techniques before I'm going to get this one done right.

I was going to start another piece straight away when I remembered that I had planned on spangling my bobbins. I really had no idea what I was doing, but I did it anyway. I grabbed my Dremel and drilled holes in the ends, probably too big, but I did mention that I had no real clue. I'd seen plenty of spangles in photos so I knew they were rounded, usually with a larger element in the center, So I grabbed some flexible wire and my box of random beads from years of Fire Mountain grab bags. I tried my best to go with pairs colors, but like I said, the beads are random, so some match better than others, but none of them are exact pairs.

I got 20 of them made up yesterday so there's just four more to go. I'm down to the dregs in the bead box, so the rest might be less matchy, but I'm told that's not really the point of the spangles anyway. I also made sure that the construction of these spangles was done in such a way that I can eventually cut them off and do new ones should I acquire better beads for the purpose. I have no idea if these are too small, too big, too bulky, or too anything wrong, but I suppose I'll figure that out as I work with them. So today I'm hoping to get those last four done and then I'll pin something on the board to test them. Of course the best part is that I spent no money on this experiment, so if they turn out to be a failure, all I've lost is a day or so. Here's hoping the day wasn't a waste.

3 comments:

Jane McLellan said...

Well, they look good. I hope they do what they're meant to.

Sahara Sapphire said...

They look about right. Their job is to add a little weight and stop the bobbins from rolling, keeping them in place. I used to find that tugging a little on each bobbin after completing a row/pass used to help with tension. I think you're doing very well with your learning, it's not easy teaching yourself a new skill.

Claire said...

I am impressed at how fast you have been progressing with your bobbin lace "exercises".
Nice work!