Celtic Trefoil -- lessons learned

Well today the sun is shining and my heart is skipping along with the happiness and personal satisfaction that comes with success! YES I did it! FINALLY!! My most recent Trefoil tribulations have all been resolved and ALL because of the fact that I used the CORRECT THREAD! I am happy to say that simply switching to the Nymo thread that Diane recommended has meant that the latest Trefoil efforts are very successful.

I started Trefoil #5 (!!) with the Nymo thread and some burgundy delicas and trimmed these with silver Toho Treasures, and although I could see where some
adjustments might make an improvement, I have to say I was very confident of a successful outcome, as I worked through the pattern. There is a certain amount of 'give' or stretch in this thread that is essential to the success of the design. Without this flexibility there is no hope of a successful outcome. Filled with the joy of the burgundy Trefoil I then went on to use the olive/pink 133 delicas my local bead store owner suggested, and love the colors. There's a pretty pink sheen to these beads that is not that obvious when photographed in the sunshine.

I stitched some lovely copper seed beads on the outer edges, after zipping the two layers together and am delighted with the finished item. I learned from making the burgundy Trefoil to add an extra copper bead at the three points -- it makes all the difference!

At some point in the future I'll incorporate the Trefoils into a necklace.

MANY thanks to Diane for her encouragement, which I so appreciate.

Continued adventures with Diane's Celtic Trefoil

I was encouraged to contact Diane Fitzgerald herself and with some trepidation I did just that! I was pleasantly surprised to receive a VERY gracious email reply from Diane shortly after sending the email. What a lovely lady! I sent Diane the photos of my initial attempts and her suggestions have to do with using the actual thread she recommends (I have not been doing that) AND playing a little with the tension to get the desired effect.

Well I sure wish I'd more time to devote to this, but I've done what I can and have not yet achieved success. Attempt #4 was going well until the first layer was mostly complete and ... one of the beads on the base row broke!! Can you believe it? In an attempt to keep the initial tension tight, I overdid it. My balloon burst and of course that was the end of that. I don't think I've ever worked as hard to achieve an outcome as I have with this, but I AM determined to master the pattern.

I DO need to shop for some more delicas, and make sure I am using the PERFECT thread -- so after the weekend I'll take up the needle again and give this lovely pattern another go!

Pleasantly side-tracked -- Diane Fitzgerald's new book!

Since 'discovering' seed beads, I've long admired the work of many talented beaders and have learned a lot from reading beading magazines and books. One of my most recent acquisitions is a copy of Diane Fitzgerald's latest book titled Shaped Beadwork. I feel that tackling ANY of these patterns will challenge me utterly, but understanding just what can be accomplished with the various stitches is surely part of exploring beadweaving. Diane's style is unique and easily recognizable and I've long admired her Celtic Trefoil in particular! One of the things on my bucket list is certainly to make a necklace using these marvelous shapes as they certainly appeal to my Celtic soul!

When the book arrived I was smitten and felt I just had to at least take the first step toward learning to make the Trefoil and so I did as instructed (yes -- I know -- I DID actually follow the directions!!) and completed a couple of the oval links beforehand. This exercise is essential to understand the construction of the 'corners' and also to see how the 'step-up' in the second layer of the Trefoil is accomplished.

SO FAR I've made three good attempts at making the Trefoil and to date I'm disappointed with the outcomes. My first attempt was accurate with regard to technique and pattern but it would not sit correctly at all. There's only so much 'give' with these lovely glass delica beads! That effort, although completed, I cut up -- and with the beads started on Trefoil #2. THIS time I noted the importance of the tension and actually worked rather loosely as I got to the outsides of the piece -- loose tension is NOT something I'm used to in peyote stitch! BUT the end result was "better" . . . NOT perfect though!

Even at this stage I could see that the work was not laying flat enough to continue with the second layer. I DO love these Delica beads, though! So at this point I added some copper seed beads to the outer edges, and I feel this is 'usable' although not all it could be! I still felt it was all down to tension so I tried it again. This time I used Toho Treasure beads in pink and silver and was very attentive to the tension and holding the piece so that the second layer was folding over as I worked -- as the finished piece should. It all LOOKED good enough to work

until it was zipped up, and even THIS time I felt it was not sitting flat enough. I was frustrated with this and am now looking for some constructive guidance as I am sure I'm missing something but cannot for the life of me figure out what it might be! I will reach out for some help and see what happens!

Exploring RAW a little more, and using some metal inserts

Having finished the little RAW bracelets and brought some joy to a couple of special people, I actually made one in a lime green -- a color I love to wear! This is simple and yet so much fun to wear! What I like best about this little bracelet is that it fits so comfortably and does not 'get in the way' at all. My daughter loves this design as she can wear it to work and type away quite happily!

Before putting the RAW away for a while (I still have two commission pieces I'm working on LOL) I wanted to use what I'd learned in constructing the Right Angle Weave base,

and so played with some beads and pearls to construct a circular necklace focal. I then added some seed beads to attach this to some small antiqued brass metal pieces I ordered on the internet and so the necklace 'grew.'


I am truly happy with the result -- can already see some more variations that I'd love to try but once again MUST mention that there are NEVER enough hours in the day!

Building on the Muse experience part two!

Well I've worked some with one of the copper pieces I purchased and have decided to use one of my resin cameos with it.

SO far, I've added some bead detail to the copper filigree piece

and have also added a bezel to the cameo.


I'm very happy with the way these have turned out and am working away to attach these to a beaded necklace -- I will need to find a more perfect series of beads to pull out some of the orange color in the cameo. So this is on hold, pending a trip to my favorite local bead store!