Bead Brain

I had absolutely no intention of starting another project until one of the current ones was completed. Then along came a Japanese bead embroidery class and, well, I had to start another project.

I really liked the project, was interested in learning some Japanese bead embroidery, and the class was being taught locally. How could I resist?

Obviously, I couldn't resist, and I have a feeling that there are more than a few of you out there who have experienced the same problem!

Allow me to introduce you to Wild Child.

Wild Child is a bead covered wallet designed by Mary Alice Sinton who also taught the class I attended. (The full name of the project is Wild Child Diva Wallet, but let's just call it Wild Child for short.)

The project entails enhancing an exuberant quilt fabric ground with beads, lots and lots of beads! Wild Child is going to take a while.

The fabric was designed by Jane Sassaman, and there are other variations and coordinating fabrics which are used on the interior of the wallet.

The 'diva wallet' part of the name refers to the actual design of the wallet. Instructions for the construction of the wallet from Sew Many Creations were included in the class kit.

The finished piece stitched by Mary Alice looks like this:

Wild Child: Front

Wild Child: Back

Wild Child: Opened to Show Front and Back

Wild Child: Interior

I'm stitching the blue version. There is also a pink version. It was difficult to choose between the two (for the class); I like them both.

I didn't fully appreciate just how much of the wallet's surface is covered in beads until I saw it in person prior to the class. It is almost completely encrusted, including the black background.

We started the embroidery with the black beaded border, which ideally is supposed to be fully stitched before you continue the project. However, this being a class, it was necessary to work on some other areas in order to learn various stitches and techniques.

One of the most interesting things I learned in the class was how to use a koma to lay beads. It works incredibly well. The koma keeps tension on the string of beads while you couch them down and helps you to create smooth lines.

Mary Alice designed a special beading koma, which are made by her husband. We were able to purchase them for the class.

Here the koma is being used while outlining a white flower with beads. Part of the border is also visible

The next interesting thing was padding...with beads! First you lay down a small circle of beads.

Then you essentially satin stitch over the top--with beads--to create a raised centre.

That was fun! My brain thinks there is something weird about using beads for the padding, but it makes perfect sense given that this is bead embroidery.

There were other stitches taught in the class. They seemed straightforward to me, so I decided to spend the second day of the two-day class finishing the border. It was necessary to complete the border in order to continue on with the project once class was over.

Each side of the border took between 90 minutes and two hours to stitch, but I did get a bit faster as I went along.

Here's where Wild Child stands at the moment. It doesn't look like much, but there's a lot of time invested in what's been done so far. (I'm so glad the border is finished; it was a slog!) The next step is to outline all the white flowers. (Note: there's a project-matching needle minder in the upper right hand corner that is creating an odd shadow.)

I get antsy when I have too many open projects. I don't like having more than about four (three is better). No more project starts until something finishes!

References

• Mary Alice Sinton (Blue Bonnet Studio)
• Sew Many Creations