Visit to Bella Beads

A new stop on our vacation shopping tour was a cute little place called Bella Beads, which is in an old New England style house just on the other side of the parking lot from Keepsake Quilting and Patternworks. I was looking for something in particular to finish off a project that you have already seen in sneak-preview mode and I think I got just the right thing, plus a few other goodies! Come along and take a look...


Even before we got in the door, we felt like the invitation to stay a while was issued to anyone and everyone!


There were beads of every shape, size, color and material. They were hanging on strings, collected in little cups, stored in little drawers and packages. Everything you could imagine for beading of any kind.


This little area up the ramp holds all kind of findings and wires and strings and clasps and ribbons. Quite a selection in such a small space.


Some of the strung beads hang high on the wall over a table of little cups just filled with every sort of little fancy bead you could imagine.


More strung beads hang low on the wall.


In case you are wondering if it's ok to spend money in this shop, now at least you know it's ok with your husband! Funny thing for me was that my husband didn't even know I was coming to this shop, so I got a real chuckle out of this sign.


And here is what I found that tickled my fancy...just a few strings of glass beads in various sizes, and two big huge painted wooden beads with large holes in them. I won't tell which beads are the ones I was looking for to complete a project. You'll have to wait until you see them on something that will be coming up very soon!

Bella Beads was a fun place to poke around with so much to see and so many pretty possibilities. There was a class going on at the large table just inside the front door so I didn't get any pictures in that direction. The owner, Sue, was very friendly and helpful, and this looked to me like a place I would be happy to spend time creating and designing some nice things. Too bad vacation is only one week a year!

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheting Beads into your work is easier than you might think!

It's no secret that I love to crochet, and every now and then I enjoy dressing it up a little with beads. That's what I did for Jane's pink bag, and also for the little white Rosary case I whipped up for my sister's feast day gift. In fact, her feast day is today, June 15, the feast of Saint Germaine Cousin of Pibrac, France. So I'll know by the end of the day if she liked her little gift, beads and all.

Many of you faithful readers have asked how I crocheted the beads into the projects, so below is a little video to show you.


This is the little sample you will see being worked in the video. Notice how the beads in both rows are slanted in the same direction. This is because they were added to the project from the same side of the work for each row. In other words, to get this same result, you would have to add your beads on either all right side rows, or on all wrong side rows. If you add some on right side rows and some on wrong side rows, they will slant in different directions, and also be more prominent on different sides. So when planning a project, keep this in mind and work the beads in from the same side of the piece throughout.


The picture above shows the opposite side of the piece from where the beads were worked in.


This picture shows the side of the work that was facing when the beads were worked in. Depending on the look you want to achieve with the beads, you will need to decide which will be the front and which will be the back of your work.

Run and grab some scrap yarn and a few pony beads or whatever you might have to work up a sample, and crochet along with me. You'll see just how easy it is to add beads to your crochet.




Did you notice that double crochet stitch I sneaked in there at the end of the bead row? It was the second to last stitch. I guess that's what happens when I talk too much! But I know you'll forgive me.

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted and Beaded Rosary Case

I had such fun crocheting beads into the pink bag I made for Jane recently that I thought I would try doing the same thing on a much smaller scale on a gift for my sister. She's the one I made this tote bag for last Christmas.

Using #10 cotton thread in white, blue seed beads, and my trusty steel crochet hook, I made this little white Rosary case.


This is the whole piece after almost all of the crocheting was complete. It measures about 2 1/2 inches wide by about 6 inches long. It is crocheted entirely in single crochet with 25 stitches per row and 59 rows plus the scallop row at the end.


Here's the scalloped edge with the little loop closure in the middle.


This is the cross of blue beads which will be on the back of the case when it is all finished and closed up.


This is the upside down M which will be on the front of the case when it is finished and closed. After finishing all the stitching, I realized that the M would have looked better if I had added one more bead to the top of the vertical lines on either side. But I was not about to rip it all out at that point!



Looking through my fabric for something that would be appropriate for a lining, I found some bleached muslin and cut two pieces just wider than the crocheted piece but not quite as long.


I stitched them together, leaving an opening for turning. Then I turned the lining and pressed it.


I pinned it to the wrong side of the crocheted piece...


...and hand stitched it in place around the edges using white quilting thread.


Then I folded the bottom edge up to just below the scalloped edge...



...and crocheted the edges together on each side.


Here it is standing upright and open, showing that it is just a simple pouch with the scalloped edge just a little higher than the plain edge, and both sides stitched together with single crochet.


I found a little white heart button and sewed that on just above the M for the loop to go around to close the case.


And there it is! I'll let you know if she likes it!

(Editor's note: She loved it! And HERE is a tutorial on crocheting beads into your work.)

Happy Stitching!

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Pink Crocheted Bag - PIF Gift #3

I just received word that my Pay-It-Forward Gift #3 arrived safely at its destination, so now I can show you what I made for Jane.




Anyone who knows Jane, knows that PINK is THE color for her! I have never met Jane personally, and in fact I've never even seen a picture of her, but just from our light correspondence and exchange of comments on each other's websites, I get the feeling that she is a very fun and vibrant person. So I just had to make something equally as fun for her.

This crocheted bag is made with the same crochet cotton used for the dishcloths I was making there for A Really Long Time, with a little added twist...rows of beads thrown in for fun! The bag stands about 15 inches tall, not including the handle which is long enough to throw the bag over your shoulder, or to tie it into a knot to shorten it.

I lined the bag with a soft pink striped lightweight fabric in case Jane wanted to use it to carry projects with her, so needles and small things wouldn't fall through the holes. In a future post, I will share a little tutorial on how to incorporate beads into your crocheting. I'll also show how easy it is to line a bag like this.

Pop over to Jane's website to see the other PINK goodies she received in her package.

Happy Stitching!

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Beaded Fish Windchime

Spring is here and we've been doing some work out in the yard. We still have lots of trees to finish cutting up and logs to split and one pile of limbs still to burn before we will be all cleaned up from the ice storm we had back in December. But this past weekend we spent some time turning over the dirt in our planting beds and putting in our tomato plants and some basil. My little garden helpers were right there with me, digging in the dirt and sprinkling carrot seeds, poking holes and planting green beans. The strawberry bed has been covered with netting, actually tulle right from Walmart's fabric department, to keep the critters from enjoying our delicious crop. This should be another good year from growing yummy treats in the gardens!

The front porch also got some new hanging flower baskets and my two fish wind chimes were brought up from their winter hiding place to swing in the breeze for the summer. Here's one of them hanging on the end of the front porch...


As you can see, it's a beautiful spring day here in New England. Just sticking out of the bottom of this picture, you can see the steel drum that we have been using to burn all the sticks and branches from ice storm. Hopefully we'll be able to put that away soon. But there's my little bejeweled fish, hanging from the end of the porch catching the wonderful breezes we get up here on top of the hill.


This is the one I made just recently. These were kits that I purchased from Herrschner's quite some time ago on clearance. I find some great deals there. I made up two of them and have used them for a few summers, but last night I was looking for a quick project to do before time to make dinner, so I checked my cabinet for something and found this fun little kit.


It came with the wire fish shape and all the beads and string and mirrors, and I put it all together. It only took about an hour to string everything the way I wanted it and then glue all the knots to make sure they wouldn't come out.


The little mirror shapes are in pairs, sandwiched together and glued with the string in the middle. The stained glass shapes in red and green have loops already attached to them for tying on the string. The colored beads of different shapes hang in between to add color and sparkle too. To make them stay put, I just threaded the string through the bead, then brought it back around and threaded it again in the same direction. This allows the beads to be moved up and down the string for easy placement, but they will not slide down the string on their own.


At the bottom of each string is a little puffy plastic heart shape to finish it off.

Beaded wind chimes can be made with any type of shape that you make or buy, adding any decorative elements you may already have around the house for color and sparkle, and stringing them in a way that you find pleasing. Of course a kit is always the easiest way to do something like this, since all the parts are provided. But with a little creativity and imagination, you can come up with your own original artwork to hang on the front porch and catch the fabulous breezes that are sure to be coming your way soon!

Happy Stitching!

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Handmade Single Decade Rosary Bracelet

What a beautiful day we are having here in New England. Picture perfect for a huge yard sale to benefit our local high school marching band. The Country Cabin Doll Quilts that I made recently, along with the matching pillows, were sold. In addition to that, all the homemade breads I baked yesterday sold as well. My daughter and I spent the morning helping out, and it was fun. By the time we left at 11:00, we had made over $800 for the band!

When I got home and had a chance to check my email, I discovered that Myra had received her PIF package from me and posted about it on her own website, Tactile Pleasures in Fabric. You can read about her little treats HERE.

One of the items I made for Myra is a Single Decade Rosary Bracelet, also known as a chaplet. Here is what it looks like up close...


This is a Rosary that can be worn as a piece of jewelry around the wrist and removed for use when praying the Rosary. There is the crucifix, 10 beads together for counting the Hail Marys, the single bead for the Our Father between the 5 decades, and the Miraculous Medal. Even if this bracelet is never used for actually praying the Rosary, it is a nice piece of jewelry to wear to show your faith and devotion to the Blessed Mother.

These Rosary bracelets are quick to make and quite easy as long as you have the right supplies, especially the proper type of pliers. Rosary making pliers generally are needle nose pliers with little wire cutter blades on the side for snipping the wire or chain links.

I have been making Rosaries of all kinds since before I was in high school, so we're talking quite a number of years now! Like about over 30! I love to make the bracelets and use them as gifts or for our local parochial school fairs or fundraisers. If you are interested in purchasing one or more for yourself or to give as gifts, just comment or email me and I'm happy to make arrangements with you. I charge $12 for one, and each one comes in a sturdy little white gift box, all ready to be wrapped and given away. They make lovely gifts for graduation, First Communion, Confirmation, wedding and anniversary, birthday and Christmas.

Happy Stitching!

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Blue and Silver Beaded Zipper Pull

Today I actually put down my crochet hook and cotton yarn in favor of a generous length of mono filament, a lobster claw clasp and some pretty blue and silver beads. It's been quite a while since I've created a beaded piece, and making this one today reminded me how much I enjoy the process.


When I start out making something with beads, I don't usually have even the remotest idea how it will turn out. I just start, and sometimes start again many times, until I have something I like. I'll do a tutorial on how I make these very simple and fun zipper pulls soon. For now though I just had to show you that, as far as my being hooked on cotton yarn and crochet hooks, I really can quit anytime! As long as I have something equally as enjoyable and productive to fill the void!

Happy Stitching!

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Appliqued, Embroidered and Beaded Christmas Tree Skirt

Back in the 80's while I was still working full time before our oldest was born, my sister and her family lived right in the same town with us. I would spend many late afternoons and evenings at their little place, playing with the kids, swimming, enjoying their company while my husband was taking college classes at night. I had sewing and craft projects that I worked on at home and a few volunteer activities that I was involved in through the library or church. I stayed busy enough. Then my sister broke the news that she and her family would be moving half way across the country for her husband's job. I didn't realize how much I would miss them at the time, but after they were gone, I surely did miss them terribly. So I pulled out a project I had only just purchased, set it up on the card table in the living room and worked on it for hours at a time every day and on weekends sometimes all day long. I poured myself into this project to keep my mind off of my sad loss.

When it was finally finished, which took months, we so proudly placed it under the Christmas tree and admired it. Then we heard a sound, like something being chewed, coming from somewhere under the tree. My husband noticed one of our cats lurking back there and realized what was happening. He lunged at the cat, she took off running, and we examined the damage. She liked the beads and sequins, that bad old cat! We caught her before she could do too much damage, but we couldn't risk leaving the tree skirt out with her unattended all day long, so it got packaged up and put away. I am happy to report, for so many reasons, that the cats are no longer with us and the tree skirt has taken its rightful place under our family room Christmas tree for the past several years.

Here it is...



This was a kit by Bucilla as I recall which I had purchased at some long gone craft store on clearance after Christmas one year. I think I paid a whopping $8 for it! That was quite a chunk of change for me to spend on a craft kit back then! I'm so glad I splurged though. It came with all the felt, sequins, beads, embroidery floss, wool yarn, ric-rac and detailed instructions for placing each piece in the proper order. The design repeats three times around the skirt going from the doll on the left over to the rocking horse on the right.


Here you can see better that Santa is reaching up to place the star on top of the Christmas tree and his little elf is helping. If you look closely at the pom pom on Santa's hat, you can see a loose thread hanging there. That is the damage that darned old cat did that day! If we had not caught her so quickly and put the tree skirt away, I am certain that not one bead or sequin would have been left on the tree skirt. She was THAT bad! But she was my favorite cat and I loved her. Her name was Sandy.


Anyway, here's the little elf carrying the drum and the cute little rocking horse with the yarn tail and mane. You can see here that the arm of the elf is stuffed and sewn on just like Santa's arm with the star and the other elf helping him. Each face is embroidered and every sequin is sewn on with a bead to secure it. The elves also have yarn hair peeking out from under their hats.


Here's the little doll with yarn pig tails and red bows. The teddy bear's little embroidered face is so happy and his fat little stuffed arm sticks out of Santa's bag.

The ric-rac was sewn on by hand using white thread and then I backed the entire piece with a piece of red felt that I purchased separately and embroidered my name and the year onto. This was whip stitched to the top using red thread all around the outside edge and up the slit opening and around the little circle in the middle where the tree goes. I also added three little flaps with snaps on them to close the skirt and secure it around the tree.

In the first picture, you can see the candy canes around the little circle in the middle with little green holly leaves. These were felt pieces appliqued like the rest of the designs and the red stripes were embroidered using satin stitch.

I love putting this tree skirt underneath our tree every year. It gets buried once the wrapped gifts start appearing, but once the Christmas morning mayhem is over, it becomes visible again and adds a nice sparkle and cheerfulness until it gets put away on January 6th for another long year.

Just so you know...

This is Sandy, the bead and sequin chewer. She was my very favorite cat and she loved me more than anyone in the world. We got her as a kitten a year after we were married and she lived to the ripe old age of 17. She really was a wonderful cat.


And this is Sandy's partner in crime, Sunny. We got her as a kitten about a year after we got Sandy and they were best buddies all their lives. Sunny lived to the ripe old age of 18. They were both sealpoint Siamese cats and sounded like crying babies when they meowed. They both loved curling up on top of the computer monitor to keep warm. That was back in the day, eh?

I just wanted you to know I'm not as heartless as I seemed when I mentioned that the cats are no longer with us!

Happy Stitching!

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Handmade Vintage Christmas Ornaments

My grandmother was a pretty crafty lady who lived with my family all the years I was growing up until she died when I was almost out of high school. She was quite an accomplished seamstress, crocheter, cook, and had many other talents as well. She taught me how to crochet when I was quite young, probably 8 or 9 years old.

Gram, as everyone called her, liked to make pretty Christmas ornaments from kits, similar to what we might buy today from Herrschner's or Mary Maxim or your local craft store. Dimensions is the brand that comes to mind when I see her felt and sequin ornaments.

Here are a few of the ornaments that my grandmother made which I was able to remove from my mother's Christmas tree and add to my own. I'm not quite sure my mother knows about this, so let's keep it our little secret, shall we?


This bell is made of straight pins, sequins, beads, gold trim and some glue. Its core is a dense styrofoam-type material that holds the pins securely once the glue they were dipped into dries. I love the sparkle it adds to the tree.


This colorful bird has felt pieces sewn onto the main green bird base and is decorated with sequins and beads that are also sewn on. The gold trim is sewn as well and the whole thing is stuffed and about 5 inches from beak tip to tail. It is decorated the same on both sides.


I remember Gram made several of these little drum ornaments and over the years a drumstick or two went missing. When I absconded with this patriotic little gem, it was the last one still sporting both drumsticks. I do recall my mother telling me I couldn't take it for that very reason...it still had both drumsticks. Of course I reasoned with her, saying that was precisely why I wanted that one. And here it is hanging on my tree so many years later. I wonder if Mom really thought I would put it back on her tree and take one of the others with only one drumstick.


And this lovely Snowlady has always reminded me of my grandmother. She could tie such beautiful bows with the sashes on our fancy dresses and in our hair. And she used to wear fancy hats too!

So these are some of my vintage ornaments made by my grandmother's hands many many years ago. Every stitch and pin and sequin and loop were perfectly placed. I always hang them on the front of the tree so they will be seen by everyone and if someone asks about them, I can tell them about my grandmother. Sometimes I wonder if the little things I make to decorate my home and Christmas tree will be treasured years from now the way I treasure these ornaments. I guess only time will tell.

Happy Stitching!

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