Beading Catastrophe

It was my second time for one of my works to fall apart or lose beads. It was funny as I do not expect my work to fall apart. To say I was shocked says nothing for how my daughter Jessica felt when she was showing me how loose her bracelet was and it seemed to disintegrate before our eyes. It was the very first bracelet I had made for anyone except myself. However we must remember I have only been beading since March of 2008. In that short time we would not expect this to happen.

I made all my first bracelets with NYMO. I like Nymo alot, but at the beginning I did not condition the NYMO because I simply did not know I should. Because it was not conditioned, it tended to look fuzzy or frayed the longer I worked with it. I would say that it was weakened for sure. Again I did not know much about anything then. I really do not know much yet and I expect in 10 years there will still be lots for me to learn. I try to learn and listen to others and yet I imagine there will always be broken works to be repaired. What Jessica does not know is that I will not use the same beads as they were the Chinese beads I started with and now I do not buy Chinese beads at all.

I do not know if it was fact, but I was told recently that all Chinese beads have a high lead level??? At the DeLand Fall Art Festival I met a women with the most incredible Bead Work I had ever seen. It was out there as the best I have seen in person. How could I not ask for a card. I just listened to everything the woman said and gazed at her work and then walked away. Some of what the women told me was that she had written many articles in the past and that most of her work and ways she does things are copyrighted. How could I not find out her name? I did ask where she was from and I remember it was South East Florida somewhere. Hope that I see her again.

She did say that she beads without patterns and ad libs most of her work. When I say it was beautiful and neat and I wanted it, I am not exaggerating.