Bounty of free projects from Lark for I Might Make That! Monday

Sonoko Wave necklace from Japanese Beadwork
with Sonoko Nozue, published by Lark Books

The Lark books I won from Speedie Beadie's giveaway 

I am a couple of weeks behind in blogging about this (I am a couple of weeks behind with everything), but I recently won a trio of books in a giveaway sponsored by the generous and very talented Dot of Speedie Beadie.

These are three awesome books from Marthe Le Van's series, and I am thrilled to be in possession of them. I really love her style. Thank you so much, Dot! (And thanks, Lark, for generously handing out books for bloggers to review and give away.)

I was trying to find some free patterns on the Larkcrafts website from these books to publish for IMMT!M, but I couldn't. But what I did find was even better: a whole bunch of free patterns that Lark made available for the New Year.

Click here for access to more than two dozen free patterns from Lark, including the lovely Sonoko Wave necklace pictured at the top. Its undulations are created from a unique take on peyote stitch.

Keeping calm for Need a Laugh Wednesday

Image from Entrer Dans le reve, one of many in the
Keep Calm Flickr Photostream

About two years ago, variants of the Keep Calm posters starting sprouting from cubicles in my office. According to the website Know Your Meme (which I depend upon not so much to keep hip but so that I don't fall too hopelessly far behind), the orignal Keep Calm and Carry On poster was WWII propaganda; the phrase experienced a resurgence in 2000 when a British bookshop displayed a framed one and began selling prints.

Here's an assemblage of what Know Your Meme considers "notable examples."

Here are a few of my favorites from Pinterest:

Source: media.tumblr.com via Kim on Pinterest

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via DeeDee on Pinterest

I especially like the deviant ones:

Source: Uploaded by user via Lindsay on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Lindsey on Pinterest

Source: elementsofstyleblog.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: ill-be-your-scapegoat.tumblr.com via Alyssa on Pinterest

And here are the two that hang in my office:

Source: momspark.net via Geneva on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Shwe on Pinterest

Want to make your own? Here's link to a calm-o-matic generator. 

Shibori silk necklace for I Might Make That! Monday

Silk on silk necklace from Sonoran Beads

Today's post is especially for Patti of All Fired Up!

In October, I went to BeadFest Texas, where, in addition to taking a metalsmithing class from Lexi Erickson, I of course bought a boatload of beads from the vendors.

I never did post a pic of my haul, but I did purchase a couple of one-yard lengths of shibori silk from Sonoran Beads. I bought some for Patti, too, because I thought it would make beautiful stringing material for her gorgeous fused glass pendants.

At the Sonoran booth, they had a necklace on display--it wasn't the one pictured, but it used the same technique of the gathered silk accented with beads. When I got home, I looked online for a pattern on the Sonoran website, so that I could show the effect to Patti, but they didn't have anything.

Last week I got an email from Sonoran that showed the pattern, so now I'm delighted to share it with everyone. Sonoran calls it Silk on Silk, because the hand-dyed shibori ribbon surrounds silk cording that they also sell. Basically, you make a long tube out of the shibori silk by sewing the long ends together with a running stitch, then thread the cord through it, bunching the shibori in a pleasing manner. Since the inner cord is concealed, I'm sure you could use any cheap cord you have around. Accent beads are sewn on that I imagine help the shibori keep its shape.

Here's a link to other free projects from Sonoran Beads.

Piqued by spikes for I Might Make That! Monday

Spike Ball Dodecahedron by Beads by Becs

I've been really fascinated by the new spike beads that are available now--in several sizes and from several manufacturers. I haven't bought any yet--let me know if you have!

The beaded beads shown above were made Beads by Becs. She blogs about them here and sells the pattern on her Etsy shop here.

This dramatic choker is made by Good Quill Hunting and it uses not just spikes but twins, peanuts and lots of other nifty beads. I LOVE the combination of blue and bronze.

This is also not a free pattern; the link to buy it is here.

OK, OK, I know you come for the free tutes, so here are a couple.

First, spiky hoops for your ears from Preciosa-Ornela:

A PDF of the pattern is here. (I think these might be a tad heavy for me to actually wear. These appear to be clip-on earrings, with the clip-on finding embellished with seed beads for a nice touch.)

And below are two different Beading Daily links for bezeling around spikes for use as earrings, focals, or, as one of the designers calls them, "prayer vessels."

Psyched for Spikes guides you through the 7mm X 17mm size, and "Peyote Stitch and Spike Beads: Made for Each Other" takes on the 12mm X 18mm whoppers.

For more design inspiration, here is a link to a Pinterest board devoted to spikes.

New Year's Humor for Need a Laugh Wednesday

These have a shelf life of about 24 hours, so I better use them now!

Spotted the one below on FB thanks to Mandy!

This next one is called "If the year 2012 and the year 2013 could chat on Facebook" and is courtesy of someecards.

Source: happyplace.com via Geneva on Pinterest