Today I'm back to beading as well as writing up instructions for 2 projects.

One of the projects is my last as a Designer of the Year for Beadwork and I was sad to see it go in the post. Often, as I work on a project, I really grow to hate it as it takes longer than expected, stops me from starting something new and generally I get bored of them easily. Eventually of course I grow to love them all once a bit of time has passed from me being in the moment of desperately trying to finish them. But this one is different.

Right from the start I fell in love with it. In my mind it's the culmination, not just of my work over the past year, but all the beadwork I've ever done. It uses a large crystal and lots of Delicas and seed beads to manage to be floral and geometric at the same time. It has angles which point and curve all at once. It has a chain which is visually substantial, yet lightweight when worn. The chain links begin as circles but turn into ovals and the whole thing can be a necklace with a pendant or a separate chain and brooch.

As I beaded the piece I felt I drew on all the pieces I have made over the years. For example, I used a basic bail as the pendant base which I first did in Geometric 1-9-1. What are now large lotus petals began originally as small frills on rivolis combined with angles on a triangle pendant which will be coming in the next issue of Beadwork. The chain incorporates beading not only from Key To My Heart but even some basic beading I did right when I started all those years ago.

But whilst I can see how my work came together into this piece I can also feel the threads of others in there. I learnt peyote stitch from Carol Wilcox Wells' wonderful first book. I was shown the crystal by another beader. People at Beadwork had the faith in me to ask me for these projects and the support and education I have received from other beaders and friends over the years have all paid a part.

I read a great quote today: "Bernard of Chartres used to say that we are like dwarves perched on the shoulders of giants, and thus we are able to see more and farther than the latter. And this is not at all because of the acuteness of our sight or the stature of our body, but because we are carried aloft and elevated by the magnitude of the giants."

It was written, in Latin, by John of Salisbury in 1159 but pre-dates him and was paraphrased by Isaac Newton.

It sums up how I feel perfectly. Every thing I've ever been taught, every bead I've ever held, every piece of beadwork I've ever seen, every iota of encouragement I've ever received, all of them reverberate and riccochet through my mind as I work and end up in my beadwork bouncing around and hopefully bouncing along to someone else and turning into something else in their hands.

Alas I cannot show you the piece in question as you will have to wait until it appears in the pages of Beadwork in October, but instead I can treat you to a nice spotty dress I couldn't resist today in a sale.

I know, I feel your beadwork-eyecandy deprived pain. But the spots are HUGE if that's any consolation?