I'm working on a geometric beading project at the moment and in an attempt to better see the structure, and how my experiments are working, I've switched to using large plastic Hama beads.

What I'm working on doing is something I do quite a lot with projects once I've finished them - I work backwards and try and bead it in a completely different way and see how it works.

Usually I do this because I want to ensure it can be beaded in a way that is much easier to explain and understand, whether in a class on a written pattern. But also I want to see if I can find a quicker, neater or more familiar way of making something.

Often when I design something the finished item can come to fruition in a very round-about way and so redoing it again & again means it's more streamlined and the beading and the end result is better.

Doing this also teaches me a lot about the project which means I'm better prepared to write about & teach it and hopefully means I can better get across why and why-not certain things should be done when making it.

I'm pleased that using the larger beads has made me better able to see what is going on with the method I've been using and the method I want to switch to and compare the difference between the two.

When I made my original versions of this project, see the finished photos shown, it was so tricky to bead that I swore I'd never inflict that on anyone! So I decided to never teach or write it up and instead it has stayed in my beading box and only been shown at classes where to my amazement it has been met with such enthusiasm with people wanting to learn it that I resolved to give it another go.