This is my first "Official" pattern review and I am so excited to tell you all about it. I am not exactly sure when I first started following Nancy Peterson of Beading at Heart but I will tell you I have been loving it ever since. Nancy is so talented and such a genuinely nice person and has always been one to give me that much needed boost and compliments that we all love. She has had several designs in Beadwork and I have them all in my "to do" pile. One of the reasons that I love seeing her creations is that she is usually inspired by someone when she creates her designs. I think that makes each one so special and unique that I can't help but feel a connection when I see and read about them. When she so sweetly asked me (although I will have to say that I have been telling her forever that I can't wait to get one of her designs so she may have just given in so I would shut up....LOL) to review one of her patterns I didn't even hesitate in saying yes, yes, yes! I was also stunned when instead of asking me if there was one I would like (course she probably knew it wouldn't matter to me....see above) she sent me Karina.
Right now I will tell you that I am very connected to this design and please read her post about why she created it. It was just before Mother's Day and being that I had been in a bit of a funk I started it with the hope that I would be able to wear it that weekend. Well.....no that didn't happen for 2 reasons. The first is that in my excitement I made an error and had to frog about 6 inches on chain and the second is that I changed my mind on the color combo I originally choose. I know silly me but I knew that I was working with a great pattern so I wanted the first to be as good as possible. Well also in my haste I miscounted the crystals that I needed (well not actually miscounted it was actually a very ugly vacuum cleaner incident that I had forgotten about....believe me that's all the explanation I can give) So I ended up 4 crystals short BUT with her design I had a real good feeling that this wouldn't make a huge upset in the final design. I do wish I had the last row as it does make the curve a bit hard to manage (and if I hadn't had the worst luck with the needles I had purchased it may have been a bit easier) I also made a small adjustment in the picot edging because I have had trouble getting it to lay correctly and I read somewhere (I am so sorry for not remembering where but if you know me that happens a lot...LOL) that if you use a larger size for the middle of the picot it will lay much better and you know what it does. So with those minor adjustments because if the beader not the designer I set off.
I know I am getting a bit wordy now so on to my thoughts of her pattern. Not only was it so well written and the diagrams and photos outstanding enough for a beginner to try (with a bit of patience) she also introduced me to a very unique herringbone rope that I will try using again. I also was able to bezel a rivoli which you know I have just learned bezeling so I loved this part. The instructions were so easy to follow and the measurements spot on there is no way you can go wrong. So many times I have been intimidated by a design that one or two miss reads and I totally give up. That did not happen with Nancy's pattern and I am pretty proud of my finished piece!
Right now I will tell you that I am very connected to this design and please read her post about why she created it. It was just before Mother's Day and being that I had been in a bit of a funk I started it with the hope that I would be able to wear it that weekend. Well.....no that didn't happen for 2 reasons. The first is that in my excitement I made an error and had to frog about 6 inches on chain and the second is that I changed my mind on the color combo I originally choose. I know silly me but I knew that I was working with a great pattern so I wanted the first to be as good as possible. Well also in my haste I miscounted the crystals that I needed (well not actually miscounted it was actually a very ugly vacuum cleaner incident that I had forgotten about....believe me that's all the explanation I can give) So I ended up 4 crystals short BUT with her design I had a real good feeling that this wouldn't make a huge upset in the final design. I do wish I had the last row as it does make the curve a bit hard to manage (and if I hadn't had the worst luck with the needles I had purchased it may have been a bit easier) I also made a small adjustment in the picot edging because I have had trouble getting it to lay correctly and I read somewhere (I am so sorry for not remembering where but if you know me that happens a lot...LOL) that if you use a larger size for the middle of the picot it will lay much better and you know what it does. So with those minor adjustments because if the beader not the designer I set off.
I know I am getting a bit wordy now so on to my thoughts of her pattern. Not only was it so well written and the diagrams and photos outstanding enough for a beginner to try (with a bit of patience) she also introduced me to a very unique herringbone rope that I will try using again. I also was able to bezel a rivoli which you know I have just learned bezeling so I loved this part. The instructions were so easy to follow and the measurements spot on there is no way you can go wrong. So many times I have been intimidated by a design that one or two miss reads and I totally give up. That did not happen with Nancy's pattern and I am pretty proud of my finished piece!
Here is my version of Karina
I wore this to the meat market on Friday (yes we were out for the afternoon you know movie, lunch, meat market. You can't tell me you haven't done that too) and the woman at the register told me "I love that you should so sell them". Yes I had a smile all the way home!
I highly recommend this pattern and also recommend that you go directly to NLP Bead Design or Lanai Kinsky to check out all of her other patterns. Thank you so much for this opportunity Nancy! Oh and when you do make yours (because I know a lot of you will fall in love with this too) please send me a picture.
Hugs and Blessings
KK
*disclaimer
I have received this pattern from the designer to offer an honest review and have not received any payment for that opinion.
Girl, you know I think all your pieces are awesome but this piece is stunning! You keep outdoing yourself! Love it!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Beth
Beautiful Kristen! And thanks for the link to the story - it's quite touching.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous Kristen- Great review!
ReplyDeleteLoving your reviews! Your color combination is very pretty and it is nice to know that slight adjustments work! The piece is all the more special when you read the touching story!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love about your blog is that you take on these projects and are not daunted by the difficulty or newness of them -- and you're relatively new at this whole beading thing! This is so beautiful and your review so helpful and well thought out that it makes me want to make it, too! And another I like is that you've introduced me to new websites I've never seen before. Thank you, Kristen!!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
S
I think you've done a great job with a beautiful pattern. What a beautiful design. Well done!
ReplyDeleteKaryn
Kristen! I love your necklace. Those colors are fabulous. Your words are so very kind about me and the pattern. Thank you so much for this review. I am so glad you enjoyed making it. {{HUGS}}
ReplyDeleteKristen, That turned out beautiful! I love the simplicity of the necklace, yet it got the "Holy.Crap.is-THAT-Beautiful" factor. Great design and great review!
ReplyDelete{Hugs!}
Love the necklace! It's a very cute design and I love the colors you chose for it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteIt's gorgeous and was well worth the hassle of having to change your color selection (not sure what colors you used on the first attempt but I do love the colors you decided to use, they are wonderful and will go with so many outfits) and then the frustration of finding out you were a few crystals short of what you needed to fully complete the pattern. However it was great that you showed us that a beader can be versatile and "improvise". This is a very challenging piece and it proved that just like great art, intricate and complex jewelry making is NOT always instant gratification. Yes, we do get our gratification but often it takes hours and hours, if not days or even weeks to enjoy. :D
ReplyDelete