Jenny La Fleur

Sorry for the radio silence lately. Last week was insane then I was in Virginia Beach this for the annual Mary Kay Career Conference - which was great fun! I came home to three days of nasty migraines. Blah. We are finally getting the storm front tonight that has probably been the source of all my troubles so hopefully my head will start behaving soon. I have things to do darn it!

On the sewing front I haven't done a blessed thing with my CosCon wardrobe *rolls eyes*, am 3/4 of the way done with the hand sewn eyelets on my Titanic Corset (got one done while saving seats at Career Conference (yes I got some funny looks but it was a fun conversation starter) and have beaded a bit more on the Peacock.

Sadly no more beading for a while - I've run out of beads! I was *so* close too, I really thought I was going to get away with not having to buy any more seed beads! But no such luck so I ordered the needed beads this morning. They should be here by next week. I still have plenty of time to make my self-imposed May 1st deadline. A break is probably a good thing anyway, frankly I'm starting to feel a little crispy around the edges on the whole beading thing.

I decided I should work on putting the beaded bodice together, by way of inspiration when the beads do arrive, only to discover my iron was DOA, no hope of life support. *grr* Beastly little thing. It did it on purpose I know it! Luckily Mom has a spare I can use until I can get a replacement. I love my Mom.

total time beading: 24 hours
Didn't get around to posting this yeasterday - too busy beading! Woot!

project total: approx 211 hours

total time beading: 10 hours
I've been remiss about posting progress pics on this panel - oops! :P

total time beading: 5.75 hours
I love spending a Sunday beading. I forgot to post so here is the catch up.

total time beading: 14.25
I felt crappy yesterday. I felt better when I was quiet/still so beading was the perfect past time. So the day wasn’t a complete waste, which was nice. *This* close to being done!

I'm so glad you guys liked the beading video! I'm having trouble shooting the second one, I need to go buy a tripod to get the right angle, so look for the second video next week sometime. In the meantime I had some questions come up so I thought I would answer them all together:

- How exactly do you have your fashion fabric attached to the cotton?
It is stitched on with a machine basting stitch 1/8" away from the edge and then finished with a zigzag stitch along the edge. I took pics of the process of mounting the fashion fabric - now buried deep in the dress diary - here is the link!

- Are you using metallic or wire thread?
I'm using a gold machine sewing thread from Coats & Clark, which is sadly discontinued (I stocked up!). You don't have to use metallic thread for gold/silver beads though. You can use a gold/gray or clear thread. Just remember you want the thread to match/blend with the beads, not the ground.

- Are there certain threads for beading?
Yes, although to be honest I rarely use them! The most popular beading thread is Nymo. It is 100% nylon, slightly waxed and comes in different colors & weights ("OO" is the finest weight threads, while "D" is the heaviest. "OO" is most commonly used for delicate jewelry making with small beads (12/0 or 13/0). For general beadwork, "B" is used with 12/0 or 13/0 beads, "D" for 11/0 or 10/0 beads.) Being nylon it's more durable than cotton but for beadwork on garments I haven't noticed a huge difference in wear and tear. I rarely use Nymo because I don't like working with nylon thread. I'm a bit of a snob that way.

There are 100% poly beading threads as well (Molnyke, Mettler Metrosene are some brand names). I haven't tried those yet. I generally work with silk or cotton/poly thread, the same as I use for garment sewing. It's always on hand and I'm lazy. :P

- What about needles?
There are two kinds of beading needles, long and short. The long ones are the easiest to find but bend out of shape easily and can be unwieldy to sew beads onto a garment. I only use them for making fringe. The short beading needles are better for garment beading I find.

I prefer milliners/straw needles for beading though. The "eye" is small enough for standard 11/0 or 12/0 seed bead to slide through but the needle itself is thicker and sturdier than a typical beading needle. I'm using size 9 milliners needles on the Peacock Dress.

total time beading: 9 hours

It's really weird working on a "portrait" oriented panel rather than a "landscape".

total time beading: 21.75 hours

I look so close to finishing but really I'm not. *sigh*

total time beading: 2 hours
A new panel so the clock starts again. *justkeepbeadingjustkeepbeading* This is the second time I have done this panel. I didn't hit my stride (with the bead spacing and uniformity) until after I finished the original panel. It wasn’t nearly as nice as the ones I did after, so I took it apart and here I am starting over. Oh well, it was a good learning experience.

mlsdesigns was asking about what is left to do so I thought I would just show y'all. So two fronts, two backs, two front shoulder straps, two back shoulder straps. Lots of madness. :>