Book Review: There is No Good Card for This by Kelsey Crowe, Ph.D. and Emily McDowell

Wow.  I only blogged three times last year, and one of those was to share our hummus recipe.  It was a rough year for many reasons, and I've been shaking it off little by little and getting back into doing the things I want to do, which includes writing blog posts.  I think I've picked a good topic to get me back into the groove.

Sometime before Christmas I saw a Facebook ad for Emily McDowell's "Everyday Bravery" pins, and I loved her style.  I headed over to her website and looked at just about everything.  Her items (especially her Empathy cards) are based in reality and are funny, blunt, and touching - sometimes all at once!  I placed an order for a few pins and a magnet (although I could have ordered tons more) and saw a notification about a book that was about to be released:

 
I read the description and was hooked.  Who among us doesn't feel lost when someone near us is experiencing loss, hardship, and pain?  What do we do?  What should we say?  Is "I'm sorry" okay?  I pre-ordered the book on Amazon and couldn't wait for it to arrive.

When the book came, I was impressed with the quality of it.  Not just the stuff inside - the actual book.  It's sturdy and will withstand many readings, and the pages... the pages are so thick that I always checked the page number to make sure I only turned one page!  The paper is a little glossy, so if you're going to make notes in the margins, you'll want to choose something that won't smudge.  Slick Writers are my go-to pens for slippery papers.

Now for the content.  It reads like you're sitting around the kitchen table (probably with a glass of wine) talking to two good friends who just happen to know an awful lot about empathy.  The authors, Kelsey Crowe, Ph.D. and Emily McDowell, have been through some really rough times, and they've used their experiences (and the experiences of many others) to come up with ways to help folks feel useful when their loved ones, friends, and acquaintances are going through their own rough times.  They discuss what empathy is (and how it differs from sympathy), how we can deal with some of our baggage before reaching out to someone else, how crucial listening is (and how to do it properly), what to say and not say, different methods of saying those things, and so much more.

One of the chapters is called "Small Gestures Make a Big Difference," and this concept touched me the most.  Did you know that we don't have to be everything for everyone all the time?  We can do little things here and there, and they might just be enough to help someone over a rough patch.  Recently a friend posted on my Facebook wall saying she was thinking about me because she knew that day would be difficult.  It was so sweet of her to do that, and her message really did help.  This book has loads of examples of things like that, which should get your mind going on how you can inject a little happiness and kindness into others' lives.

There are illustrations, bright colors, Emily's fun handwriting, and sample conversations to help drive the points home and to make the material not feel like a textbook.  It's interesting as well as being incredibly useful, and I plan on referring to it often as I work toward fixing my tendency to try to fix things.

If you'd like to get the book, click here for the item's Amazon page.  I hope you'll love it as much as I do and that it helps you as much as it's helping me.

Go forth and be kind!

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I know my blog is supposed to be about jewelry making, knitting, and other crafty things.  I'll get back to that with my next post, hopefully next week.  I have lots of tools to review and new designs to show you!  If you'd like to know where I'll be when and what I'll be doing there, please check out my website.

Book review: Quick & Easy Stitched Jewelry

Three years ago, I reviewed Cathy Jakicic's book, Jewelry Projects from a Beading Insider.  That link takes you to my review, which includes how to pronounce her last name.  :)  When Cathy approached me about reviewing her newest book, Quick & Easy Stitched Jewelry, I jumped at the chance.  The projects in her last book were so cute and versatile, and I couldn't wait to see her new book!

Here's the cover:

Ooh!  Just these few projects are so cute, and I can already imagine experimenting with the components.

Here is how Cathy described her book:

In a nut shell, there are 20+ bite-sized stitching projects of components that can be worked into simple — or more involved — jewelry.  Also, I’m making all the projects and instructions copyright free so someone can sell what they make or teach a project with my blessing.

The audience includes stitching novices, more advanced stitchers looking for a quick project idea — or something they can sell at a lower price point because it didn’t take them an age to make.

Wait... what did she say about selling?  Everyone knows that selling pieces made from another designer is verboten, but Cathy is giving you carte blanche on everything in this book.  You can tell how impressed I am because I sprinkled German and French in that last sentence.  Das ist wunderbar!  C'est magnifique!  That's wonderful!

Why would Cathy do this?  Again I turn to her words, this time from the book's introduction:

And while I would never support teaching or selling someone else's designs without their permission - everything in this book is yours.  I don't sell my jewelry or teach very often, so you're not threatening my livelihood.  These designs were designed for sharing.  Enjoy!

There's even a royalty-free statement on the copyright page.  Personally, I would still tell people where I got the ideas from if asked.  Give credit where credit is due and all that.

Now let's talk about the projects!  Each one has loads of possibilities.  Just those on the cover spark a bunch of ideas in my mind.

The top picture shows a snippet of a necklace, but that could easily be a bracelet.  The project's instructions explain how to make the beaded bead using pinch beads (Can you say "pinch bead beaded bead" ten times fast?) then how to create a chain necklace with bi-colored beaded beads as dangles along with matching earrings.  There's also a discussion of color choices and instructions on how to make the necklace shown on the cover.

What would I do with those beaded beads?  The first thing that pops to mind is a long chain necklace interspersed every few inches with sections of crystals and beaded beads on headpins with loops on either end.  I'd probably make two or three of those necklaces in different lengths and probably with different colors of beaded beads so they could be worn separately or together for a more dramatic look.

The other pictures on the cover show three different stitches.  The earrings are brick stitch over metal rings, and the instructions show a necklace and a bracelet as well as the earrings.  The bracelet has a number of square stitch components in different colors, and the instructions have charts for the different color combinations as well as charts for another multi-colored square stitch project.  The pendant is a peyote banner, and there's a chart for flower/vine placement as well as a chart for a thin banner that looks really cute in triplicate on a simple chain necklace.

As I'm sure you've figured out by now, every project has at least one variation, with many of them having two or more.  Here is an excerpt of the book Cathy said I could share:

The page on the left is the variation for "Circular logic," a cute project using two-holed beads.  I love how the end components have two thin chains coming off of them!  I'm definitely going to keep that in mind!  The page on the right is the beginning of the next project using peyote tubes as dangles on a chain necklace.  The variations for this project are a bracelet with lots of multi-colored dangles and simple pair of earrings..

If you're a beginner stitcher, this book is perfect for sampling a large number of different stitches and techniques.  Along with the ones I've already listed, there's right angle weave, cubic right angle weave, simple bead embroidery, adding stitching to a strung piece or around a larger bead, herringbone, adding fringe, working with two-holed beads, mixing chain and/or metal with beads, and more.  Wow - I nearly got out of breath there!

When you're learning a stitch or technique, it can be daunting to look at a full bracelet or necklace with nothing but that technique.  What if I don't get it?  What if I get halfway through and hate the stitch or the colors I chose?  What if I lay it down and don't pick it up again for months - will I remember how to finish it?  There's none of that in Cathy's book.  As it says right on the cover, these projects are quick and easy.  They're meant to ease you in so you learn something new, complete it in a flash, and have confidence to experiment.

For example, many people have told me that they're scared to try right angle weave (RAW).  The "Bicone Bands" project simplifies RAW - you make a strip, which is the simplest RAW to do.  There are charts to help you along the way.  Once the strip is done, you join the ends to form a little band (made with bicones, hence "Bicone Bands"), and slide them over large dagger beads.  You could do just two to get your feet wet and make earrings (see the variation!), or you could make the necklace as shown.  Then, once you're comfortable, you could take on a more complex RAW project like the "Dagger Snuggie" necklace variation:

There are charts for this as well, with numbered beads, helpful arrows, thread paths, and changes in color so you know which beads you've already worked with and which ones are new to this step.

The charts really are very nice.  They're a lot larger than you typically see in books, and they're very easy to read.  You don't have to take just my word for it, though.  My friend Angela, who is relatively new to beading, was over a week or so ago, and she wanted to look through my vast array of books for inspiration.  I chose a few that I thought were appropriate for her level, including Quick & Easy Stitched Jewelry.  I had an ulterior motive, of course, and asked her to give me her thoughts.  She really liked the projects, but right away she remarked that the charts were great and would be easy for her to follow.  Thanks, Angela!

Also, because Cathy's a Beading Insider, there are tips sprinkled throughout the book.  A few tips are on how to get "solid and stiff" beaded beads and components.  Another is on how to turn a component into a link.  A few are about choosing thread colors and when you might want to condition your thread.  A few of them are geared towards helping beginners make sense of what they're doing. And ...

I could go on and on because the more I flip through the book the more I find to write about.  Just know that there's lots more in the book for you to discover and enjoy.  You can find the book in beading or craft stores, or you can order from Amazon here.

If you'd like to keep up with Cathy, check out her BeadingInsider Facebook page.  If you're reading this from 7/29/2016 through 8/5/2016, you can see Cathy's Beads Baubles & Jewels episode (#2403) online here, and this season of BB&J will air on CREATE TV starting August 7, 2016.

Have I forgotten anything?  YES!!  Goodness, there's a lot to tell you!  The August 2016 issue of Bead&Button Magazine has a book excerpt!  They have printed the full instructions for the pinch bead beaded bead main project, "Beader's Dozen"!  You can see if what I said about the charts was true, learn how to make the beaded beads, and complete the chain necklace and earrings.  They've even included the tip on how to make your beaded beads stiff.  So check it out then get the book for all the rest of the projects!

 

Faster review searching!

I have recently made some changes to my Creative Pursuits website and wanted to share them with you!

In my last post, the one with the free instructions for a two-strand strung bracelet, I briefly mentioned that I have a shop page for Xuron tools.  That's available here or from the "Shop Creative Pursuits" menu on my website.  On that page I've included links to the products' reviews (and one for the bracelet instructions).

While I was searching for the reviews to put on that page, I thought, "I really wish there was an easier way to find all of the different reviews I've written.  I seem to constantly be searching for them!"  Well, I don't know if it was really that coherent or if was more like, "AARRGGH!  NEED BETTER SYSTEM!"

So today I added some options to my "Blog" menu on my website:

The top option and first sub-menu option - "Blog" and "Mix Me Up! blog" - will bring you to the main blog page, and you'll see my newest post.

Below that are two specific product reviews for the IPOW rechargeable LED lights and the "New" Fireline.  Those will eventually be moved in with other product reviews as I get to them, but for now I wanted them right on the menu.

The final two options are for my tool reviews.  I split Xuron tools off from the other tools.

Here's a screenshot of the Xuron tool review page:

And here's a screenshot of the other tool review page:

Over time I'll be adding other pages, including knit/crochet (books, yarn, tools, etc.), books (jewelry, craft, knit, other), products (non-tool), and fun (my favorite Japanese restaurant, my husband, etc.).

Please let me know what you think of the pages and if it helps you find what you need to find faster.  I know it'll help me out a lot!

Review: Ipow Rechargeable LED Light with Clip

(Disclaimer: There will be affiliate links in this post for the lights I'm reviewing and for a USB charger I found along the way.  Purchasing through those links is convenient for you and helps keep this blog going.  Thanks!)

I'm a vendor at a number of different shows throughout the year.  I sell finished jewelry at some shows, and I sell kits and tutorials of my designs at other shows.  One thing I have struggled with throughout the years is how to present my wares so it's easy for the customer to see what I have that might interest them.  I started out with a beautiful dark purple tablecloth but have recently changed to white to increase visibility.  I bought a few small gridwall displays to better utilize vertical space and to increase visibility.

Before my last show (the Art Glass and Bead Show in Madison, Wisconsin) at the end of March, I tried out something new to increase visibility: LED rechargeable lights.  I thought I was fine without lights because there technically should be enough light to see at any venue I vend at, but a friend of mine uses lights and says it really helps.  She recommended I try it, too.

When I went searching on Amazon (because Amazon has everything), I looked into rechargeable LED lights.  The main reason was that I didn't want cords.  I'm fairly clumsy and have gotten caught in a bag handle one too many times.  I don't need something else to trip over when I'm behind my table.  Another very important reason is that some shows charge extra for electricity.  So I'll be paying more for increasing my chances of needing stitches?  No thank you!

I found what seemed to be a suitable light for a decent price:

I purchased the white one (if you view the item there's an option for choosing the color) and padded the order with a DVD and a book to qualify for the free shipping.

The package came pretty quick, and I plugged the light in for a few hours to charge.  I took it to a beading gathering and asked the girls what they thought.  They all agreed it would work fine and that I should get four more to cover the whole table.  I did that, and my table at the Art Glass and Bead Show went from this:

to this:

Yes, it's very subtle.  Let's take a closer look at one section of the table side-by-side:

 

It's not very clear.  Sorry about that.  You can easily see the lights on the top of the displays, but there's also one lighting the trays sitting on the table.

At first, I didn't think the lights were helpful, but I had so many people ask me about them that I thought I should write about them.

Here's a closer look at one of the lights:

Each head has two LED light bulbs:

I was going to take a picture with one of the lights turned on in this position, but it was just too blinding.  You're welcome.

For each head you click the button at the top once for the first light bulb to come on, again for the second light bulb, and again to turn them both off.  So the amount of light is quite variable based on what you need:  one bulb - reading in bed in the dark, two bulbs in one head - inspecting a difficult knot in your beading thread, one bulb in each head - you and your husband reading separate books while cuddling in the dark... you get the idea.

Here's the light with all four light bulbs turned on:

As you can see a few pictures up, the necks on each of the lights are extremely flexible.  We were bending them this way and that, and my husband even clipped the light to the back of his collar and made antennas out of the lights.  He refused to let me take a picture of that.  What a party pooper.

Here's another look with the lights spread apart:

When the lights are bent down close to the object you're trying to illuminate they get really bright.

One thing I really like about these lights is that the light is really focused.  I'm sensitive to bright lights, especially with my peripheral vision, but I haven't had any problems with these.  The necks are so flexible that if any light is peeking out I can bend the head down just a little more, and that takes care of it.

The base is weighted enough to sit on the table as shown, but it also has a nice clip:

The non-slip clip opens to almost 2" wide and has a little pivoting thing to help it grasp onto thinner surfaces.  We had them clipped to the gridwall displays and another thin display and didn't have any problems with a light sagging or falling off.

Each light comes with a USB cord:

Before I bought the first light, I read a lot of reviews on Amazon.  One thing that people complained about was the proprietary plug (the end that goes into the light).  They said that the plug should be a standard USB plug so any cable can be used.  I don't think it's a big deal.  I keep all the cords for all the lights together in one of the boxes the lights came in (I'm storing the lights in a bag so I don't have to fold each of them down to fit back in the box), so I'm only screwed if I lose that box.  I'm keeping it with all my business admin stuff (cash box, receipts, business cards...), and if that bag gets lost, I'm more screwed than losing a few charging cables.

The reviews also stated that the plug doesn't go all the way in.  That is true.  It sticks out by a few millimeters.  It still charges, so that's not a big deal, either.

What I would really like is a charging light.  If it's not completely charged, the light is red.  Once a full charge has been reached, the charging light either turns off or turns green.  That would be nifty.  I couldn't find anything that says how long you need to charge the light, just "Fully Charged For Four Hours."  I don't know if that means it keeps a full charge for four hours or it is fully charged in four hours.  To play it safe, I typically charge the lights at least four hours.  I figure it can't hurt to overcharge them.

The first day of the show was seven hours long, so I tested one of the lights for seven hours.  I turned on the lights right at 10:00, and they were still going at 5:00.  They were dimmer, but they weren't too dim to be of help.  I was very happy with the results of my test.  I would have had to rotate lights throughout the day or be more judicious with how many bulbs were turned on if they ended up dimming faster.  I'm glad I don't have to worry about that.  I just need to make sure I remember to charge the lights before a show and at night for multi-day shows.

Speaking of charging... what's with that USB plug?  It doesn't come with an adapter, so you either have to plug it into your computer or use one of these:

The square adapters are easily available, even if you don't have a phone or device that comes with one.  We scrounged up a few of them, so in the hotel after the first night of the show we played "Rotating Devices."  The first part of the night the lights were charging: two of them plugged into Steve's computer and three of them in various outlets.  When we were ready to go to bed, the lights were put away, and the phones and my iPad got plugged in.

Having five lights, I think it would be nice to have a dedicated power strip where they can all be plugged in.  When the lights are charged, the cords can be wrapped around the strip for storage.  But I'd need five of those square adapters.  I just did a quick search on Amazon, and lookie what I found:

That's too cool.  I've just added it to my wishlist.  This USB charger has 4.5 stars out of over 3,000 reviews, so I'm sure it's a good product.

Let's go back to the hotel, shall we?  The first shift of devices (the lights) have been charging all evening, and we got them all put away to go back to the show the next day.  I plugged my iPad in one of the outlets by the sink, and it wasn't charging.  I thought it was just the way the cable was stretched so the Pad could sit on a chair.  I plugged it in somewhere else and plugged my phone in.  I didn't think about it or check it and just went to sleep.  I was pretty tired and loopy after a very busy day.

In the morning, I discovered that my phone wasn't charged.  *$!%!  (Insert your favorite swear word there - I won't tell you what I actually said.)  Not only was my phone (which I needed to process credit card sales) not charged, that meant that at least one of the lights wasn't charged, either.  We determined that neither of the outlets were working, so I had two lights not charged.  (Repeat swear word, please.)

It was easy enough to determine which lights weren't charged, so those got plugged into Steve's computer, and my phone got plugged into a different outlet while we got ready and had breakfast (about an hour).  I crossed my fingers that everything would be charged enough.  Steve marked the lights with twist ties so we could put them in less critical areas and so we could keep an eye on them.

The second day of the show was only six hours, and they lasted just fine.  There was some dimming on all the lights, but, again, it wasn't enough to be irritating.  Whew!

The one good thing about this whole charging fiasco was that I can show you a comparison:

The light on the left is fully charged, and the one on the right is one of the "twist-tie" lights after being on at the show for six hours.  (In case you're wondering, the necklace is the one I talked about in this blog post.)  You can tell that there's considerable dimming, but it does still give some illumination.

For a more stark comparison let's turn off the lights:

All in all, I'm very happy with the Ipow rechargeable LED lights.  They have a variety of uses outside of craft and bead shows, including reading, putting on a music stand, and giving a little extra light when beading or crafting.  At less than $15 (as of this writing), they're a good value, too.

Check them out!  Here's that link again so you don't have to scroll all the way up there to get it:

 

And here's that USB charger again, in case you're interested:

 

Thanks for reading all the way through this!  I tend to write a lot when I'm excited about something.  If you get one (or five) of these lights for your shows, let me know how it goes in the comments of this post or at traci@creative-pursuits.biz.

I don't know if I can completely give credit to the lights, but I had my best show this year at the Art Glass and Bead Show, but I'm sure they helped.  I can't wait until next year's Show - April 23-24, 2016 - mark your calendars!

Tool Review - Xuron bent nose tweezers

I mentioned in my Bead&Button Show Aftermath post a few weeks ago that I came home with a new Xuron tool - the 450BN bent nose tweezers.  As with the other tools Xuron has been kind enough to give me samples of, I'm posting a review so you can see how neat they are.

Here's a full-length shot of them:

The most important part of tweezers is how well they "tweeze" - how tightly they close.  I've had some really crappy tweezers that wouldn't hold pony bead, so I was excited to see the Xuron tweezers closed:

Yup.  There's no daylight showing at the tips.  That's a good sign.  Each tip is under 1mm wide from this angle.  Maybe a half a millimeter.  It's hard to tell with the rulers I have.

Let's take a look at them from the side:

The jaws are a little more than 1mm wide from this view.

I really like the bent nose on these tweezers.  A few years ago I bought two new pairs of pliers - a chain nose and a bent nose.  For some reason I find it so much easier to work with the bent nose pliers, and I reach for them 95% of the time.  Perhaps it's because I can see things better while I work and seem to have more control.  The other 5% I use the chain nose pliers to justify my having bought them.  :)

Since I brought these tweezers home, I've been using them in place of the bent nose pliers to see if they'd measure up.  I've primarily been using them to open and close loops of earring wires.  I've been a little nervous on the ones with harder wires, but it's been just fine.  The black earring wires I used with the Loosey-Goosey stick spiral fringe earrings and the Faux-Mobius loop spiral earrings are more malleable, so the tweezers worked perfectly, especially when I closed one of the loops too much.  I inserted the tweezer tip into the loop and pulled it back out a little.

The best thing tweezers are for is placing tiny and/or hard-to-control objects like flat-back crystals.  I showed you them in use in yesterday's purple riveted bracelet.  Here's another look at the tweezers in action:

Since then I've played around with the tweezers and some much smaller crystals.

I got a really good grip on the crystal and took pictures of it from a number of different angles:

That sucker didn't slip once, even though I was fumbling with my camera taking pictures one-handed and rotating the tweezers.  I'm really confident that they'd be good for placing crystals in crystal clay projects.  Yes, you'd still have to be careful to not nick the clay with the tips, but that's the case with any tweezer.

As tweezers go, these are top notch.  True, tweezers aren't the most exciting tool in the world, but if you have a crappy pair, they can be very frustrating.  If you do a lot of crystal clay work or need to place tiny, tiny things in precise places, give the Xuron bent nose tweezers a try.  You can find them online, or you can e-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.biz, and I'll see if I can hook you up.

Tool Review - One Step Big Looper

One of my most popular posts (at over 1300 hits!) is my review of the One Step Looper, a tool that makes consistently-sized loops and cuts the wire at the same time.  I'm excited that so many people have read my review, and I hope that I've helped them make wise purchasing decisions.

As soon as I saw the ad for the One Step Big Looper, I knew I needed to write a follow-up review.  I picked up the tool at the Bead&Button Show and used it within a few days of the show to start my evaluation of it (you can see the earrings I made with it here).

This post is going to reference my previous review, so if you haven't read that, you may want to.  Click here for all the original One Step Looper goodness.  I'm also going to assume you know how the tool works.  If not, check out this video on BeadSmith's website.  It shows making loops with the original One Step Looper, but the same techniques are used for the One Step Big Looper.

Let's take a look at both tools together:

The one with black handles is the original, and the one with green handles is the new one.  I guess I understand why the tools are so wide, but it's hard for me and my stubby little hands to use:

I find it very difficult to hold the pin while I start squeezing the tool.  I need to either rest part of the tool against my body or use both hands.  I know my hands are smaller than most women's, so maybe this would only affect a small percentage of users.

Here's a close-up view of the "business" ends of the tools:

The original is on the left, and the new tool is on the right.  You can tell the difference - the peg is twice the size, and the loop and cutting mechanism are bigger.

One problem I referenced in my previous review was the loop not closing all the way.  In scrutinizing the new tool, I could see that could be a problem here, too:

Perhaps that's due to the wide range of wire gauges the tool works with - 18-24 gauge.

When I was at the Bead&Button Show, I asked a BeadSmith representative to show me how he uses the tool.  Perhaps I wasn't doing something right to have it not close all the way on me.  I don't know what gauge wire he was using - I didn't think to ask until right now, of course - but his loop was pretty much closed all the way.  Michelle (the same Michelle as referenced in the previous review) said it looked like he was squeezing the crap out of the tool.  I'm not sure if those were the exact words she used, but that's close enough.  I tried doing that with mine, and I couldn't get it to close any further.

All of the examples today are using 24 gauge headpins.  I don't seem to have anything thicker.

Without beads, I inserted my headpin into the tool and started squeezing:

I'm getting better at taking pictures one-handed.  :)

The instructions say to bend the wire back a bit to center the loop on the wire:

Here's what that loop looks like once removed from the tool:

The loop isn't closed all the way, and the pin is a bit bent.  I'll show you more of that in a little bit.  I used some pliers to bend things in place, and I have a beautiful loop:

Let's compare loops on new headpins with both tools.  Here they are fresh out of being One Step Looped:

Here's a different angle:

Can you see how things are bent?  It's more pronounced in the big loop, but it's there in the little one, too.  It doesn't take much to bend things in place and to close the loop.  Here's how they look all prettied up and in the right order (little to big):

The small loop is 1.5mm, and the larger one is 3mm.  I prefer the larger loop.

I grabbed a few new headpins and added a bead to each.  I tried holding everything up close to the tool while squeezing, but with this size bead I couldn't get up too close.  I heard grinding on the original, so I backed off just a hair on the new tool.

With smaller beads, there may not be as much of a gap, but you do need to be careful to not crush your beads in the tool.  I noticed in their video that they didn't try to get the loop right on top of the beads.

I don't know what I did differently with the big loop, but I got quite a bend on this pin:

Also, the loop has quite a gap:

That's rare, though.  Usually the loops are much more closed.

I got curious if a larger hand would have better luck at getting non-bent, closed loops.  I asked my husband to try it, and here is the loop he got:

It's better, but there's still a bend to the wire.

To summarize:  Even with the shortcomings, I love this tool.  I do wish that when they increased the size of the loop that they would have made other modifications to shorten the gap between the loop and beads or to close the loop better, but the process is still a whole lot quicker and more consistent than the "old school" way of making loops.  I will not go back to the old way again if I can help it.  I did that recently for a tutorial I was writing, and I hated it.  I looked longingly over at my One Step Looper and said, "Never again!"

I don't know if I want to keep both of the tools.  I could see where different projects would need different sized loops, but for my uses the big loops will be just fine. 

You can find the One Step Big Looper in a number of online vendors, but you might want to check if your local bead store has it in stock before ordering it online.

What do you think of the One Step Big Looper?  Leave a comment here with your impressions and tips.

Tool Review - Easy Knotter

It's the return of the Friday review!

I like the look of knotted necklaces but have shied away from them because of the whole "evenly spaced" thing.  Yeah, I'm sure I could have figured out a way to do it, but there were always other projects catching my eye.  Finally, the awesome power of the alphabet intervened and saw to it that I would get the chance to make evenly-spaced knots.  That will make sense in a moment.

You may remember Reenie Oliveto from Designs by Reenie and her Bracelet Valet from the video I showed you last week.  I also shot a video of her demonstrating her Easy Knotter and brought one home.  I'd been wanting one for about four years and since Reenie was my "next door neighbor" at Meet the Teachers (here's where the "awesome power of the alphabet" comes in - Oliveto was next to Otte), it was a good time to see the tool in use and to get to know her.  She's really nice, and I chatted with her some throughout the Bead&Button Show weekend.

Today I sat down with the Easy Knotter and made my first knotted necklace.

First of all, the tool is packaged very well.  It's in a compact 4" x 6" x 1.5" box (plus a hanging tab) with a bubble wrap envelope for extra padding.  That sucker isn't going anywhere.  I think for storing it I'm going to keep it in the box but not use the bubble wrap.

When you take the tool out, this is what you see:

It's made of durable plastic that's hard to take pictures of.  :)  Every time I tried to take a non-angled picture, all I could see was my lamp.  There are measurements on either side of the center so left-handers as well as right-handers will be comfortable.  Although I'm left handed, I tend to do a number of things right handed, and this is one of them.  I tried it the way a "normal" southpaw would, and I just got confused.  Don't take that as a flaw of the tool.  Take it as a flaw in my spatial anomalies.  (Sorry, Steve is watching Star Trek: Enterprise in the other room.  There are always spatial anomalies in those episodes.)

That round thing you see in the center of the tool is a cover for the post.  It's to protect the post against being bent during storage, I'm sure.  It doesn't screw in (because threads of a screw would fray your thread), so it's a bit loose.  My recommendation is to store your Easy Knotter in its handy-dandy compact box.

Here's the tool without the post's cover:

While there are detailed directions included with every tool (including full color pictures!), I'll give you a quick run-down here and show you a video.  Very simply, the steps are: tie a loose knot, put the loop on the post, slide the string until the last knot is at the right measurement, hold the new knot and remove it from the post, tug to tighten.  To add a knot on the other side of a bead: slide a bead down to the last knot, tie a loose knot on the other side of the bead, put the loop on the post, tug everything tight, hold the bead and the knot, release the hold on the string, lift everything up, and tug.

Yeah, I understand that might be a bit confusing.  Let's look at Reenie in action:

Isn't that much better?  I did need to watch it a few times for the instructions for the knot on the other side of the bead.  I don't know what was wrong with me.  I think I needed a nap.

Before starting your necklace or bracelet, you do need to string on all the beads first.  My recommendation is to choose beads with smaller holes.  I didn't think the holes of my first choice of beads were too large, but the knot slipped right through.  If you have spare string, you might want to test it first.  I wouldn't test with the string you're going to use because you might not be able to get the knot apart.  I know I couldn't.

The instructions call for 0.8mm crimping end caps and explain how to start and end the necklace with them.  I went to Knot Just Beads today, and they had knot covers instead:

After my first knot came unraveled because I trimmed too close to the knot, I triple-knotted and glued it just to be safe.  I guess I'm a bit neurotic.

I was very quickly able to get the hang of the evenly-spaced knots.  The instructions say to tug the new knot in the direction of the last knot.  It always feels like it's sliding while it tightens, but it worked perfectly every time:

I am finding it a bit awkward to hold the bead and the knot when "trapping" the bead.  If I didn't hold things correctly or if I rushed through the knot, I got this:

It doesn't look bad in the grand scheme of things, but it's not ideal.  I found that I could nudge the knots a little this way or that, which helped the beads not look so loosey-goosey.

When I took my time and held the bead and knot correctly, I got this:

In a very short amount of time, I had a nice long necklace:

I got a black silk string from Reenie, but I found I had a few white ones buried in my stash.  I'm glad I did so I could keep my black string for an "actual" project.  I know just what I want to do.

So, what do I think of the Easy Knotter tool?  It's very simple to use once you get the hang of it, and I don't think it needs to be any more complicated.  I've been seeing an ad for new tabletop knotter tool, and that one looks complicated.  It looks like it would take up a lot of room for storage, and nothing in the ad looks like you can measure spaces out between knots.  I like the simplicity and versatility of the Easy Knotter, and I'm certainly glad to not have to clear a space out on my shelves to store it.

To purchase the Easy Knotter, the Bracelet Valet, kits, or supplies (including wonderfully priced silk string and the correct crimping end caps), please visit Designs by Reenie and check her out at shows.  Tell her Traci says hi!

If you have a project made using the Easy Knotter and would like to share it here on my blog, send me pictures and what you think of the tool.  You'll also be entered to win a Xuron 4 in 1 Crimper tool for your other stringing needs!  The giveaway (which is good for all kinds of projects, not just Easy Knotter pieces) runs until June 30th - click here for all the details!

Review: "New" Fireline

When I first started stitching my friends told me that I should use fishing line - it's much stronger and easier to work with than beading thread for most applications.  At the time, the only fishing line I knew about was that clear stuff that's hard to knot - monofilament.  I bought some and stitched a spiral necklace using only seed beads with it.  It was a little hard to work with, but the resulting spiral had some body and firmness to it that I liked.

It didn't take long for me to find out that my friends were talking about a different fishing line, and I didn't let on that I had misunderstood.  Until now, that is.  I hope they don't tease me too badly.

The fishing line they were talking about was Fireline, which is made by Berkley.  The most common colors are Crystal (white) and Smoke (black).  I was hooked (no, I really didn't mean to make a fishing pun) from the first time I stitched with it.  Beading thread likes to fall out of my needle, and the resultant stitching doesn't feel very tight to me.  Fireline gave my pieces a nice firmness (without being too firm like the monofilament was), and I could tug on it really hard and not worry about it breaking.

Fireline is so strong that it dulls ordinary scissors, so I've recommended using Xuron's 9180 High Durability "Fireline" Scissors (you can see my review of them here).

I like Fireline so much I include it in all of my kits, and I have sold the Fireline Scissors at shows and online (I only have two left, but if you'd like order, e-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.biz, and I'll order more!)

So life was blissfully happy until the Fireline started disappearing off of the shelves.  There was a nervous ripple around the beading community.  Then the rumors started that there was a new formula that was coming out.  Shortly after beaders got their hands on it, the chatter was about how the fisherpeople (we can't assume they're all men, you know) loved it, but the beaders hated it.  Today I tried to quickly find something online to support either the happy fisherpeople claim or the sad beader claim, but I was unsuccessful.  There is probably something somewhere, but I didn't want to spend the entire day looking.  I have enough problems with time slipping away from me as it is.

With all that in mind, I am going to give you my review.  Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and shouldn't be quoted as gospel.  I have worked with the new Fireline (6 lb. test) extensively for a few weeks.  Most of the time was with Smoke, but I have used Crystal a few times.

The first thing I noticed is that they changed the packaging.  The old spools were in boxes, and the new ones are sealed up like batteries:

I am happy with this decision.  I once bought some Fireline at Walmart, and if I hadn't glanced at the box's open window, I would have come home with some very thin monofilament.  It looked like someone had swapped the spools out and bought Fireline at monofilament prices.  The sticker had even been removed from the spool.  I brought the box and spool to an employee and requested it be removed from the shelf, but a few months later it was still up there.  I took the spool halfway out of the box and just laid it on the shelf in hopes that someone would notice it.

The next thing I noticed is that the spools are smaller:

On the surface this would seem to be a good thing - less waste and all that - but I liked to snap the spool into the cover of my beading Caboodle.  It kept it out of the way until I needed it.  The new one is much too small to do that.  Maybe I could rig something with magnets or Velcro, or (more likely) I can just deal with it.  People with the neat spool storage boxes (like this one) will have a lot of extra room inside.

Now onto the Fireline itself.  As I mentioned, most of my testing was with the Smoke color.  I do have a few thoughts about the Crystal color that I will share, but there will be no pictures.  I tried taking pictures with the Crystal, but I couldn't get a good enough contrast.

Right away the Fireline feels different.  The Crystal feels more twisted or bumpy, and the Smoke doesn't feel as smooth.  Here is a strand of the old and a strand of the new Smoke Fireline:

There is a bit of a twist to the old, but the twist in the new is more pronounced.  It also doesn't look quite as tightly twisted as the old.

At first when I started working with it I didn't notice a change.  I had to rip out some stitching, and I didn't see a problem.  However, I started having problems threading my needle.  I'd take the needle out to either weave in an end or to take something apart, and the end of the thread frayed a lot sooner than I'd have expected.

Today I did a test.  I took a needle and each piece of Fireline and threaded it and took the needle off five times.  I wasn't gentle with either the old or the new.  With the new, I started having trouble with the end fraying from the second threading.  That doesn't always happen - sometimes it slips right through, but once it starts fraying, the only recourse you have is to snip off probably 1/2" of the end and try it again.

It wasn't just the end that was frayed, though:

Do you see all the little hairs on the new one?  There's one on the old and a bunch on the new.  I started worrying about my beadwork and looked at the thread I have coming out of my triangle bracelet.  It's a relatively new thread, but it's been through one whole triangle unit, so it should show some signs of wear if normal beading would cause that.  The only spot that showed a problem was where the needle had been:

Other than that, I didn't see any loose hairs or anything else disturbing.

Fraying can also occur when ripping stitching out.  I've had a number of instances where I didn't have any problems, but it did happen one time with a new thread:

I had done a small amount of beadwork, realized I had screwed up, and I had to take it all apart.  I snipped an inch or so past this point in the thread and started up again.  This time I did it correctly (thank goodness).

I did the threading-needle test on the Crystal Fireline, too, and that seemed to fare better.  I didn't have any problems getting the needle threaded (maybe my aim was more accurate this time), and I didn't see much fraying, even though I was pretty rough on it.

So, is the new Fireline as good as the old Fireline?

Please send your hate mail to Steve - this was his idea

(I did beat that poor thread up pretty bad for that joke - you shouldn't have to worry about it fraying that much with normal beading practices.)

Even though the new Fireline isn't as good as the old one, I am not going to abandon ship.  I still like it a lot more than regular beading thread.  With the triangle bracelet I've been working on, I have pulled really hard on the thread on a number of occasions, and it hasn't snapped, so it seems as strong as before.

The big thing is the fraying.  My recommendations are:

• Use shorter threads.  I'm not saying to use a foot at a time, but if you're like me and use two or more "wingspans" of thread because you hate adding new thread, you'll be putting undue stress on the thread as you're pulling it through lots and lots of beads lots and lots of times.
   
• Don't reposition the needle too much.  This is going to be tough for me  - I start with a long thread and move the needle closer to the end as I go.  But we saw what that does to the thread, so it's probably best to work with a shorter tail.
   
• If you have to rip out a lot of stitching, check the thread for frays.  It might be a good idea to check it from time to time anyway for big projects.  If the thread is frayed, weave it in and add a new piece that's free from frays.

Yes, this all sucks, but for those of us who love Fireline and nothing else, this is better than the alternative.  We can hope that one day they'll fix the problems, and we'll be in heaven again.