Guest post: Abby - Beginners attempt at bead weaving -- Simple Stitched Saucer Set (RAW)

In our house, Abby is known as "Xuron Abby", as she works for Xuron and has given me tool samples to review (if you missed my reviews, you can catch up: Fireline scissors, 4 in 1 Crimpers, and Split ring pliers).  When we talk about the tools, we also chat about our cats and other things.  She's become quite a good friend, and I'm not just saying that because she's featured me in the Xuron for Jewelers newsletter.  :)

The morning after I posted about my shop page for kits that are available for my new BeadStyle article, my phone dinged that I had received a PayPal payment.  It was Abby, and she purchased a full set kit and the PDF on how to stitch the full set (the bracelet is in the magazine, and the necklace and earring instructions are separate).  I called her right away and said, "What are you doing?"  She said, "Well, I really like the lime/pink one, and I thought your shop needed to be tested."  She's such a dear!

I sent the kit to her right away, and she received it last Thursday.  When she first looked at the kit, she expressed a concern about the "really small beads".  I had to laugh, and I told her that those really aren't really small beads.  I should have sent her a link to my Peanut bead question blog post from two years ago.  They're far from the smallest beads, but I can understand her concerns!  They look really small when you compare them to the saucer beads.

She made the bracelet over the weekend.  This was the first time Abby had ever stitched with beads.  While I'm extremely flattered that she chose my project as her first, I felt a bit of anxiety that she would have problems and would hate doing it.  I don't want it going around the beading world that Traci Otte turned Xuron Abby off of stitching!

My fears were unfounded, as it turned out, but I'll let her tell you all about it:

I have never so much as threaded a needle (a bead weaving needle that is).   This proved to be the most challenging part of the project!!

Instructions were perfect. Photos provided great guidance as well.  I did watch a few YouTube tutorial videos (a decent one from Jewelrytools.com showing RAW using large bicones) because I felt I needed to actually see someone doing the work.  Once I completely grasped the concept of going in circles I was fine.  I also sketched out a crude diagram so I could be sure I was following the correct path of the weave.

I did a test piece using 6mm bicones and after three RAW units I felt confident I could start the bracelet.

Ready to start the test piece

The test piece looks great!

All the tools are assembled, ready to make the bracelet

After my first couple of RAW units of the bracelet I had the hang of it and found myself naturally working from left to right and I was glad to read in the instructions that this is OK providing I keep with the weave pattern. 

 Mid-bracelet progress

Ready to add the clasp

The clasps were very simple to accomplish and again, this was due to the great instructions. 

Project finished!

Perfect fit!

I did make some mistakes but I’m not bothered by them as I don’t feel they detract from the end result.

How long did this take – well, one full cycle of the dishwasher!  I started the dishwasher just before I started the project and I was almost finished with the first clasp when the dishes were done. 

I didn’t know how to make a knot so I just did a lot of extra weaving and hope it holds  -- if not, I’ll do it all again :)  I since looked at the project in Bead Style Mag and saw that the project included instruction for a half-hitch knot.  Next time I’ll know.

I also did not have a bead stopper – I just kept good tension on the tail thread and had no problem.

Threading the needle was difficult for me because my close up vision (even with readers) is poor.  I invented my own trick (well, I’m sure others have done this since it’s pretty simple) – I used my TweezerNose Plier (Xuron Model 450) to flatten the end of the Fireline, then trimmed it and it threaded like a dream. 

My dining room table doubles as my craft space and my home office so…. It is generally cluttered.  My advice to a first timer is to be sure you remove all clutter as the long piece of Fireline easily gets caught on things.  Have handy just the items you need.  

Last – cats and beads are not a good combination!!  Rudy was not helpful (even though he wanted to be). 

Hi, Rudy!

I loved this project and can’t wait to make the necklace!  The saucer beads are perfect because they are easy to work with and a perfect size for beginners. 

Have you considered videos?  I wonder if you could do a quick “technique” video for knotting, needle threading, a few stitches?  

I love my new bracelet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for teaching me to weave :)

I'm so glad that Abby had a good experience with her first stitching project.  My reputation is safe!  :)  I'm really looking forward to seeing the matching necklace and all the thousands of stitching projects she'll make in the future.

Thanks, Abby, for choosing my bracelet to be your first and for letting me share your experiences with my readers!

If you'd like to make your own Simple Stitched Saucer bracelet or set, kits and tutorials are available here.

An exciting announcement!

Do you remember the purple Right Angle Weave bracelet I made in January or the pink bracelets I made in February?  At the time I said they were for a super secret reason.  Today I can reveal all!

I have an article in the July 2014 BeadStyle magazine!  I got an advance copy (my husband works for the same publisher, so I don't have to wait for the mail), and it looks great!

I scanned the article so I could show you a few things:

That's all I'm going to show you.  :)


The magazine should hit mailboxes and stores in a few weeks.  Between now and then I'll be working on an online shop to have kits available for the bracelet and for the full set (necklace, bracelet, and earrings).  I'll also have them available on Etsy.  If you happen to subscribe, could you please e-mail me at traci@creative-pursuits.biz and let me know when you receive it?  Thanks!

Cobblestone Path in funky colors

The deadline for my Iliad-inspired earring challenge is tonight at 11:59:59p.  I have not received any entries, so if you've made something, send your picture to traci@creative-pursuits.biz right away.  I'll leave the challenge open until I blog tomorrow.  That will likely be before 5p Central, so don't delay.  Click the above link for all of the information.  Remember... there's a $25 bead gift certificate for the winner!

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Tonight I finally finished the "Cobblestone Path" bracelet I've been telling you about.  When I'm not distracted by TV or knots in the thread, it takes me about six hours.  Most of the colors I chose for this bracelet have a metallic iris finish.  The color of the 6mm Thunder Polish crystals is Mexican Blue AB, and the Rizos are called Lime Azuro.

It's really hard to take a good picture of this bracelet - the subtleties of the colors get lost.  Here's the full bracelet:

And here's a close-up shot:

The green Rizos may seem like an odd choice, but you can see coating on the fourth one on the top and the last full one on the bottom matches the other beads.  Also, in person at some angles the crystals have a bit of a greenish tinge.

I'm so pleased with how this bracelet turned out, and I'm glad that I took the time to finally make it.  Now let's hope someone will want to buy it!

Pink RAW

Hi, all!  Quickie post today because we're braving the snow to go to Illinois.

Since I posted on Thursday, I've made:

• two pink Right Angle Weave bracelets like the one I made earlier in the week.

• a new sun decal for an Etsy sale.  This one was bigger than the one I cut a week and a half ago.
   
• friends with Sally, the creator of knitCompanion, and she promoted yesterday's post about my offer of free beading patterns with donations to her Kickstarter campaign.
   
• a big mess in my studio as I looked for materials I can use to make new jewelry for the Gardens and Gears show I've been talking about.

Next week should bring about a whole bunch of new adventures and jewelry to talk to you about.  But for today... I'm going to play with a baby.  And see my mother, stepfather, and the baby's parents, but they know the baby is the main attraction.  :)

Purple RAW bracelet

About a year and a half ago I posted this about a Right Angle Weave (RAW) set using wooden saucer beads and peanut beads.  Since then I've named it "Simple Stitched Saucer Set" because I seem to love alliteration.  I also have a "Double Decker Daisy", "Parenthetical Petals", and "Winter Wonderland".  I should have made all my designs alliterations.  I'll have to consider that for the future.

To refresh your memory, here's Simple Stitched Saucer Set in red and black:

I have kits for five colorways for this design, and I needed to make a purple bracelet for a super-secret-unless-you've-talked-to-me-recently reason.  I don't want to jinx it by posting it publicly.  Suffice it to say that I needed to make a purple bracelet, so last night while watching TV and the Cupcake kittens being born (live!) I made one big enough to fit me (because - PURPLE):

I have so many purple bracelets now that I need to grow extra arms (like in this movie) just to wear them.

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It's been SO cold here in Milwaukee that I've taken to wearing my Snuggie in my studio, either in full "Snuggie" mode or as a blanket.  Currently it's sort of balled up in my lap.  When I get up, the Snuggie gets thrown on my chair.

The cats must be cold, too, because this is how I found Fe last night:

She wasn't completely "in-tented" as we call it - she LOVES being in "tents" - but she did a fair job of covering herself up!

Same stitches, different beads (and a few updates)

Last July I wrote about a set of jewelry I made using the same bead but different stitches. The necklace was made with spiral stitch, the bracelet with Right Angle Weave (RAW), and the earrings with RAW beaded beads with a bit of a change.  I get a lot of compliments on this set, and people look at me funny when I tell them it was easy.

When I bought those adorable vintage purply/gray bicones, I also picked up some vintage black bicones and frosted white oval-ish/bicone-ish beads.  I thought they would look good together in a RAW bracelet, and yesterday I finally did it.  I took a picture of it with the original purply/gray bracelet so you can compare:

I like the subtle and bold look the bracelet has, and it will go with just about anything.

Next I made the earrings.  The challenge with making RAW beaded beads with these beads is inconsistency in sizes, especially with the black bicones.  It took a few tries, but I got two that look to be the same size:

They don't look as compact and ball-like as the originals, but they have an interesting look to them.  Instead of just nestling a bicone at the top and bottom of the beaded bead, I had to also add one in the middle for the black/white ones to give it a little more stability (and so you don't see the headpin through the gaps).

Finally, I'm working on a spiral rope for a necklace.  It's not done yet, but I have enough of it done for you to see how it looks:

You can really see the spiral when using two colors like this.

Unlike the purply/gray set, the black/white set will be for sale.  I'll be sad to see it go, but I have so many pieces with black, white, and gray that I won't miss it.  Besides, I'll have enough beads left over to make a few more sets, I think.

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Update #1:

The above set will be completed and out for my big sale of the summer, the Donna Lexa Memorial Art Fair in Wales, Wisconsin.  It's from 9a - 4p, and it's sure to be a lovely time.  I hope to see you there!

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Update #2:

A few weeks ago I wrote about making jewelry for my friend Geri based on a shoe that she was to wear to be in a wedding (if you missed it, you can read about it here).  I mentioned that Geri couldn't go to the wedding, but she was still thrilled with the jewelry.  She wore the jewelry and the shoes (but with different clothes) to an Adam Ant concert, and she posted a few pictures:

I think she looks great, and I'm sure she had a great time at the concert.  I'm so jealous.  Thanks for the pictures, Geri!

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Update #3:

This is a sad update, unfortunately.  Last August I wrote about the passing of my cat, Simoon.  (You can read about her here if you're interested.)  She loved being on my desk and right in the middle of everything. 

After a few months, Steve's cat, Miss Katy, wanted to hang out on my desk.  She came up next to my chair and meowed at me.  I lifted her on my lap, and after she had enough of lap time, she climbed up on my desk.  She loved stretching out and pressing the Caps Lock key or the Escape Key (especially while I chatted with Steve on Facebook during lunch).  I liked having her there because it made me a little less lonely that Simoon was gone.

You know what's coming... Katy was 20 years old.  Her age caught up to her, and she started shutting down.  Last Friday we took her to the vet where we said goodbye to her.  We are both heartbroken.  Steve had her since she was a small kitten, and I worked very hard to win her over since Steve and I started dating in 2007.  I spent a lot of time with her: during the day with her on my desk or on her shelf in the kitchen, in the evening with her on the back of my couch (sometimes begging for food), and at night with her sleeping between our pillows after I brushed her.  A lot of that time was spent petting her and telling her I loved her.

We will miss her terribly, but we have no regrets.  We cared for her the best we could, and we knew she loved us as much as we loved her.

Frisco, our new kitten, is already taking up some of Katy's duties and is frequently keeping watch on the kitchen shelf as well as bothering me on my desk.  He's even started sleeping with us for part of the night, and that helps somewhat.  It'd help a lot more if he wasn't so playful (and so sharp while he plays)!  He has time.  Lots and lots of time.

More RAW with those saucers

A while back I posted a few blogs about saucer beads (see Red and Black part 1 and part 2 if you missed it).  I really liked the look of the bracelet, earrings, and necklace, so I decided to make more sets.  I found that the strands did not have the same number of beads, so there was some adjusting to be done on the necklaces.  Then I dropped three of the purple ones and couldn't find two of them.  I don't know how because they're pretty large, but they're gone.  Surprisingly, I found the one red saucer bead I had lost in a bin I use for displays.  Now I have two of them left and can make simple earrings.

To refresh your memory, here's the red and black set:

The second set I made was with purple saucers and color-lined purple peanut beads:

The third set was with lime green saucers and color-lined pink peanut beads:

I love how the same types of beads (saucers and peanuts) made in the same stitch (right angle weave) have such a different look just by playing with color.  The red and black is classic, the purple set is sophisticated with that bit of shine, and the lime green and pink is playful.  The lime green and pink set sold at the art fair I talked about yesterday.

There is one strand of saucers left - orchid.  I'm going to try them with gunmetal peanut beads and see how that looks.

One more thing for today.  If you look closely you can see a slight variation in the earrings:

One of these things is not like the others

Can you see it?  The red and green ones look slightly more "portrait" than the purple ones do.  I believe it was because on the purple ones I went from the outside of the peanuts that are surrounding the top saucer instead of from the inside.  Fortunately I noticed this before making the second earring.  Something to keep in mind if you're going to try this technique.  I like the longer look rather than the squatter look, but they're still pretty.

That's it for today!  I can't wait until the next Rings 'n Things sale (September 12th in Milwaukee!) so I can get more strands of these beads!  I definitely need another strand of red and lime green.  I passed on dark blue last time - I won't make that mistake again!  I have some gorgeous color-lined blue peanuts that will look fabulous with them....  I'm all twitterpated now.

Red and black, part 2

A few weeks ago I posted my red and black right angle weave bracelet (click here if you missed it).  Since then I made a right angle weave (RAW) bracelet for a cousin to give as a gift using Swarovski Crystal Silver Night bicones:

She asked if I could make earrings to match, so I tried out something I had been thinking about.  I made one RAW set and dangled it from lines of seed beads:

I was hoping for a more dramatic V, but I think they look good.  I thought about having them dangle longer, but I didn't know who they were for and didn't want to make them overly dramatic.

This weekend I made similar earrings and a necklace with the red saucers & black peanuts.

Here's the bracelet again to refresh your memory:

And here are the earrings I came up with:

I wanted a V instead of a U, but I think they look good.

And here's the necklace:

I didn't have too many saucers left, so I had to do my estimating and adjusting from a few days ago (part 1, part 2) to see what I could come up with.  I'm very happy how it turned out, but I had to remake most of the strand part.  I thought it was going to be around 17", but when I added the second strands, things shortened up a little.  16" seemed too short, and grumbling (okay, swearing) I decided it had to be longer, which meant taking a lot of it apart.  I had gone through each strand twice, so it was quite a mess getting them taken out.  Scissors flew, beads tumbled, and bits of threads had to be carefully picked out.

As I was doing it, I had little piles of beads counted out for each strand, and... I dropped my beading triangle (that scoops up the beads, for all you non-beader types) right in the middle, scattering beads everywhere.  There was more swearing grumbling.  I gave up on my piles and just counted the beads out for each strand as I was stitching it.  I added 15 extra peanuts for the last sections, and the necklace is now around 18" long.  It even fits me (miracle of miracles).

Since I have other colors of these saucer beads, I took copious notes on what I did for the necklace so I don't have to try to figure it out again.  I don't have as many saucers in some of the strands, so I'll have to make some adjustments, of course.

How many saucer beads do I have left over?  One.  Again with the one.  I must have lost a bead somewhere, because my inventory program showed I had one more than I actually had.  I don't recall, but beads are constantly hitting the floor in here.

Funny story - Steve and I went to the Wisconsin State Fair today with our good friends Cindy (she who always comes to the rescue) and her husband Russ.  We were walking through the Expo Center where everyone's trying to sell everything you've ever thought of and more.  Did you know there are devices that will turn practically anything into a speaker?  I didn't.  When I need speakers, I use speakers, not a styrofoam cooler.  Anyway.  One of the gadgets was the Mr. Sticky lint roller.  She must have known I was a cat person, as she pointed right to me and said, "Do you have cats?"  I looked down at my clothes for the tell-tale cat hair but didn't find any (for once).  She goes through her spiel about Mr. Sticky getting up cat hair, lint, spices, even cat litter.  She kept calling the lint roller "him".  It was quite disturbing.

I'm getting to the funny part - bear with me.  We finally extricate ourselves and start walking again, Cindy and I up front and the boys behind us.  I hear Russ say, "You know what that would be good for?  Beads."  Then they started discussing the pros and cons.  Steve said, "You have to rinse it.  All the beads would go down the drain."  I'm sure given enough time they would have come up with a solution - something with a strainer and pantyhose or some such.  I guess Cindy and I (and our friends) drop too many beads.  I know Steve frequently picks up something off of the floor (it doesn't matter which floor - practically any room in this house is a good candidate) and hands it to me.  "Here's another bead.  That doesn't look familiar.  Is it Michele's?"  Russ must do the same.

Same bead, different stitches

Happy Monday!

Today's post will be a quick one.  We had a lovely visit with Steve's parents, and now I need to kick the jewelry-making machine (me) into high gear to prepare for the Donna Lexa Memorial Art Fair in Wales, WI on August 18th.  Also, the Bead&Button Show faculty submissions are due on August 10th.  Ack!  That's next Friday!  I'm in pretty good shape for that.  I know what designs I'm submitting and have the instructions written for everything.  I have pictures taken for all but 2 of the designs, and all that's left is writing the descriptions and all that.  I should be able to use most of what I wrote last year.  Still - lots to do!

Last week (in my Anatomy of a Spiral post) I showed you a spiral rope necklace I made using vintage bicone beads.  Here it is again:

Using the same bicones and the same 15/0 seed beads, I made a bracelet using Right Angle Weave:

If this looks somewhat familiar to you, it should - it's the same stitch I used with the red saucer beads and black peanut beads in my Red and Black post about a week and a half ago.

Where there's a necklace and a bracelet, there must be earrings:

These are 12-bead beaded beads (try to say that 10 times fast!) - essential Right Angle Weave stitched together to create a circle.  With 4mm crystals it looks more like a bead, but with these 6mm bicones it looks like a doughnut.  I don't know if it was because they're bigger or if it's because the edges are softer.  Doesn't matter.  They're doughnuts.  So I put a bicone on a headpin, put the beaded bead on with the obvious holes on top and bottom, then put another bicone on top.  With the two beads nestled in it looks like a proper beaded bead, and none's the wiser.  Except for all of you, of course, and everyone you tell (while you're telling them to come read my blog).  Okay - everyone's the wiser.  I can live with that, especially if you're recommending my blog!  (hint hint)

Another option, of course, would be to string the bicones on beading wire.  But I've been having fun playing with the different stitches.  What else should I try?

I paid $5 for the bag of beads.  After making a spiral necklace, RAW bracelet, and beaded bead earrings, I still have a fair amount of these beads left over.  I think I definitely got my money's worth!  I get lots of compliments on the pieces, and I can wear them with a number of different tops.

A note about these beads:  You can see from the above pictures that the color isn't consistent throughout the beads.  The shape of the beads isn't consistent, either:

I chose the ones that were more "bicone-like" (like the ones on the left) for the bracelet and earrings, as any deviance in size would throw the stitch off.  The ones that were definitely off but still useable (like the ones on the right) went into the spiral.  I was going to throw the "snub-nosed" ones away, but I found there were far too many of them.  Much better to put them into a spiral where the defects don't matter.  Keep this in mind when working with your beads.  Don't get angry - get creative!

Red and black

I'm still working on my studio, making a lot of progress.  I'll do one last post once I get everything in place on my new wall unit.  Until then, I'm going to post about other things I've worked on lately (and by lately that could mean the last week or the last year).

In case you're dying for more "in process" photos, here's one that should hold you until my next studio post:

 Really?  The studio must be too clean for her.

When I went to the Rings 'n Things bead show in May, I picked up a number of strands of dyed white wood 8x5mm saucer beads.  Each strand was only $1.91, and there were anywhere from 69 to 79 beads on each strand.  The colors are gorgeous, but the most startling thing about them is how light they are.  They remind me of the Three Musketeers commercials - if I don't hang on to them, they'll float away.

Here are the colors I picked up:

The big surprise is that I chose the lime green.  I've worked with it before and have decided I don't hate the color.

But this blog isn't titled "My goodness!  I like lime green!"  It's titled "Red and black".

I wanted to see if these saucers would work in Right Angle Weave (RAW).  I tossed the red saucers into my beading caboodle so I could work with them when I had time.  The spare time came right after the Bead&Button Show when I stayed the night at my mother's so I could take her to doctors' appointments on two consecutive days.

Although the saucers fit nicely together in RAW, there was an awful lot of thread showing at each corner.  I dug into my box and found size 15/0 black beads.  Nope - they slipped through the saucers' holes.  Next came 11/0 Delicas.  No, those were too small, too.  What else did I have in this magic box?  Peanut beads!  Black ones, too!  They were perfect.  One peanut bead between each of the saucers hid the extra thread and added an interesting element to the middle of the bracelet.

Here's the completed piece:

Right Angle Weave is a very quick stitch, so even with futzing around with the clasp (I had to redo the bar end to make sure it would fit through the ring), I was done in about an hour and a half.  This is while talking to Mom, watching TV (she made me watch "Toddlers and Tiaras"!), and having a dog on my lap part of the time.  I am looking forward to figuring out earrings that can go with this bracelet and maybe even a pendant.  Also, I can't wait to find peanut bead colors that will go with the other saucer colors.  While I have PLENTY of black beads, I'm going to find something different for the other colors.  If you have ideas (especially for the lime green), leave me a comment, please!

The other red/black I've loved lately has been with my skeleton keys.  In March I found some galvanized red 11/0 Delicas (#603) and 15/0 seed beads (#41) at Funky Hannah's (in Racine, WI) and just KNEW they'd look spectacular with the black skeleton keys.  I made up one set and put it on my sample board, so I'm making more that I can sell.

Here, I'll show you the ones from my sample board.  I can easily find it now!  Yay!

And now the sample board has been put away.  Goodness, is this nice!

The pendant was done in peyote, and the earrings were done in square stitch.  Both were embellished with black beads on top of the base tubes.

I wish you could see how gorgeous this red is in person.  The picture doesn't do it justice.  When the light catches the beads just right, they look like they're lit up.

I'd better get back to it so I can play more with these light as a feather saucer beads!

I'll be gone all day tomorrow, so you'll have to survive without me for a day.  Big hardship, I know.  :)  Back on Sunday!

Twisty-twisty tale

We're going to keep the mystery of the stamped clay discs for a little while longer, as I may be in need of a tube of Delicas before I can work on them some more.

In the most recent Bead & Button magazine there's an article, Layered Ladders, which is a modified ladder stitch and right-angle weave project which causes a really nice curvy piece.  I decided this was a perfect style to go with that coral crocheted sweater I showed you the other day.  It has a nice open neckline, and I didn't like anything I already had with it.

Last week I was at my friend Susan's house, and she had a tube of coral seed beads that seemed like it would match pretty well, and she didn't have a use for them.  So we sat down to figure out this new stitch.  The instructions were a little hard to decipher at first (there's a lot of backwards and forwards and at-an-angles), and after I figured it out I had a little difficulty getting the twists to form. The instructions say to use beads of different sizes to create the spiral, with the smaller beads on the inside.  It took a number of tries to get the piece to twist, but I didn't like how any of them looked.

I finally decided to use some irregularly-shaped white beads that I had used on a black and white twisted herringbone necklace.  You can see that on the Expand Your Horizons page on the Loose Bead Society website.  I'm not terribly fond of the beads, but I always wear the sweater with a white tank top underneath, and I thought the coral and white beads would go well together.

Lo and behold!  I got a twist!  The first few inches twisted nicely, but then it flattened out.  I figured it was due to the irregular nature of the white beads and started thinking of what I could do to make it more consistent.  In playing with the necklace, it seemed that if the white beads were "forced" to sit together nicely, the spiral would be tighter.  So I took another length of Fireline and started stitching just the rows of white beads together - kinda how they tape your little toe to the next toe when you break it.

Well, that worked like a charm.  I had to keep doing this every so often so I could test the length.  In the following picture you can see the fixed part at the top and the loosy-goosy part at the bottom:

Now, the loosy-goosy wouldn't be too bad if the white beads didn't look all cattywampus.  Here's a close-up shot:

In the top half you can see how I threaded the rows together.  I went around rows 1 and 2 a few times, then rows 2 and 3 a few times, etc...  That made everyone sit nicely, and due to the shape of the beads, the spiral tightened up.  I did not try to sew them together as I was stitching new rows - I used a separate thread to make sure that the main structure wasn't compromised.  Yeah - that's why I did that.  It wasn't at all because I couldn't think through how to do it while I was adding new beads.  Nope.  Not that at all.

When I was talking to Steve about this adaptation and asked if he thought it would work, he said, "All I understood was 'thread' and 'twisty-twisty'."  He was no help but was very encouraging.

Let me tell you... working on twisty pieces is very difficult.  The thread gets caught in the spiral, I had 2 or 3 dangly threads at a time, so they got all tangled, and measuring was near impossible.  So I kept stitching until I ran out of usable white beads and hoped that it would be long enough.

Voila!  It's a perfect length, it's very comfortable, and I think it goes quite nicely with the sweater.  That look in my eyes is the dazed-stitcher look that everyone gets at the end of a long project (and it's well after midnight).

I sure hope you really didn't want those coral beads back, Susan!  I damn near used them all!  If this necklace wasn't twisty-twisty, it'd probably be 3 times its length.