The Finished Piece

I finished it!  And for all my whining yesterday, I really do love it.  It FEELS good on my wrist and that's a really important quality for jewelry.  You want to wear pieces that feel good when worn!

As for my whining about working in colors that aren't "me" yesterday...my friend Melissa (waving through the computer at Melissa) said on Facebook that she immediately recognized this as a "Sylvie" piece, but agreed with me that I might not see it as "Sylviebeads" because of the color-scheme.... and it made me think more about what makes me ME, other than color.

Then my friend Susan mentioned my use of mixed patterns and it kind of all came together for me.

I definitely love mixing patterns together.  When designing something with seed beads, I rarely use a single stitch on a larger project and I love love love creating intricate patterns through the directions that the beads are aligned.... and after I looked at this piece again, it totally fits that standard.  The directionality (is that a word?) of the beads in the petals, the multiple strands with their own rhythm of bead-placement.... it's very me.  In fact, those traits are kind of intensified because it IS colorless.

So in the end... other than the colors, it's a VERY "me" piece.... and part of me is the girl that goes out on a Saturday night in casual dressy stuff that this will be perfect for!

I know that I'll be wearing this piece A LOT and I was reminded by other friends that I need to remember that there are a lot of people who don't accessorize in bright colors, the same way that I don't... and this might give them a way to wear the pieces I create.  A good reminder that I needed to hear.

SO.... this was learn something week. 

I learned ....

• that I get bored making monochromatic things, but there is purpose in it.
• that my work has some definite unique traits that have nothing to do with the colors I use.
• that I might have been missing a larger customer base just because of my colors, but I don't have to compromise my design aesthetics to make them happy.
• that when it comes to something I like to wear, I like smaller and more delicate pieces, which require using size 15/0s (and that's going to make my customers groan at me)
•  

and finally...

I learned that when I whine on my blog, my friends step up to smack me upside the head if needed OR cheer me on.  It's good to have friends.

NOW it's time to conquer a design I've been making for quite a while using only metallic beads, but allowing myself some color variety (yay!!!)