I am shocked that I haven't posted anything about Bead Crochet. Truth be told, bead crochet is the first beading technique, after basic stringing, that I learned. In fact, it's the first self-taught, bead weaving technique that I mastered. I had a few failed attemps, when I was 9 or 10, at crocheting a scarf that ended up being long enough for a baby doll, so it wasn't like I was a crochet guru to start with. Undaunted by my lack of a solid crochet resume, I remember sitting down with my instruction booklet by Mary Libby Neiman, my crochet hook, some thread and some beads and thinking..."Wow! This is going to be awesome!!" Approximately two weeks into my 'tutorial,' I wanted to pitch the entire knotted mess into the garbage can, set it on fire and do a dance around the bonfire. Oh, but I'm a sucker for the 'impossible challenge' and so I continued to crochet beads into mangled, unrecognizable forms. I eventually referred to my creations as 'cat yak', channelling all the Feng Shui that Bill the Cat had to offer. Then one day (six to eight weeks into my self-imposed, self-respect mutilation), in one of those *insert Angelic Chorus here* moments...I created a perfectly formed bead crochet tube. The rest is history. I could not turn back after the beads fell into perfect harmony. Now, in a total ironic twist, this is my go-to relaxation technique! Here are my latest creations...various colors of three sizes of seed beads generate this spiralling bracelet design using bead crochet techniques. It looks like a complex geometry problem, but it's jewelry!
