September 26, 2011

Urban Stripes ~ even more necklaces

If you missed out on the original String-Along project, you'll be able to catch up and crochet your own necklaces in a couple of weeks. The rough draft of the eBook has gone off to the Editor and if all goes well, will be published by October 15, 2011. It's 26 pages of Urban inspiration, bead colors, patterns and variations for 3 necklaces and one bracelet.



Here is what my finished ropes look like before being joined into seamless necklaces. I haven't finished them as it's easier to take photos of the parts when I can stretch them out. As one blog commenter said, "...this is beautiful trendy jewelery.. I love the ethnic touch with classics look."





Dolores finished her first Urban Stripes necklace with SoHo inspired colors. I really like the frosted effect.









Terri's Urban 2 necklace - she had to add in length to the last section because she did her set in size 11/0 beads.







Here is Terri's necklace set. Southwestern Urban colors that work quite well together.

No matter what size beads you use, most patterns work well at any scale.

September 19, 2011

Urban Stripes ~ More Finished Work

More of the participants have been finishing their Urban Stripes necklaces. Here is some more beautiful ropes for you to look at. Can you believe that these are all the exact same patterns?




Amy decided to use a clasp instead of muddling around with an invisible closure.








Sandy is heading towards Victorian Painted Ladies with the colors in her necklace.










Linda finished not one, but three necklaces as she didn't like some of her color combinations. I think all are keepers, but this one with the different finishes of olive beads is my favorite.










Linda's other combination






And a third from Linda













A few of the original participants have gone on to a second Urban Stripes necklace. I did a second necklace as a paid subscription. It is meant to complement the original necklace and worn with it.






Mary Anne, who's signature is crayon colors, has just finished this beauty. I can't wait to see the two necklaces together.






Meanwhile, I'm busily pulling all of the information and patterns from Urban Stripes into an eBook that will be a pattern set to make three of these necklaces as well as a couple of side trips using the patterns as bracelets. Hopefully by mid October it will be completed.

September 9, 2011

Urban Stripes ~ Finished

I'm in the process of crocheting a second Urban Stripe necklace to go with the original one. Here you can get an idea of what the two are going to look like when worn together. I'm quite happy with the results.

Below are more of the finished ropes created by some of the participants in this String-Along. It's all the same pattern set, but what different results. Enjoy looking at what the group produced.





Tobie









Susan









Mary Ann










Julie









Janice






Crystal








Beverly









Terri










Mariana









Elisa












Doreen







I am ever so pleased with how this string-along worked and the results are outstanding.

September 2, 2011

Urban Stripes ~ Finishing Up

What a fun trip this has been. Like a lot of the participants, I'm sad that it is coming to an end. Meanwhile, some people are still stuck in the beginning stages of their ropes and others are to the point of struggling with the invisible join to finish up.

Lori's colors are fabulous, but she still has a ways to go here. Don't you like her version of a safety pin to secure her loop?





Tobie got going and quickly added sections to her clean looking necklace. The crisp colors against a white background make the patterns stand out quite clearly.









Sue claims that she crochets so tight that her rope was never going to make it to 42". She stopped short, made a shorter necklace, changed colors and has started over with the last section; Art Deco to the max with the white, black & blue color combination.




Terri took the time to recombine some of the necklace elements into a bracelet. It makes a very nice piece in her colors. She claims her invisible join is not good, but I think it's quite OK.







Finished Necklaces




Peggy is done and I like her unexpected pop of the pinkish spot color.










Julie opted to finish her necklace as a lariat. Now she's looking for the right Art Bead(s) for the end. This is another of the clean looking light colored necklaces. They are so different from the organic, darker color combinations.



When I have a sufficient quantity of finished necklaces to showcase, I'll do a couple more blog posts to show them off.


For those who asked to join this project long after it was closed to new members . . . I'll think about doing another one in early 2012. However any future string-along's will be based on a purchased pattern set. This one was an experiment to see if it would work with the Internet tools that I had to use. It turns out that it is probably the only way to teach a long, multi-patterned bead crochet rope. Such a critter would never work in a 6 hr. physical workshop.