PhoenixNakia message #1
Hi From Texas
April 25, 2017 at 2:45:06 AM
 
Hi there everyone,

My real name is De'Andrea and I started working with beads when I was 19, a long long time ago. I didn't stay with it picking up beading again in the 1990s (told you it was a very long time ago). Made quite a few beaded necklaces and earrings back in the '90s that I sold to local folks and for my family and friends. Back then I didn't work in peyote, brick stitch or straight stitch, off or on loom. When I was 19 I wanted to make my sister beaded hatband in a southwest design for her birthday which was 2 weeks after mine. She had bought a beading book on Native American designs and techniques for my birthday present.  I only had money to buy the beads, used my Mom's sewing thread and worked with them til I figured out my way of off loom straight stitch where I sewed down 2 beads at a time instead of 1 at a time like traditional straight stitch.

I didn't stick with beading in the '90s either mainly due to work and life happening. Now after a 25+ yr hiatus I am back to my first love of beading. I still work full time for a few more yrs, except now I have a 4 on & 4 off work schedule which allows me more time to bead. A friend of mine got me back into beading again when he found out I used to bead. He commissioned me to create a beaded vulture for him. Ok, I know vultures are not on very many folks list as an ideal subject to have hanging on their walls. My friend Jim loves vultures for the contribution they do for the world with helping clean it up.

Jim lives in New Mexico and hand makes & sells small wooden tapestry looms and tools. He collects vulture memorabilia and wanted something special to add to it in beads. I worked up the vulture in peyote with the edges worked in brick stitch to make the curves and beak work out. It is a shaped peyote piece 9"X6". Now I am working on the background that is being made on my large Mirrix tapestry loom. It will be 20" wide by at least 17" high. Once it is finished I will applique the peyote vulture to the bottom right corner of it. Jim merely wanted a 5"X5" vulture head beaded piece. Me, I didn't think that would do the vulture justice and decided to create this "monster" of a tapestry for him. I have been working on the project since last fall and hopefully will be done with it this summer.

My non beading life consists of my hubby of 39 yrs, 1 son & daughter-n-law who live in Alaska, my 5 Grandkitties, Grandhamster and Grandchinchilla. I have dogs & parrots kids now.

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PhoenixNakia message #3
Re: Hi From Texas
May 15, 2017 at 12:47:37 AM  (in response to Stitchboard Admin message #2)
 
Hi Melanie, sorry it has taken me so long getting back here. Kinda' forgot to stop by, shame on me. I will post a few pics of the beaded vulture tapestry. Since I was on last I finished the vulture part and now working on the background hoping to get it finished some time this summer. It goes slow pickinv up 310 beads, then sewing them down. Will be glad when it is,finished so I can move on to new beading adventures.

Haven't tried the pattern creator yet. Will have to find time to do that. At work right now, will get the pics on here this cycle off work.

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