This happy looking bunch all took advantage of Diane Fitzgerald's being here in March to spend a day learning from one of the Beadweaving greats.
According to two of the attendees, Ellen and Dee a great time was had by all.
It's always a delight to meet someone who is a renowned
beader and find that they are also a warm and friendly person, and that
describes Diane Fitzgerald.
All of us in class worked on making a cornerless cube, with
either two or more color delicas.
Several of us had Diane's book, Shaped
Beadwork & Beyond, which has directions for the project, but there is
nothing as good as having the designer there to teach. The
cornerless cube is made up of six flat peyote squares and eight flat peyote
triangles that are zipped together.
Diane started by describing the shapes and how they are the basis for
many different forms. She demonstrated
each shape on large beads so everyone could see, and covered lots of techniques
from how to start a double thread so that there is no tail to weave in through
information on zipping the shapes together and finishing the cube by dipping it
in floor wax to make it stiff.
In addition to covering many techniques used in making the
cube that can be applied to other beading, Diane showed us how to make her
Bubble Bead with two hole lentils (or two hole triangles), and gave us
directions and a kit for a pretty pair of earrings. And, she shared the secrets of her bead kit with
us, including tools she finds helpful and items she takes to keep her bead kit
pretty and fun.
I'll end as I began, everything about Diane and the class was a delight.
I'll end as I began, everything about Diane and the class was a delight.
Classes are a great way to increase your beading knowledge and the San Diego Bead Society is an excellent resource for making these classes available. Why not have a look at our upcoming schedule and expand your beading repertoire? Click here or at the link on then top of the page to see who is coming next!
