Sunday, October 30, 2011

Totally Twisted

Totally twisted is not only the Etsy Beadweavers Team challenge theme this month, but is also the way I feel when I bead a Cellini spiral. As some of you may know, I am a type A personallity which means in beading terms that I have very tight tension!  This being said, my first Cellini spiral was a wonderful long work of art...by long I mean straight and stiff.  It needed to curve, so I bent it.  Yes, you guessed right...it broke into two sections with tiny beads popping through the air.  My heart broke!  Then to top it off, my husband told me it looked like plastic.  That's his comment when he doesn't like my beadwork.  Well, it does look somewhat like plastic...need to rethink my bead choices!!!  Notice the straight spiraling work...perfect, but not an ounce of give!


My second Cellini spiral turned out a bit better. My bead choices didn't look plastic so I wove about three inches.  The tension varied.  I was trying to figure out the correct tension so that when I started my third Cellini spiral it would bend! 

The third was a charm!  My tension allowed the spiral to flex and bend into a nice curve.  You see it here in this necklace that I made for the challenge.  I am so proud of this Cellini spiral because beading it does not come natural to me, I had to work hard for it!



After all this, one of my FB friends told me that my tension may not have been the culprit!  She had always used Nymo for her spirals and they were very flexible, but she decided to use Toho's One G thread on a new spiral.  She said that it broke on her and was not flexible.  One G is my thread of choice, but I will have to give Nymo another chance on the Cellini.
Wow look at that flexible curve!!!
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2 comments:

  1. KRDesigns11October 30, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    As far as getting the tension even, my research/experience taught me to -- don't get angry, now -- rip out the first few rows around, maybe up to an inch, after you have a couple of inches and can handle the beadwork comfortably. Those first rows are so hard to do no one could have even tension there. I know it could be taking out an hours work, but you might be happier with the product. I personally rip out the beginning when I'm trying to join the two ends, so I rip out what makes it match easily. I do this on flat peyote also.

    As to your husband's comment, my latest nasty comment to get over is that I can only expect pocket change from my jewelry. That person will no longer be in my life.

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  2. CroShayLadyFebruary 17, 2019 at 9:43 PM

    To Norma Jean. I'm a loosie goosie where tension is concerned. Guess I'm not a type A personality! Lol. I love your colorway for your non-plastic, flexible spiral. Lovely, lovely! The tip re Nymo for weaving with tight tension is priceless! Thank you for sharing that one. To KRDesigns, I like the idea of ripping out the beginning of the spiral -- waiting until you are ready to join the ends is a wonderful tip. Thank you!

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