Bead Loom

I ran across this blog post where this woman had much more success with her loom than I have had with mine.  Don't get me wrong, I can definitely loom, it just takes more time than what others claim it should take. And then to weave all the strings back into the piece?  I would much prefer to just hand weave a piece of jewelry, myself, but to each there own.  So I wanted to share this with those of you who like to loom or who may be interested in it.

Full circle

My first experience with beads was around the age of 8 or 9 when my babysitter taught me how to make a loom out of a shoe box and how to bead on that loom. I remember making bracelets with names on them… I even used to sell them on the beach…. then, I’m not sure why or how, those beads were forgotten and only 30 years later did I pick them up again, but this time off loom.

I guess I wanted to relive my childhood… so I bought myself a loom!!!! a gorgeous wooden one!!!!!! from BeadLooms.com

I bought the biggest I could find… eventually I would love to make some beaded bags…

Let me just tell you I was so pleasantly surprised by the quality and construction of this loom!!! and by the super-professional dealings of this company!!! The loom is simply perfect!!! I love everything about it but specifically the shelf which holds all my beads underneath and allows me to move my project around my flat without any inconvenience!!! LOVE it!!!!

So, what could I have been doing since I got my loom??? beading on it of course!!!

My nephew is a guitar player… and he will be turning 18 in November, so I decide to make him a guitar strap for his birthday…. Ok, so maybe I should have started with a smaller project… like a bracelet, perhaps! :-)

here is my first attempt using Delica:

Really hated working with the Delica beads!!! I don’t mind using them when I’m off-loom beadweaving but on the loom I found it slow and painful to weave them + I wasn’t getting that rock & roll feeling… so I scrapped this one and started on a new one… using Japanese and Czech seed beads…. much better and quicker!!!

and this is what I got up to:

 I’m so pleased with how this is turning out!!!! since taking these photos, yesterday, I’ve actually done some more and have finished the length of the loom… didn't know how to wrap the threads in order to make it longer, so I’ve decided to make 3 pieces and somehow connect them together once I sew them on the guitar strap… wish me luck!!! :-) So, one part down… 2 more to go!!! :-)