Hello, my dears!

Sorry it’s been such a long gap between posts – it has been a busy month for me!

One of the things I’ve been working on is my newest beadweaving pattern – The Buta Bracelet! (And earrings… or a pendant… whatever!)

Click the photo for the pattern link!

So, this pattern uses the new ZoliDuos, which… to be totally honest, I really didn’t like when I first saw them. Paisley really isn’t my thing and I was a wee bit salty that you had to buy a Left and Right pack when they totally could have made them round on both sides and therefore flippable.

But, my friend Cathy (who owns Beaded Bliss) challenged me to get over my prejudice and try them out and after a bunch of trial and error, these earrings happened.

I love me some top-drilled bicones, so I was pretty into these. Then Cathy asked me if I could connect them into a bracelet (yeah, ya’ll clearly have Cathy to thank for this pattern) and these happened.

Ooh! A quick word about that pink one, though. I don’t think you can tell from the photo, but I used Etched ZoliDuo (a shiny mattified shimmer effect that leaves a glittery, rough coating on the ZoliDuos) and that bracelet turned out pretty awful.

I think that the Etching effect is done after the ZoliDuo is shaped, which might make them a tiny bit bigger/wider than the normal ones and because of it, they do not work in my Buta pattern. I really don’t recommend them. They keep the units from forming up properly and make it buckle and curl.

Which is disappointing because they are so pretty. But! Luckily there are lots of other pretty colors available.

The pattern includes instructions for the bracelet and the earrings. Plus, the earring version could be worn as a pendant!

I’ve been having a really good time playing around with different color combos and the ZoliDuo’s surprised me with how nice they are to work with. I’m still suspicious of that Left/Right thing, but I think you could consider me a convert.

Oh! And the name! So, Buta is the name of the Persian twisted-almond shape that makes up paisley print. So, I thought it fit nicely in this weird little paisley/almond/apostrophe bracelet.

So, yeah! That’s what I’ve been up to lately! I’ve got some more fun stuff coming in Ocotber, so stay tuned! And let me know what you think of the ZoliDuos! Have they won you over yet or were you in from the beginning?