Hey, everybody! I hope you are all well and holding up. I just wanted to pop in and chat about my progress on the Isolation Beading Challenge that I issued last month.

I didn’t think i had made much progress, but this is actually pretty good! I definitely started with the easy ones at the bottom. I placed at order at Beaded Bliss to stock up on those leather clasps I love and get some needed beads. I also wrote brief, positive reviews for all my local bead stores using Google reviews (it only took five minutes – let me know if you need help finding where to do this!).

Posting photos to social media has been easy because that’s something that I do all the time anyway. You can check out the hashtag on Instagram to see my and other folks’ posts for the challenge! You can search for the hashtag on Facebook too!

The first one I’ve only partially marked. I did finish the bracelet (including the clasp), but it’s for a new pattern I want to write, so I’m not going to REALLY consider it done until the pattern is finished and posted.

But! The one that’s been taking up most of my time is #3 Finally Do that Pattern You’ve Been Saving! I really, really wanted to take this opportunity to dig through my pile of books and do a design from one of them. I ended picking this pattern from this Kelly Wiese book.

She chose this really soft iridescent lavender because Kelly Wiese always picks the prettiest and classiest colors. I loved the look of it, but decided to lean into my favorite palette of Picasso colors.

What do you think? I laid out all of my Picasso 11/0’s into rainbow order and tried to get a sort of tie-dye ombre effect. It’s a little louder than I anticipated – usually the Picasso finish leans a little more earth tone than rainbow, but I still like the overall color scheme a lot.

It was a really interesting technique that she used, almost like a blend of chevron stitch and daisy chain? I highly recommend this book of hers (and pretty much anything she writes). Her style is really different from mine, but it always inspires me and I think her patterns are easy to read and learn from.

I really never do lariats or fringe and this dainty style of chain was definitely outside my comfort zone. But that’s what made it so fun! The last thing on the list for me (besides finishing that pattern) is to revisit and unknown or unloved stitch and I just can’t figure out what to work on. I don’t really have a stitch that I hate and I’ve at least tried most of them. Maybe I could try Peyote with a Twist again or give Ogalala stitch or Dutch spirals a try… I haven’t made up my mind yet!

Have any of you made any progress on the Isolation Beading Challenge?