Happy New Year to all lovers of Kumihimo! This is the time of year when we can look back over the year and see what we have achieved, as well as looking forward to what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. I feel that I learnt a lot in 2013 about how to play with Kumihimo to achieve …
I have seen some gorgeous designs recently using hairy yarns, so I though it was time to dig out one of my own. I love to use textured yarns as they produce very individual braids. They can be a bit tickly to wear, so I like to wear them over clothing, such as a turtle neck top or a shirt …
This is the front page of my latest tutorial for Digital Beading. It is called Nautical Knots. The brief was to make something summery, so I went for a nautical theme and got the chance to use these adorable sea charms. Writing tutorials for a fully digital magazine is interesting because they do not have to work to the same …
I was really delighted to find my latest design for Beads & Beyond magazine splashed across the front cover. 2013 was a good year for seeing kumihimo in print and as this is the January 2014 issue I hope it is a good omen for next year! I believe that kumihimo can only continue to grow if the flow of …
Thank you very much for the great reaction to my latest tutorial, Treasure Nets. It means a lot to me to know that people like what I am doing and it encourages me to work hard and experiment to get the next design together! For this design I felt I needed to return to explore Round Braid because the two …
These ultra sparkly beads work particularly well in the Sitting Pretty bracelet. The beads perch up on the modified ladder braid to catch the light and maximise the sparkle. The beads themselves are not cheap, but this design uses very few. With less than 12 beads you can make a real statement. The beads can be fragile, so a design …
This is a version of my Luscious Lentils bracelet. Instead of using lentil beads I have used these gorgeous blue dagger beads. The beads in the middle are size 6, which are great for creating a chunky bracelet.
I am always on the look out for interesting cones and focals for use with Kumihimo and when I came across these amazing bells and cones made by the very talented lampwork artist, Kat Newman, I knew I had struck gold! Kat and I have been working together to take Kumihimo jewellery in a new direction and here are the …
I have been working on something a little bit different and I am nearly ready to ‘unveil’ it! This is just a teaser because the interesting part is at either end of the braid, out of shot! I have been working in collaboration with a wonderful lampwork artist and I have pulled together some new designs based on her work. …
I was contacted a while ago by the editor of Digital Beading Australia and asked to contribute a tutorial. We were still enjoying warm summer weather then and autumn was on its way, but I had to forget all of that and think up something light and fresh for the Australian spring. I had just taken possession of some of …
