Further explorations.....

Rolled felt earrings

I stayed in Cambridge for a week and discovered a shop called the Beaderie
opposite Magdelene College. The owner trained as a pearl stringer and now
produces stunning beaded pieces. Needless to say, the trays of beads and findings were irresistible and I emerged with a bag of goodies. I rolled strips of felt and bound them with metallic threads to produce the earrings opposite.
I then beaded them with delicas  to produce an encrusted effect. They are light and I think, extremely pretty.



Bracelet set

  I used the same technique to produce the beads for my bracelet, threading them on to tiger tail and using crimps to space everything. One of my favourite Beaderie finds were the Czech cathedral beads I used in the earrings; facetted glass with metallic ends - a real vintage
feel to them.

Driving home from Cambridge, I called into the outlet at Bicester and picked up some bargain Cath Kidston cotton duck remnants which I turned into a beach bag. I love polka dots and used the red and white to create a lining and inner zipped pocket too. The good thing about the design is you can use up small  pieces in a patchwork effect. Its ages since I'd done any piping with bias tape; lots of tacking involved to keep it and the ric-rac in place but worth it in the end. I've made two more of these since; one in pinks and the other in navy and cobalt  ticking.

Cath Kidston bag





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