Next Up....

With inspiration slow to strike this month, I'm working on a companion piece to my Leopard Jasper bracelet. When finished, the new piece should be a choker. It may not be my choker (despite careful measurements I fear it will be too loose), but it will be _someone's_ choker. And it will be beautiful.

That last line is my mantra while working on a freeform peyote piece, because they never start out beautiful. If I'm lucky, there might be brief hints of beauty every now and then during stitching. Maybe.

After several rows of stitching, it looks more like a bumpy worm than a necklace. If I were a standard bead stringer, I'd likely give it up as a lost cause. At this point, it's all about faith and perseverance. And the finished bracelet sitting on my worktable cheering me on.

But I love the leopard jasper focal bead. Purchased as a set of three, the stones in both the bracelet and my latest project set the tone. Aren't the colors and striations gorgeous? This one is more striped where the bracelet's stone has very leopard-like spots.

(The third in the set looks nothing like its siblings - I think the milkman brought it.)