D.A.C. Days six and seven

...Also known as the Beading Expedition.
On day six (Saturday), feeling slightly demoralized from the previous night's failed knotting, I decided to try something new. Since I was pretty busy last week I never really branched out from my "fiber artist" sphere of crafting, and what's the point of this challenge if not to branch out?
So, I dug through my closet of kits and craft stuff and found a pack of beads. I used to be really into beading when I was eight, but I dropped it at some point and never got back to it. So on day six, armed with a craft book and a teeny needle, I decided to try making a beaded bracelet.




I made several attempts at this triangle bracelet: one with fishing line that wouldn't go through the seed beads, a second with beading thread that tangled horribly, and the (successful) third with really thin fishing line, as well as several attempts in between where I experimented with the beads and was unsatisfied/got tangled in the thread.
It's really weird how similar beading is to sewing. You have a needle and thread, and you have to insert it in the correct way or it'll mess up. And it's so. Fiddly. Beads are so pretty, but seriously...yarn doesn't scatter and disappear if it falls on the ground!
Despite all of the mess, though, it was surprisingly fun. I remembered why I liked beading in the first place - you get to play with colors, and the end result looks really good. It's also a lot faster than knotted bracelets.

On day seven (the first week of the project!), I continued with the beading thing. I remembered receiving a bead loom for a birthday present. I had used a shoebox loom before, but by the time I got the "professional" one I had stopped beading, so the loom waited patiently in the craft closet.

UNTIL NOW.




I was afraid it would be too complicated, but I actually like bead-looming more than normal beading. I guess it's more like weaving than sewing, but I've never tried weaving (or sewing, for that matter) so I'm not sure. The pattern is mostly from my beading book, but I added the little center diamonds in my version.

Bonus craft from days five and six:




I made an amazing discovery: you can finger-loop braid with polypropylene cord. (You still end up having to knot the ends, but it's some progress). This is a harder finger-loop braid that involves putting the loops through each other while trading them on your fingers. It took me a couple of tries to get it, but the result is worth it - it's all twisty and looks like some sort of complicated knot. I'm really liking finger-loop braiding...I'm glad I decided to try it. Apparently it was popular in Medieval Europe...who knew?