Accent Beads

A few days ago I was working on another book and little quilt trying out some new to me techniques. As you can see from the above picture I was using the straws again, painted and embossed. I also did some more painted and embossed copper and brass shim. I had just appliqued the brass shim on the above quilt top and thought the shim needed a little something else. What to do? I have used accent beads before but only on my Fritilaria Imperialis Journal Quilt I made in 2004 for the JQ Challenge. (You can see a picture of it earlier in this blog). I used the accent beads for the stamens on the flower. I got to thinking how I might use them again they are so lovely and the colours matched perfectly with the colours I have chosen for the quilt.
Well, well, well don't they look good? Well I am pleased with the result. I made a stencil. Laid it on the shim. I painted the stencil with beading glue (just as you would if you were using paint). I then poured some accent beads on it, removed the stencil and left the glue to dry overnight. What do you think?
This is the little quilt I also made and being on a roll with those accent beads I decided to add them to this piece and so I made a different stencil, a little bigger too since the shim was larger than the previous piece. I used the green/brown rust/silk painted piece of silk I didn't much care for - remember the one? I looked at it in a different light when Sandy said she liked it! Funnily enough I dyed a piece of cotton in similar colours a while back so the two pieces went well together.
I think I could have positioned the stencil a little better on the shim, a little higher up perhaps? No matter I was anxious to try it. You know what it's like when you are trying something new. I am happy with it though. I just have the binding to hand stitch and it's finished.

Have you tried using accent beads? What do you do with them?

I saw a preview of the catalogue for the Doing Small Things challenge. Wow! What wonderful quilts. I wish I could have written a better artist's statement though. It was my first time at writing one and I found it very difficult. There is plenty advice around on the internet but it didn't help me at all.

When I posted a picture of Listen in Silence quilt a little while ago I posted what I intended to be my artist statement with that quilt. I thought if I wrote it down and came back to it periodically it would grow on me, it didn't. I gave up in the end and didn't send the quilt and sent Fragmented instead. I wonder what other artists do. Do they write the artist statement and make the quilt or vice versa?

My local quilt group has their exhibition this weekend. The weather is absolutely gorgeous, blue skies, sunshine and it's as still as can be. Wonderful, just wonderful.