MacraME!

I hadn't realised it, but years ago my Dad made a dog-lead with macrame. We used it for the whole of the dog's life and she lived to be fifteen years old. It's strong stuff!

Recently I'd been aware of the whole shamballa-style bracelet. However, I've never been a great one for following the dictates of fashion, so I didn't take much notice of it. Then I saw a couple of demonstrations of the style on crafting programmes and it set me thinking.

I have loads of beads. They fall into the crafter's category of "stash" (that ever-expanding pile of materials that we hoard with an unhealthy obsession and often don't use for years at a time). However, unlike my illicit mounds of fabric and wool, I was often at a loss of what to do with them. Seed-beads get used quite regularly, but anything larger usually sits in a container waiting for me to view it whilst cooing "oohh, pretty."

At last I had an idea to use some of those beautiful larger pieces. Initially I used an old piece of cardboard as my base board, but after a few attempts and with my excitement at the technique growing, I made my own. It's amazing what you can achieve with a bit of wood and a marker-pen. I now have my own base board of my required length, with markings in both centimetres and inches. I no longer have to keep stopping to measure my work!

The blue bracelet pictured here was one of my early attempts. Using beads from an old broken bracelet and embroidery silk (hurrah for grandmother's stash!), I was just mastering the proper "sliding" fastening of this style. (Prior to this I'd been laboriously stitching on clasps.) As I've become more confident I've started to invest more in materials. The purple version shown still uses grandmother's silks, but incorporates purple shell beads from www.beaderscompanion.co.uk - another fantastic company with great and immediate delivery.

The technique is slightly addictive, so I'm waiting for inspiration to spring more ideas into my head, before I bury myself in bracelets!

H.x