Etsy Beadweavers Team

I just joined the Etsy Beadweavers Team. I am pretty excited - this is a very talented group that focuses on the same style of beadwork that I love. I have a link to the team's blog on my sidebar. Check it out to see some excellent examples of beadwork.

Where does the name Asterope come from?

I chose it because I love astronomy. Asterope is the name of one of the Pleiades (which is a beautiful star cluster in Taurus). Though it looks like a single star to the naked eye, a telescope or binoculars reveals that Asterope is actually two stars.

Example of Netted Beadwork

This is an example of a necklace I made using netting, one of the first techniques I learned.

In this technique I string a group of beads, then "pass through" one of the beads in the string again. This creates a loop. As I keep building up the loops, they become a lattice.

Beading

I am an engineer by day and a beader by night. I've been beading for about 5 years now. I favor intricate, hand stitched designs.

Much of my inspiration comes from the natural world - colors and shapes, textures and lighting in the sky, land and water. Sometimes I am inspired by a stitch - the way the beads fit together give me an idea for a new piece.

This is how I got into beading: I was in the library (always a dangerous place). My pre-school aged children were dissolving into tantrums. If I wanted to get a book, I had to do it fast. I saw a new paperback with a beautiful netted bead collar on the cover and wondered, how is that made?

After I checked that book out, my fate was sealed. Once I started beading I fell in love with it. The first time I went to a bead store, my reactions to all the colors, textures and shapes were so intense, I just wandered around for hours (still a problem). I saw visions of new patterns while I was at work. I felt driven to finish a project just to see what it would look like. Then I was off to the next one.

As a result, I have way too much jewelry! (and beads)