Isn’t that the best name for a hop? Bobbie of Beadsong Jewelry came up with that one. Although in my house fish is food! We eat a lot of fish, so this one made me giggle.
Our host, Karen Williams of Skunk Hill Studio, has written a wonderful tutorial (you can find it on Etsy) to create these little Fancy Fish, as she calls them. I saw them over on her blog and commented on just how cute these little guys are, and next thing you know I’m on her design team!
She sent just a couple of us the pattern to give it a try as ‘testers’ of her tutorial. She also sent a few of us a bead package in colors she wanted us to use with the fish. I made one in green and one in blue. And if you look closely at the blue fish you’ll see that I alternated between a sparkling blue and a matte blue. I really like the stripe effect on this guy. I used dark colors on the tips of the fins to accentuate them, and I think that it really brings out the pattern of the fins.
Overall, these two little guys beaded up quickly — all in an afternoon. It took me a couple of tries to understand RAW (right angle weave) in a circle, but if you know this stitch the tutorial is very straight forward and easy to follow. Karen also offers lots of alternatives to the pattern, the number of fins, just how fancy you want to make them or even adding various side fins. I kind of liked mine just like they are … cute and playful. I’ve decided to send mine off to two little girls who are just about to become big sisters. It is wonderful to get a gift to remember just how special each and every one of us are to the family. So these two fish are heading off to Singapore.
Antiquity Travelers 