Beading for Christmas

I don't know about you, but every year at about this time I go into a sort of crafting trance. (Perhaps crochet trance would be more accurate.) I fall asleep visualising stitch patterns; I wake up thinking about what project needs to be finished next. Cooking seems to go out the window (though as we haven't starved yet I must be cooking without realising it).

Last week I took a breather from crochet, and worked instead on my friend Judy's Christmas beading commissions. It's been a rough year for Judy, who underwent an unexpected hip replacement in the spring, and spent 3 months in hospital due to post-surgery complications. She finally got home in August, and in late October we met for our traditional pre-Christmas crawl through her stash of beads. Together we settled on tentative stone combinations and necklace lengths, and the rest was up to me.

Judy requested three sets for Christmas giving. First up, a necklace and earrings for one of her sisters:

Amber and goldstone, with abalone and some silver accent beads, make a rich, almost barbaric combination.  The finished necklace has a bit of 20s vibe, I think.

The goldstone and amber are incredibly warm and glowing together. Judy loves this necklace, and I hope her sister will too.

For Judy's other sister, a necklace and earrings in delicate rose quartz:

Simple and elegant were the watchwords here, but I let myself go a bit over the earrings:

(I love putting dangly bits on earrings. Especially earrings for other people.)

Our third project involved a certain string of pearls which had become our beading bête noire - or perhaps bête pêche would be more appropriate:

Judy bought these pearls years ago, and we've never been able to work them into a project (until now). They're very lovely, all orangey-peachy and iridescent, but somehow they clashed, either colour-wise or shape-wise, with everything we put next to them.

However, these silver beads - a recent addition to Judy's stash - seem to work out just right:

The earrings include a bit of moonstone, which picks up the warm tint of the pearls:

This set is destined for Judy's cardiologist - the third or fourth set I've made for her, I think. Only an inveterate and incredibly generous jewelry-lover like Judy would repeatedly give necklaces to a doctor she sees once a year. I hope this one will be to Dr. M's taste.

The jewelry respite is over, and the beaded gifts are on their way to the lucky recipients.

Anybody seen my crochet hook? :)

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What gifts are you making this year? (I promise I won't tell anyone.)

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