Gemstone bead favorites and not so favs

I like using citrine a whole lot. It's my birthstone, and I'm just drawn to it. Garnet is a close second, and quartz (mainly smoky) is third. I haven't worked with much lapis, but I love how it looks. Snowflake obsidian is something that I'd really like to work with more.

Dislikes....well, peridot is the only one that comes immediately to mind...

I like Peridot, maybe I'm one of the few. lol!

My not so fav...howlite.

I love peridot, too! Of course it took until I was about 40 to like it.

When I read the question, the first thing I thought of was the fluorite that's purple and green.

Since I'm a green girl, I love malachite. I love azurite/malachite, although I've never used it.

I tend to favor the cooler colors because I mostly work with silver, but I like a lot of the earthy browns too. Oh, shoot. I think I pretty much like any stones!

Oh MAN!

To help jog anyone's memory:

That said, I don't use much semi-precious gemstones in my work anymore

-- mostly us> Piggybacking on Sooz and Barbara's questions, I am wondering which

I love anything made with amethyst or tourmaline. I don't particularly care for turquoise or plain quartz. :)

I am *in love* with iolite (errr- hence my email!)- I had never even heard of it before I started working at the bead store. Now I cannot get enough of it!

Come to think of it, I never thought about gemstones before I started working there- now I have a hard time *not* using gemstones! They have such a life to them- and they *feel good* to hold!

I am in love with jaspers- ocean jasper, fancy jasper, silver leaf jasper, picture jasper- wow! Even in the same family, they each have their own little quirks and personalities- when I make a necklace with them, it's almost like arranging a bunch of tiny little pictures- you have to look at them individually.

I also like moukaite, purple sage agate, moonstone, amber, jade, opal (especially peruvian blue!), amethyst, smoky quartz, lapiz, malachite, moldavite, turquoise (being from AZ, I feel I almost have to!). . . the list goes on and on!

Hmmm- best maybe to say what I do *not* like =) I'm not a fan of dalmation jasper- it's just not exciting to me, but I have seen people make some wonderful things with it! I don't really like coral- new or old, dyed or not. Unakite's not on my list of awesome, but I do have some chips lurking around somewhere. . .and the more I think of them, the more I think unakite's not so bad! All greeney and pinky at once! =)

I know I sound like a bit of a nut in this post, naming every single gem that comes to mind =) I think my love of gemstones has something to do with seeing them every single day- the owner is a gem freak, and one half of the store is dedicated to the little guys =)

Kimberly

What is purple sage agate?

Here you go Karleen. This is one of my new favorites, too.

Ooooh, those are pretty!

Thanks Barb, but I've always thought this was called Fancy Jasper????

Fancy jasper is more green, with some bits looking kind of pinkish or yellow- also one of my favourites!

I really like the slab beads this woman sells (and this is a good example of fancy jasper too):

Turquoise is my favourite. I also love real jet, but it's hard to find. I usually manage to get it in the form of strands from old Victorian/Edwardian mourning clothing, they used it by the mile for fringe so I have a big bag of it that is loose strands but not much larger than modern Delica bead size.

I love coral but can't bring myself to use it so I've been turning to the glittery side of the force with crystals instead.

-Su

Well I have fancy jasper that is purple! I guess they've renamed it for sales appeal???

Patti

The Sage amethyst I have is much lighter and a more clear purple. Lots of white and black speckles, some beige. No time to do a photo right now, but I'll try to do so this weekend and post what I have.

Barbara Beader and Polymer Clay Junky