It's been a long while since I've beaded anything, because of the increasing uselessness of my left hand. (You should see how my typing has deteriorated. I used to type well over 100 WPM, with no errors - it's nowhere near that now) But the inability to bead has really bothered me.
Today, I decided to finish the beadwoven necklace that's been looking at me with disdain for months. Each day, I've done a couple of rows, but it never seemed to get any longer. So today, despite the pain I finished the dratted thing. And I love it - it looks like purple ice. (it's all alexandite teardrop beads in a spiral where you cannot see the core - which happens to be matching seed beads)
The I figured I was already in pain, so what the heck. I started to get things together for a matching bracelet, when the child showed me the new watch I had made her for school. I used double strands of 49 ply SoftTouch 0.24, double crimped everything, and the kid still manages to break it.
Oh no, she didn't exactly break it - "It broke all by itself." Oddly, it was the SoftTouch that let go, so the bracelet was intact except for where it connected to the watch head. I didn't have the hand strength to do crimping, so I used elastic thread and made her a clown fish watch. It came out really well, although I don't expect it will last very long. Thank G*d there are $4 watch heads.
I hurt like crazy, but man, did it feel good to actually make something again.
Kathy N-V