Inspired by Winter

It's a bit bleak outside. You know, that bit between Xmas and the New Year where the sun pulls its silver winter duvet over its head and if you're lucky might show you a bit of colour first thing in the morning or before it goes to bed at night. So I've been inspired to add some colour to winter today and these are the results. All now available in the shop.

Thanks!

After only two days of having items up on Etsy, I already have people looking at them. The favourites so far, according to viewing figures, are Parma Violets and Boys and Girls. Both of them are tied in number of people looking at them, although I suspect Boys and Girls is going to be the more popular as I only put that one up yesterday afternoon and Parma Violets went up a couple of days ago.

I would also like to thank the two sellers who have added me to their favourites list: Mia's graphic designs and Originals by Deb. You both have some lovely items in your shops and I wish you good luck with your sales!

As well as the stitch markers you've seen so far, I've also been working on some gorgeous knitted wire bracelets. I'm just waiting on some supplies to turn up in the next couple of days to finish them off and then will start listing them.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of one.

True blue...

Went a bit mad on the blue today but it is a great colour to play around with. There are so many great shades from the lightest, almost white, light blue to the rich deep blues of the sea or a summer sky.

The shades of blue on the crystal beads are just gorgeous, almost holographic – something a photo onscreen just can’t do justice. I had toyed with the idea of adding another colour as contrast against them but everything else paled in comparison.



Aren’t these hearts a fabulous shade! Some are a bit lighter than the photo shows but all are set of perfectly by the complimentary green and pearly white beads.



These just scream ancient Egypt! The light and dark blues surrounded by the gold coloured beads look like the brightly coloured enamelled jewellery worn by the Pharaohs in those exotic times.





These represent a moment of calm for me as I am currently at home chilling out, it's nice and toasty, there's some great music on the radio and I'm enjoying a cup of tea that is not too hot and not too cold. Hence the following description in the shop... Imagine scuba diving in a warm tropical sea, the sun above shining as you’re coasting gently along. The green and blue in these represent the colours of that moment, the deep blue for the water and the green for the light playing upon the surface as it catches the warm sun rays.

Just uploaded the first batch to Etsy...

Idle hands and all that!

I've been taking advantage of my fortnight off to have a little play around with colours. Beads are a great way of doing this and look great as stitch markers. They are so useful when knitting and because they're so quick to make I can go from colourway to the next in the blink of an eye.

Here's a selection of what I've put up so far on my etsy shop - oppositetheeclipse:

Arabian Nights
I just love how the colours complement each other on these. The antique gold tone of the loop and the purple, green and orange beads make me think of a far away bazaar in some exotic land filled with rows upon rows of hot colourful spices.

Parma Violets
I was dabbling around in the bead boxes – yes, believe it or not I do have them split into separate tubs per colour – and noticed these two shades of purple next to each other. Don’t they look great together! Just like those parma violet sweets we used to buy when we were kids.

Marshmallow Sunset
Pastel colours can look great together but I love to experiment by adding a contrasting colour to really make them pop! The two deep red beads here stop the softer gold and marshmallow pink beads merely merging into each other and add a bit of fire to an otherwise sedate colour palette.