I really like your color palette! And, while I did not think the first version was ugly at all, I like this version better: the beads, spread out, bring a lot more focus to the piece.

Very pretty!

I like this a lot better. (Hi. I can't play right now, but I can watch!) The wrapping ratio makes it look almost random, but it's not; the end result is harmonious but not mechanical. I love the cloisonné(?)) beads in there. They're like little flowers.

They have little flowers on them!

I really, really liked this when I first finished it, but now of course I'm finding the flaws - the way I patterned it means that the similar patterns show up very close to each other, which was not planned.

I'm sure in future you could measure the revolutions of the coil size you were after and measure an iteration of your pattern so that the repeats were offset?

That can be big fun to play with. There are all sorts of patterns and unpatterns that can be done....

I don't know about different gauges but you can get it in wider and narrower circles. I wouldn't want to put wrist-sized memory wire on the upper arm, it would pinch!

Cool! What did you notice as you re-did it? What did you like about what changed, and was there anything you thought it lost?

I meant to respond to this AGES ago. I can see a number of reasons for adding the "filler" beads.

One is pure economics - the smaller seed-type beads are less expensive than the bigger beads, so adding them to pieces is definitely economical.

Another is that the larger beads are definitely set off more with the smaller beads.

The bracelet now looks more delicate, whereas the prior bracelet...well, I can't quite describe it, but I'm looking back and forth between the two pieces and they "feel" different.

The next iteration (I imagine I will be doing another iteration), I think I will have to find different ending beads - I love the two beads, but they really don't like the memory wire (the holes are too small), and so I can't use them within the bracelet itself, which is what I wanted to do. I don't know, it just seems a little odd with those two larger beads there on the ends, but nowhere within the bracelet itself.

I don't know, it just seems a little odd with those two larger beads there on the ends, but nowhere within the bracelet itself.

*grin*

Ah! I have had that exact problem.

See what happens if you use filler beads that match those two large beads exactly.

big grin

Sure - as soon as you tell me if smaller beads that are like the larger beads are available, and where to get them! (Those two large beads are BoTM beads!) My original intention was to use more of them in the bracelet - but there was no way they were going to slide on the memory wire far enough to do that. I had the devil of a time just getting them on the inch or so on each end...speaking of which, does memory wire come in different gauges, and does it come in one big long roll so you can decide how long you want you piece to be?

The one thing I don't like about them (and this is simply because I'm weirdly obsessive about such things) is that they don't have the extra sparkly-shiny on both sides, so when one side is turned up and the other not, I start to fidget. But that's a personal issue - it's not the beads' fault!

Not sure about the gauges, but yes, you can get longer rolls.

The problem is probably not the size of hole in the bead -- it's the curvature of the memory wire. Beads that are too long will not allow the curved wire to pass easily through them, even if the holes are big enough. One solution is to use those beads as dangles, attaching them either to the end loop of the memory wire with headpins, or attaching them on the coil of memory wire somewhere in the middle with headpins. (Hmm! This gives me an idea.)

Matching those larger beads -- I meant matching the color, actually. And the matte finish.

I am SO glad you brought up danglies - because I DO want to eventually have danglies along the memory wire bracelet. In fact, that's one of the reasons I desperately want to stretch the memory wire out more, so that the danglies don't all just bang together all the time.

Headpins are the way, then? How would you attach them to the memory wire - with a really wee single loop? I'm thinking that if the loop is too big, it'll slide along smaller seed beads (which might break the beads?).

Headpins are one way. They have upsides and downsides: one of the downsides is that they stick out like porcupine quills, so you want comfortable beads and you want the ends of the headpins either flush or especially smooth, so as not to catch or scratch anything. Also, beads sticking out this way are sometimes vulnerable to getting knocked against things, so fragile ones are not the best choice.

Making a loop -- either a bent loop or a wrapped look, though of course a wrapped loop is more secure -- is the thing to do with a bead on a headpin. You might use a number 6 seed bead or two (the big ones) to make a "stem" between your loop and the bigger bead.

And yes, you slide the loop onto the memory wire.

I'm thinking that if the loop is too big, it'll slide along smaller seed beads (which might break the beads?).

You are thinking like a smart designer-engineer. Yup, that's a question to look at. Sometimes one can use larger beads (3mm rounds, or number 6 seed beads) as "stopper beads" on either sides of the loop. Sometimes using larger stopper beads gives an interesting effect, depending on what you do with the stem. (Using big stopper beads and leaving a bare stem can be quite striking too. Think big discs, with the stem sticking out just enough to show off the bead on the headpin.)

wrinkles nose

I don't think I want porcupine quills - at least, not for what's currently in my head...how would I go about making "looser" danglies? Multiple single loops (man, I really better get on the stick about learning how to do them properly) - so that there's one loop slipped on the memory wire, and then another loop with the bead, and that one attaches to the other end of the single loop on the wire? Or jump rings, or split rings, or...??

I like the delicacy of this, and the way it's also not _completely_ in that delicate mode, with the larger beads and the multicoloured ones giving it a hint of strength within.

I hope you have good times experimenting.