Learning Project: The Bee All and End All

It’s finally spring and further to that, it finally FEELS like spring! My kids are still working through their volleyball seasons, but I am very excited to move into baseball and softball to spend some more time outside. I mean, I say that now as competition continues to take place in a climate controlled and weather protected gymnasium.

Outside weather during baseball and softball season can be absolutely miserable.

 

Throwback to a 2023 season memory when it was so cold I had a sweatshirt and jacket on, hood up, blanket wrapped around me but had to have my hands out to pitch count and managed to sunburn my nose and the backs of my hands. Thanks, Mother Nature!

 

<————Weekend weather was great during the 15U Brewers home game this particular weekend in the 2023 season! 😃

 

Spring to me brings thoughts of flowers and sunshine and I’ve had the idea that I’d like to bead a bumblebee since my frustration with this project melted away! Sometimes I feel like not only is my phone always listening, but it may also be reading my mind!

Cue this beading project appearing in front of my eyes!

{Check out the original post here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37105400/}

First things first, add buying some more black beads when I’m in Regina to my to-do list since I exhausted by supply beading my strawberry. Second thing, find some cute fabric to try out rather than just a regular piece of felt! I put the call out on Facebook to see if any of my local friends had some on hand since we don’t have much for fabric options in my community and the people came through with some options. I just had to decide which pattern to use! I think I might also try using a craft hoop like in the photo. I’m really upping the ante with this final go!

        
The fabric that my MIL had in her “scraps” stash ended up being perfect for this project! I will continue to work on this project as my “bee all and end all”!

Reflection of Learning
Week One:
When I started this project, my inspiration came from the Métis beadwork pieces that I had come across during previous study. The floral beadwork of the Métis people is incredible and seeing as I love nature and flowers, I thought that s simple flower would be a great place to start.
I wasn’t wrong, but I had no idea a simple flower would cause so much frustration in the weeks to come!

The Feels:
Excited
Confident

Week 2: The Very Beginning
Having never done any type of beading before, but recognizing that YouTube offers a wealth of resources, this is where I started my search for tutorial videos.
There are some great video resources available on YouTube and I did start off watching some videos to see what I had gotten myself into!

This Medallion Method of beading was a technique that I ended up using a number of times during my journey so this particular resource was very helpful to me! Spending time looking up different needle and thread or cord suggestions caused me to panic a little, especially knowing how limited our resources are in town! But, I had made up my mind and I wasn’t about to turn back!

The Feels:
Apprehension

Week Three: Paper Aids
I came across a really cool Saskatchewan based resource that offered a step-by-step guide to complete a paper version of a beadwork project that was created by a Métis artist. Little did I know that this resource was about to be the inspiration and the saving grace of my beading project!
I continued to watch videos on stitching methods and kept coming back to Mrs. Chambers on YouTube.

I gave in a purchased some beads at the dollar store because that was the only place in town that offered any sort of options for me. I also purchased some beading cord from the craft supply section at our local Walmart and was feeling like I was ready to go!

The Feels:
Excitement
Overwhelm with the different stitching techniques
Hesitation over my materials

 

Week Four: Smore Learning
This week I tried out a new website to log my learning project process. If my first attempt at my beaded flower didn’t send my blood pressure through the roof, using Smore sure did!

Using my dollar store supplies, this attempt felt like a complete and utter failure to me. I was questioning why I ever thought I was capable of a task like this one! I was also left wondering why my thumbs weren’t as nimble as they seemed like they needed to be! (Not so fun fact, I cut my palm on the lid of a can and required stitches and ever since then my left thumb hasn’t worked properly! So I guess there’s part of my answer!) Better luck  next time?

The Feels:
Frustration
Failure
More frustration

Lessons Learned:
~The “beading cord” that I purchased ended up being way too thick for the beads I was using. Too much time and energy was being spend threading my needle and threading the beads onto the cord. New thread needed!
~Bead sizes and shape matter.
Time to look for some new materials!

Week Five: Why not, Minot?

A quick trip to Minot and to Hobby Lobby with loads of bead options revitalized my hope that I might actually be able to make a go of this project! I had done more research in regards to beading cord versus using regular sewing thread and I just couldn’t justify spending nearly $10 USD on a small reel of beading cord, so I stuck with using thread for my project. That week, I attempted another simple flower using the beading techniques I had reviewed in the YouTube videos I had watched and used my new supplies! Results were slightly more appealing…

The Feels:
Slight sense of renewed confidence
Less frustration
Content with my bead purchase

Lessons Learned:
~Thread or cord thickness makes a huge difference in the simplicity of threading a needle and manipulating the beads!
~Even craft store beads have a variety of sizes and shapes!

Week Six: Stomach Bug for the L
No progress this week as a virus took out my entire family. I did have a few extra hours to look for inspiration though!

Image credit: Beadwork/Dreamcatchers by Miranda on Facebook

Lesson Learned:
~I’m too old for a gastro bug!

Week Seven: Breakthrough
After feeling mostly frustrated, I switched gears and started on my turtle as a representation of Turtle Island. This little project was incredibly meaningful to me, I connected with it and although my progress was slow, I worked steadily and offered myself the grace I needed to gain some confidence!

The Feels:
Connectedness
A sense of accomplishment
Renewed sense of confidence

What I Learned:
~Beading is tough! But patience and persistence allow for small successes!
~Slow and steady allows for necessary progress.

Week Eight: Turtle Power
I successfully completed my turtle beading project and am still proud of it! I took it to school to show some of the students that I work with since I had shared that beading was my chosen project for this class and they were all so supportive and had kind things to say. I finally felt like I had accomplished something meaningful!

The Feels:
Accomplished
Joy
Proud

Lessons Learned:
~Different sizes of beads are a good thing!
~Tension of your thread becomes important when beading in spaces where you need some “wiggle room” and where you’d rather have beads stay firmly in place.
~Patience is key!
~I’m actually getting better at this!!

Week 9: Berry  Good Choices
With the help of the algorithms, I was getting more and more suggested posts and accounts to follow that were very specific to beading. This is how I was inspired to start my next project as a post with strawberries came across one of my social media feeds and I was sold! I loved the floral details and the colour combinations. So, off I went with my own pattern and got straight to work!

The Feels:
Content
Happiness
Excitement

What I learned:
~The original medallion method of beading makes the cutest little flowers!
~I really enjoy the colour red!

 

Week 10: The Berry End
Again, I felt a sense of accomplishment as I finished up this next addition to my learning project.  This was so fun to complete and I am proud of how it turned out. Beading takes me less time, causes me almost no frustration and I can honestly say that I actually enjoy it now!

The Feels:
A sense of accomplishment
Joy
Proud

What I learned:
~Perseverance is key when learning a new skill, even as an adult!
~Tasks that can be overwhelming and unenjoyable at first can turn into projects that offer a sense of fulfillment.

 

In conclusion……

I abandoned a lot of my “online” learning resources early on in this project. I was overwhelmed by the different stitching methods and very quickly became comfortable with creating my own patterns and just going with the flow. I have definitely come across many more online resources when it comes to new ideas thanks to the good ol’ algorithms! But I didn’t pursue much when it came to tutorial type learning.

This project, as I have mentioned previously, was a huge challenge for me in the beginning. Frustration levels were through the roof, but as time wore on, frustration turned into satisfaction as I practiced the craft and the ever important virtue of patience! I chose projects that were meaningful to me. I love First Nations history, I love nature, I love spring time, I love plants, I love cats… opportunities are endless! A friend of mine has asked that when our schedules permit, if I will guide her through a small beading project. She has been one of my biggest cheerleaders outside of this class so having a real-life person to share the joy with has been wonderful as well.

At one point I thought, “I should have just gone with baking as my learning project.”
I LOVE to bake, but I bake many different things all the time so that felt a little but like cheating (sort of how I feel about using AI 😉).

Just a few examples of things I’ve baked lately:

 

 

Shortbread mini egg cookies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mocha Crinkle Cookies

 

 

 

 

Overall, I feel like I learned a lot about myself having worked on a new skill for this learning project. I also proved to myself that I have more patience and perseverance for new tasks! Although frustrating in the beginning, this learning project ended up being something I looked forward to working on each week and it provided a great opportunity for growth and understanding!