Advanced Kumihimo

I took the Advanced Kumihimo class at Nomadic Notions, taught by my fav, Mick Mcnulty. Again I found myself taking this home and making strand after strand. I didn't do the featured class project though where beads are added periodically throughout the weaved piece, but instead did all of mine with one bead per weave move so that the weave is nearly invisible as the entire strand is just beads. With the green and blue strand, I used different size beads which created texture and a very different look. The others are all with the same size beads but just different bead color positioning changes which makes a different pattern in the final product just like regular kumihimo (without the beads).

I'm guessing Mick didn't like me talking in class and interrupting the other students that needed to really focus on what they were doing, so she asked (er, told?) me to work on hers for awhile. OMG! She had these steel washer weights on each of her plastic bobbins and it totally changed the whole experience. What an improvement. I went straight to Home Depot after work the following day and picked up washers and glued them on with E6000. It completely changes the tension of the piece and makes the whole thing much more even. Only problem is Bosley, my cowardly cocker spaniel, was already afraid of that big white disk, but now with the clanking of the washers he won't even get up on the couch when I'm weaving :(