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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Me, Blog???

Gosh, I would just never have thought so. But I guess for everything there is a season, and this appears to be my time to try the blog thing. Partly, this was prompted by my new love affair. This is one of those life changing relationships I am embarking on, and I am SO taken with my new amore. I wonder if any of you know him?

Let me introduce you to Power Pro! It says right on the fabulous green (my favorite green, mind you) spool that this is ULTRA SENSITIVE and SUPER STRONG. What more could any girl ask for?

I have tried several beading threads. As a classically trained tailor, when I discovered that silamide was a beading thread, I was ecstatic. I love silamide for pad stitching, rolling collars, all kinds of finishing and even basting, but somehow, it never felt right to me for beading. Just didn't seem to be strong enough for my purposes. So that was a brief affair.

Then I discovered fireline. Lots of strength there, and for a gal with a pretty tight hand, it does a great job with structure and bezels. Sadly, there were limitations. I love beadwork that moves with the wearer, and fringe is a favored technique. Fireline is just lousy in fringe! Too crispy and crinkly. Fringe should be supple. So although I still use fireline, it just wasn't the answer to all my needs.

In a class with Diane Fitzgerald, I was introduced to nymo. And not just nymo! Doubled nymo, with a shop tag knot, coated with (what seemed to me like tons of) microcrystaline wax. Now I don't like double thread for anything in my dressmaking and tailoring world. I'd rather sew twice any day. But after the six hours of class, it was growing on me. Sadly, the stuff has no twist, and for a silamide fan, that just feels wrong. Plus, it's so easy to split when you pass back through. Thankfully, it does make nice fringe. Both fireline and nymo had a place in my life, but neither was the whole package I was looking for.

Enter Power Pro! What a dashing hero. Soft, supple, strong, and nicely braided. I have been working on my Etsy Beadweavers "Here Comes the Bride" project all week and as is my usual style, I have moved ahead and then "de-beaded" to try a different idea multiple times. I am used to having to start a new thread after ripping back, because fireline kinks and nymo splits, but honey, let me tell you, Power Pro is all a girl could want in a beading thread. I fringed and re-fringed multiple times with NO sign of wear of any sort. It's got staying power I have never experienced! I am feeling like I've met my beading partner for life.

7 comments:

  1. First of all - welcome to the beading world! And second...I'm thinking I might have to try Power Pro... I use nymo pretty much exclusively right now and I'm pretty good at working with it usually, but it can get annoying... Now to see if the local shops have power pro...

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  2. Huh. I am a big fan of silamide (and I find it to be pretty darn strong), but after reading this I want to try this Power Pro stuff. Where can I find it?

    BTW, wonderfully creative writing, here. :)

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  3. My Power Pro came from my favorite local bead store The Bead Monkey in Edina, MN. Not for sale on their website, sadly.

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  4. I usually use Fireline with nymo for the fringes. After reading this I think I'll give Power Pro a try.

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  5. Power Pro definitely sounds like something to try. Will have to do a search for it. Very nice start to your blogging career, btw!! :)

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  6. Lots of food for thought regarding beading thread. Great writing for your new blog!

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  7. Great post, Marsha! I'll have to give this stuff a try. You'd think I would've seen it because the Bead Monkey in Edina is my usual shop too! I had no idea any of my EBW teammates were neighbors. Thanks for the tip!
    -Rhiannon, backstagecrafts

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