Am I good enough?

I have been a beader for just over 4 years now, and I have to say, I am completely hooked... I'm a bead addict. I love the way that the little seed beads fit together to make so many different shapes, and how all the different stitches feel, and how they work together.  Up until now, I have been a self-taught beader - learning from books, tutorials, the internet etc.  I even class myself as a novice designer - coming up with a few original designs of my own - I've even sold a few tutorials online, and had one of my designs published in a magazine.

The more I bead, the more I want to get into designing properly, and I want to start taking some classes, and more than anything, I'd like to meet some other beaders!

There are some pro beaders out there that I really admire, I am even honoured enough to have a few of them as 'friends' on facebook.  One beader whose work I admire a lot is Laura McCabe, she is renowned for her seed-beading around rivolis, highly faceted Swarovski crystals.  Rivolis have no holes, they have a flat-ish front, and a pointed back.  They have such depth to them, and they come in an amazing array of colours, shapes and sizes, they are truly stunning.  The reason I'm talking about Laura McCabe today is that I am contemplating taking one of her 'master-class' classes, designing and making beaded sculpture - it's being taught at Stitchncraft, in Dorset, which will become one of my local bead shops when I move later this month.

There were two things putting me off going to this work shop... the first is a lame reason - I didn't really want to go on my own, and the second is what this blog is about - am I good enough?

Regarding going on my own, I now know two people from one of the groups I belong to on facebook who are going, so I won't be on my own, but the second bothers me more.  To help me decide if I am good enough, I've bought one of Laura's tutorials - to make the ultimate beaded bead.  I've found some vintage square rivolis online, and ordered them... pretty much everything else is going to come from my stash...

This is what the ultimate beaded bead looks like - photo courtesy of Laura McCabes website.

Mine will not be this colour - it will be a multitude of greys and blacks, with several different bead finishes.  If I find I get on with this pattern, and can follow it, then I'll book the workshop... I'll blog with my progress, as I'm sure it'll take me a while to make - especially as I'm going to be moving house in a few weeks!