It’s a new Coffee with Stacey!
I got a really fun new toy: the Darice Bead Spinner*, which promises to speed up the stringing of seed beads.
I string a lot of beads for bead crocheting, so I just had to give it a try!
Watch the video to see me using it in action, as well as a little update about my current bead crochet project!
Other Links you might Love:
- My blog post on learning bead crochet
- My bead crochet Pinterest board (for inspiration)
- This video tutorial about how to use a bead spinner
Best,
Stacey
How cute is your baby! It´s wonderfull to see you working with her.
I use Fire Mountain’s Speedy Spinner- It’s the same idea, but made of wood and the stringer spins the bowl manually (there are no gears or mechanism to turn it, other than the central metal rod). Price (without the 60% discount ;^} ) is very similar.
The spinner is really durable. I’ve had mine for six years, and it’s been used a ton, by me and my now teenage kids (my son has perfected the fastest possible spin without sending beads all over the room). I wonder what the difference in durability will be wood/low tech vs. plastic/higher tech?
Maddie is adorable! Sometimes I miss the days of wearing my children…
Hi Stacey! I tried the 9″ circular! I love it- but I can only do toe up socks on it. When I tried casting on 64 stitches for a top down sock, the stitches didn’t stretch to fit the needle. What am I doing wrong?!
-Sacia
Ps. I adore your blog and patterns. Your blog is my fave!
It sounds like your cast on is very tight- try leaving more room between the stitches. If it’s too tight to stretch around the needle, it probably won’t fit your foot well, either.
I really enjoy your coffee with Stacey and Maddie. This was great. I hate stringing seed beads. Now I have to give some hints to the Easter Bunny 🙂
What a cool toy!
I saw someone playing with one at Stitches MidWest last year, but I didn’t really understand what it was all about.
Have you gotten more comfortable with it, with more use?
I’m asking because I did one bead project about 2 years ago and the prospect of threading more beads has just turned me off to it. Having independent verification that this tool makes threading tolerable (if not fun, I like how you kinda turned it into a game) is very helpful.
Thanks!
I only played with it enough to finish my current project, but I love it! So much faster than stringing by hand. The main downside is that the bowl needs to be 1/2 full to work properly, so it isn’t very handy for low quantities.
Huh!
The low quanity issue is something I hadn’t thought of.
If you are using beads that you aren’t going to be using a lot of, getting the last of them on to the strand will be by hand, but in that case you still have saved time getting most of them on.
Thanks!
Yes, that’s what I figured 🙂
Just a thought… What about using an old kids record player or turntable to do the turning? Then put a pie pan on top (with hole poked in it) secure with double sided tape on bottom of pie pan.
I was about to go buy a spinner so am wondering if this would work since I have this at home.