GetCrafty Craft Facts

Q: I was wondering if anyone has ordered from this company. Their 1-800 ordering number has an answering machine so I wonder how quickly orders are filled? If anyone has any experience with them, I would like to hear from you. I am ordering hex cut beads, triangle beads and square beads.

A: If we are talking about the same place, Columbine Beads is in Iamjville, MD. Their beads are beautiful! I've taken a class there too. The shop is in a home, but is well organized. Linda owns it. Hope this helps. What size hex bads are you looking for? I've been looking for 8/0 and am having a tough time finding them. Shepardess in California carries them and they have mail order. Star's Beads in Vienna, VA gets them from Shepardess and sells them at the same price. Star's is open on Mondays from 12 noon to 8 pm out of Star McGivern's home. Try Crystal Blue Beading 1-617-9 BEADER. They're in Watertown MA and have more seed beeds than I have ever seen. This is their specialty. By the way, I have also tried the "Dutch Stitch" which is really just tubular peyote done with different sized beads. You can get really different effects by varying the types and sizes of beads, no limits really! I just tried this last night, on a whim. I found that if I kept my design symmetrical, I didn't end up with a lopsided tube. I'm amused there's a name for it. I just taught myself peyote stitch with little more than a description of how to start, so I've been experimenting with patterns. I'm now glad I bought those rocailles. Red rocaille seeds with a black delica spiral makes a very interesting effect, since the beads are shaped differently.