My herringbone leaf margin is coming along. It’s slow going, slogging through green bead after green bead, but the end product will be worth it. The bugger is twisting though and it’s bothering me (pictures to follow). I suspect the problem is one of tension as most of my problems involve tension. I’ve always been a tense person and the tension telegraphs into my beadwork, my knitting, my crochet, and several other things I do. My husband loves to tease me about my toothbrush. We always buy new ones at the same time and after a couple weeks of use his still looks fresh from the box. Mine, however, after two weeks of use is an almost unusable mass of frayed bristles that looks more like tangled fishing line on a stick than a toothbrush. Yup, I’m even a tense toothbrusher.
I do have some tricks to help ease the tension before I start to bead. I don’t always use them, which is why the herringbone is twisting, but when I do, they work wonderfully. I thought I’d share my tension tamers, just in case anyone else needed them.
1- Chamomile tea with honey and lemon. If time permits, I make myself sit and drink all the tea before I start to bead. It sounds ridiculous, forcing oneself to drink tea, but if you drink and bead simultaneously, you end up with cold tea and tense beading. Drink first, then bead for best results.
2- Turn beading into meditation. Focus on your breathing while you bead and try to let the pattern of your beadwork push any other thoughts from your mind. I’m awful at meditating. No matter how hard I try not to think, I end up running through my “to do” list, running through my “what if” list, or wondering if I look cute meditating. Repeating the bead pattern helps quiet the mental chatter.
3- Stretch. If you’re feeling tense, put the beadwork down, stand up, stretch and take a few deep breaths. It’s quick, simple, and effective. And yes, you’ll probably look silly, but try and get over it, it’s for your own good.
If anyone else has any relaxation tips for tense beaders I’d love to hear them:)
