Magazine Review - Bead and Button Issue 102 (April)

Bead and Button will need no introduction to most beaders, I know. However, I picked up my copy at the weekend and thought I would review it for those people who do not buy it on a regular basis. B&B has a special place in my heart as it is the first magazine I ever bought and is largely responsible for my obsession with beadweaving. Over the years, I have made quite a few projects from this magazine and learnt a lot from it. Some of the issues have had very few pieces that appealed to me, but that is just a matter of taste and after all the magazine does need to appeal to many different tastes and styles. This issue has 17 projects and also included a free booklet with 6 bracelet projects. As I expected, the main focus is on beadweaving techniques (hooray!) but also includes other techniques such as stringing, wirework and metal clay. You can have a look at the contents page here http://www.beadandbutton.com/Magazine/Current%20Issue.aspx

There are some lovely projects in this issue, a couple of which I think I will actually make! First on my list is Cathy Lampole's Daisy Spiral, a lovely colourful spiral necklace featuring tubular netting, beaded beads and heavy weight chain, I think it will be lots of fun to both wear and make. My 2nd favourite is the beautiful trillium ornament by Diane Hertzler which I think I may make for my mums 60th birthday later this year, I rarely make non-jewellery beaded items but this one is really special! The cover bangle by Cynthia Rutledge is also gorgeous and may well end up around my wrist at some point! There are lots of other lovely seed bead projects to choose from too. I also want to mention the Chic & Easy stringing project as it is a great one for beginners to start with and would also be a good stashbuster for us ottbs'ers!

As well as the beautiful projects there are also some nice features and I particularly enjoyed Robin Atkin's article on Transylvanian beadwork traditions, it is well worth a read. I was really pleased with this issue, I liked a lot of the projects and enjoyed reading the features, the FMG advert is also well worth a look as always!

Happy beading!

Sarahx