Zentangle, meet Peyote. Peyote, Zentangle.

I finally have started to get the hang of mixing my two favorite things: Zentangle® and bead weaving. I've been struggling for a couple of months to figure out how to get some of my own tangles onto a piece of jewelry. Not having done much peyote stitch, I felt like I had to learn the hard way how not to make a pattern! I had already invested lots of time and effort into a large cuff, that in my heart, I knew was not cutting it. My tension was very uneven, and the spirals weren't as round as I wanted to see them.
    One day last week, in a Facebook look, I commented on another bead friend's post. Another beader did also..one who happens to be a master at peyote. I've always admired her work: Carol Dean Sharpe (aka Sand Fibers for you Etsy lovers). The subject of Zentangle came up in the comments, and before I knew it, Carol and I were in a conversation, and she had given me the key to unlock the next step on my peyote adventure. (Sounds like a line from a Carlos Castaneda book, yes? Sorry, no.) She led me to a bead program that would help me turn my tangles into playful peyote cuffs.
   I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere. It's been a process of much tearing out and starting over, but that's the good stuff, and where all the learning happens, even if it is the hard way.


Thanks, Carol, for your help AND your inspiration. Thanks, Zentangle and thank you, Facebook!