[Nfb-krafters-korner] a little project

[tribble]

Hi all --
Thanks to Laurie for recommending fusionbeads.com -- I've had fun ordering 
and string some little projects.
I did a bracelet in the pattern Laurie described in the first class.
But then I got the idea to make a lariat necklace for my mother for 
Christmas, and I ordered a bunch of beads and have been stringing my own 
pattern. I think it is going to turn out quite nice. It consists of a bunch 
of 12mm and 8mm crystal pearl beads, separated and woven with a bunch of 
vials of 8gauge red crystal beads.
I just had to order some additional beads as I ran out, but I am anxious to 
see the finished product. My mother has already seen it and even went and 
bought herself a red sweater to match it.
Anyway, I just thought I'd mention it.
Laurie -- or anyone who has done any beading -- I am concerned about 2 
things:
The first time I started my beading on the lariat, somehow the spool of 
thread got tangled with the necklace and before I knew it, the whole thing 
was hopelessly tangled and I had to cut it apart and start over.
This time I made a stop bead and precut the thread and was careful not to 
let it tangle. But I am worried that if the lariat isn't beaded tight 
enough, it might tangle when Mom puts it on. Has anyone else had problem 
with tangling threads?
My second concern is how to finish it off. Each end has a tassle of 3 
strands of seed beads and a little pearl halfway down and a large bead at 
the end. Then I take the loose thread and put 3 seed beads on it and try and 
tie it with a square knot and then pull the lose thread back through the 
large bead at the end.

So it looks like --necklace---O---*---O:

Here the dashes are seed beads, the * is the small pearl and the O is the 
large pearl, and the colon at the end is a little cap of 3 seed beads.

My concern is how to tie it off correctly.  Laurrie, I wonder if you could 
elaborate on the best way to tie off the end of a string of beads so the 
knot is in the right place and the right tightness...
My pattern is an accident waiting to happen, as if one thread breaks, a lot 
of beads could fly all over the place.
The pattern requires 3 long threads.  The large pearls alternate with 
segments of seed beads and a small pearl the whole length of the necklace --  
but 3 threads go through each large bead. So actually you have

  O
  /|\
  ***
  \|/
   O

Hope this makes sense. The necklace is a lot heavier than I expected, but it 
is looking very nice, and has only taken a few hours of idle time in front 
the tv to string it.

Anyway, happy beading, and I do want that snowflake class!
--le