I made a collection of these ornaments/pendants for Christmas gifts this year. I made a couple other colors as well, but these are the ones that played together nicely. You may recognize them as Ecuadorian leaf stitch; these ornaments are smaller versions of the Hojas pendant designed by Smadar Grossman, published in Bead and Button February 2009. Her pendant is round and has six repeats to make the design. I reduced it to four repeats to make this smaller, diamond-shaped pendant. It’s lovely in either incarnation!

I enjoyed revisiting the Ecuadorian leaf stitch. My first exposure to it was in a now-closed Duluth, MN bead store, the Bead Palette. Kelly Lightner had some bracelets made with this stitch on display – this was before the stitch was published in any national magazine. I sent her $5 and a SASE (remember them?) to get the pattern in 200o or 2001. I’ve made this basic bracelet in size 10 triangles for a chunky design, or size 13 charlottes for a delicate look. I enjoy this circular variation from Smadar as well. Thanks, ladies!