They are called fabric beads and come from the creative mind of Gail Ellspermann. She was featured in a seven-year-old edition of Quilting Arts Magazine. My quilting bee friend MJ saw the magazine in a stack that was to be thrown away. She grabbed it and now it's mind. I made some yesterday. Really simple. The basic part is a drinking straw about 1.25 inches long. Using tacky glue, wrap the straw in fabric that has been torn into 1-inch strips. Cut the strips into two-inch segments. You want the frayed ends to show. The little pile of shiny gold stuff at the bottom of the photo is gold leaf. I used a special glue to apply it to the fabric-covered tubes and then wrapped them in any glitzy string, yarn or beads that I had. Thank you Gail. Her idea will become part of an art quilt that I'm making.
