They have to be. I don’t do much with seed beads. It’s too time consuming and takes a lot of concentration. I can only work on a project if I have a HUGE chunk of time and no distractions. I totally underestimated the time it would take to make this necklace. I thought it would take three days. It look me a whole week. This is a Laura McCabe kit. I always buy kits. It’s easier than trying to find all the right beads in the right colors. Laura’s patterns are awesome. Very detailed and clear. Here’s my finished piece: