I've Got Nothing...

  The past few years I tend to slow down on Blog posts over the month of December. It looks like I'm headed in that direction again. I may or may not making anything in the coming month.

 I do want to finish Year of Jewelry Project, but if I do I may just make some silly earrings to say 'Ha! I did it!!

  If you don't hear from me, you can be sure I will return in January as always.

  If you have purchased the Twining Lesson from me and you want to share your work, email me a picture and I will share it on this blog. If you have a link to a website I will include that along with your work. This offer is for the month of December only.

Waiting for the Sunrise Tapestry

 This tapestry was inspired by a song written and sung by my nephew. It was also part of a challenge over at the Jewelry Makers Forum. http://jewelrymakers.proboards.com/index.cgi

here is the cut and paste of what I wrote for the forum challenge.


The music this design is inspired by is written and sung by my nephew, It's called "Waiting for the Sunrise" and you can listen to it here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plRqXM8sFEQ

The song fills me with longing, and that longing was channeled into a wish to express it and its beauty with my hands by weaving a tapestry. I love the mystery in the songs theme and wanted to capture that in my design.

I feel the strength and courage of the writer to see things through to completion and wait for hope to rise even when it looks dark and appears to be long in coming.

I had no idea how to do a 'tapestry like' weave and did not have a clue how it should look, so I borrowed loosely from the song itself and wove a somewhat stylized sun rising along with a stylized mysterious type sky.

  I am very happy with it for a first try:) Also, the grey looking button at the bottom of the tapestry is actually blue and the same color as the kyanite, but sometimes plastics don't photograph well.

I Did it!!

  Ok, it's done. The twining lesson is here...http://www.etsy.com/listing/86259095/twining-with-wire-lesson-tutorial

  I'm as angsty and as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof!!

Lapis Bangle

  This is the last of 4 bangles custom ordered for 4 sisters. Each sister has her own personal charm.

The sister this bangle is made for is a dancer. I told my client there was no way I could make a ballerina, that sculptural work is not my strength. She convinced me to do one anyway. The bangle is gorgeous. The charm is not, but it is easily removed and my client wanted it anyway.

 Client happy, that is all that matters:))

Pressed for Time

  My plate is very full with family events, a promised custom order, a job so busy I may need to work overtime, and filling in my spare time with the twining lesson.

  I'm a little sad because I was making such wonderful things and now I can't really focus on that:(

  I may be quiet but I'm working hard over here:)

  This necklace was made last week

Twining Lesson

   There is a lot of interest to learn twining right now. For those who don't know, the book "Fabulous Woven Jewelry" by Mary Hettmansperger teaches the twining weave. Also the book "Jewelry: Concepts and Techniques" by Oppi Untracht teaches the weave and gives multiple start methods for beginning round twining or weaving of all sorts. Some of these methods I have used and some I have not.

  I have drawn from all of these sources and closely studying the works of someone like Mary Lee Hu, or other fabulous weavers out there, including basket artists, and have developed my own methods through self study.

  If you read my blog you know that I am reluctant to teach in any official capacity. Recently I have been rethinking my reluctance. It began when I decided that I would write a free tutorial for the blog on Twining like I did with the Trinket Box. I very much enjoyed writing and teaching on that subject. But, I also felt free to teach in my own style because I did not charge anyone any money for it.

 The wire work community has developed a certain expectation about how information is to be transferred and shared. It is expected that a step by step type project will be taught and all wire lengths given. I really do not want to teach in that style, but I am interested in empowering wire workers and giving them tools to help them grow.

  So, I recently decided to take a risk and sell a lesson/guide on the subject of Close Flat Twining. I hope to share info as to wire choices, how to wrap on and off, how to do the twining weave (I use a revised method, not the one in Mary Hetts Book), how to twine closely, offer lots of options to encourage inspiration and design, pitfalls to avoid, and give you an idea how to approach your own project.

  I am going to offer this lesson for a low fee of 4$. With such a low fee the wire work community can try out a new method of information exchange with only a small risk if you don't like it.

  I'm a bit nervous about how this will go over or whether I will only be offering information that isn't already obvious to all. I hope everybody will at least gain one new skill from it.

  I don't have enough material to discuss round twining at this moment. However I will include one basket start in the lesson for those who want to play around with round twining;.

  I have never merged pics and text in a word processor before so it's a steep learning curve for me. Also there is lot's of details to discuss and pictures to take and it's taking longer to write than I thought. I hope to be done in two weeks or less.

  Than we shall all find out together whether this was a good idea or not!

Striped Agate Necklace

I'm so amazed at my own work lately. Like someone who dreams, I feel I will wake up and find the wire fairy has abandoned me. She will say "Ooops, I sprinkled the wrong wire artist, this magic dust was meant for someone else" and than she will take it back:)

I begin to think that all the scratching and clawing and hard work and failed projects have brought me to this very moment. All that suffering wasn't wasted after all:)

  Well it's past my bedtime and I have nothing fascinating to say. Good Night!!