It's official - I'm addicted to metal - I can't stop!

I love metal! There's just something about working with it that draws me to it and makes me feel grounded. It's as if it calls my name and says - "Sandy! Come back to the office and make something with me!" I've probably spent 10 hours today in my office/studio, barely able to see the huge desk space (or the floor) because it's covered with projects. Copper here, sterling there, a batch of Viking knit on the other desk, some pieces being tumbled in the tumbler, a pile of steel wool dust from polishing off liver of sulfur, a photography corner, etc... Needless to say, my space desperately needs to be cleaned up and re-organized. But it's so much more fun to create! Tomorrow will be a clean up day so I can re-group and get back to metalwork next week.

It was a productive week though; I made a bracelet utilizing a lamp work bead that I purchased last summer in MN. The bead just screamed to be joined with Viking knit and I think it turned out really well. I pushed a 14 gauge wire through the middle of the Viking knit and put the bead in the middle. Even though it has a clasp that I made a clasp with the ends of the 14g wire, it is really stiff and feels like a bangle bracelet. I still need to do a little finish polishing before I take final photos and put it on etsy. I wish my photography skills were better, I spend a lot of time taking and editing photos, and I'm usually still not happy with them. I'm trying to make my photos a little more colorful with background paper; sterling doesn't really grab one's eye very well all by itself and I don't use much color in my designs.

A while back I purchased some alphabet stamps and experimented with them today. It's really difficult to get everything lined up straight and as you can see, I need a lot more practice! I can get about 3 letters lined up, and then the 4th letter is never quite right. Maybe I should just make some discs that just say LOL on them.

A couple of mixed metal earrings sold on my etsy shop this week, so I made a couple more pairs and listed them. Check them out on my etsy shop - link is on the right!

Beads have a plan of their own

I set out today to make a necklace out of a strand of lovely graduated sized turquoise beads and sterling spacers. I strung and re-strung and just couldn't seem to find an appropriate necklace design for them. While I was flinging the strand around, it landed on my wrist and looked and felt beautiful! The beads were telling me they need to be a bracelet, of course! I just needed to listen to them guide me.

It does seem that most of the time I make something, I go back and re-do it, sometimes several times, to get everything right - the right balance, color, shape, weight... While I sometimes find that tedious when I just want to get something finished quickly, I try to remind myself that it's all part of the process of making jewelry. It isn't about getting to the destination. It's about the journey. That's really what I love and find soothing about jewelry making.

My jewelry making day was made even better today because a dear friend joined me for the afternoon. She's a brilliant peyote beader! While we create, we more importantly build our friendship.

Frustration solved!

My quest to find a better quality leather has been realized and I've finished the bracelet. It's a far cry from what I had originally planned, but I like this so much better than my orginal design. And, I had fun making it. That's important to me because I have learned that even if what I'm making is for someone else, if I don't enjoy making it, it just isn't worth my time. I enjoyed this, and I think it shows!

Viking Knit - the middle phase

Pulling Viking knit through the draw plate - this is the really fun, almost magical part of making Viking knit! Starting with the large, hollow tube of weaving that I've removed from the wodden dowel, I pull the entire cord of weave through the largest hole of my draw plate. Then through the second largest hole, 3rd, and so on until I have the Viking knit in the width that I want it to be! It compresses narrower with each smaller hole size that it's pulled through.

Pull, pull, pull..and Voila! Beautiful Viking Knit!

Later this week, I'll oxidize the weave and attach a clasp to turn it into a finished custom bracelet. I'll post those photos later!