Accessorising

No garments today - aren't you glad! I got something finished that I planned last summer, though, a birthstone necklace for me. After buying the supplies from Jewellery Maker (in September!!) I couldn't think exactly how I wanted to construct it. My August birthday gives me peridot as my stone and as I love green? Perfect. Pretty, no?

The other stones are faceted snowflake obsidian and peacock pearls. The pearls and peridot both have tiny holes so needed something fine to use for construction. They have been snuggled away in a basket waiting for inspiration and when I spied Chook's roll of tigertail wire the other day I was blinded by simplicity.  

 I just threaded them on in groups of three, alternating the order of the end beads and separating them with a little double Sterling silver seed bead. The lock came in a kit with other findings, it's unnecessary for function but adds a nice detail. I adore the lustre on those pearls and am so chuffed with its understated bling.

And today these came. Chunky Mary Janes to wear with all my new wardrobe skirts. They make my feet look tiny!

And, yes, that's skull buckles. Coz why wouldn't ya? *g* 

Now I really should go and cut out the collar for another Ondee sweater. Although due to the cotton jersey this one is more of a t shirt - I'm not sure about it but am finishing it anyway!

Wee makes

More little makes from me today. You know when your list (mental or otherwise) becomes clogged up with lots of wee things that won't take long but that just add to the length of the to-dos? That's where I've been at. So.

I made a drawstring sock knitting pouch from zombie hunter fabric from Dolores about a year ago and a recent(ish) parcel from her had the Valentine's Day version. Well I need another wee bag for my knitting. I like the pattern here at In Color Order. Sorted! As ever, thank you for my stash, Dee!

My mum asked for a bracelet for a birthday gift for a friend. I'm pretty sure most of these beads came from Archie - they were perfect, thanks buddy!

And I put the bottom on my kitchen curtain yesterday.  It was a boring, thankless task but it looks so much better now the curtain touches the floor again! And I do rather like the contrast piece. 

It's also a finish on my finish-along list! (proposal is here) That's my third finish - it feels so good to get stuff moving!

Journal Your Christmas day 17 - done!

I am rather surprised to be so well organised today - for a while there at the start of the month I was slightly panicky about things being ready for Santa. But the makes are all done including two birthdays! My brother's guitar strap I showed last week, this is the jewellery I made for his wife. 

The chain was made by wiring loads of smokey round and red agate nuggets onto little cuts of wire and fastening them all together. Then the big agate connector was hooked in and the whole lot wound with leather and then dotted with little peach moonstone dangles. 

Kumihimo made the base for the bracelet but instead of wire the agates were threaded onto waxed Irish linen cord. The magnetic fastenings are glued in with a textile glue I have and they are going nowhere! I also whipped up a little ring to match.

Here they are together - sis-in-law likes orange!

So I have one birthday to finish (my dad's) but I've a bit of time for that yet. 10 days or so. And there's not much left on my to-do list.

Wrap Chook's presents.

Clean the house.

A spot of baking maybe?

I even picked up pet gifts today and everything else is wrapped and ready to go. So much so that I sewed a skirt earlier in the week! It helps that our turkey dinner isn't at our house this year (hullo, Mum! *waves*) so there's no food to plan. What a great feeling!! How 'bout you? Done yet? Or done in...

Christmas jewels

Way back in the summer in the first flush of our jewellery making, Chookie and I decided that my mother-in-law might like some of our creations for her Christmas. I bought a very her black and white agate heart cabochon and had a notion to make a pendant. And there it sat until last week where I finally decided what I wanted to do with it and, well, did it.

The setting is a wirework braid using five lengths of 1mm wire and the ends form the bale for hanging.

My braiding could be neater but I'm actually really pleased with it. I think it's wearable, anyway.

I made the kumihimo braids, too. The bracelet has a raised twist effect which suits my mil's more flamboyant tastes! I made the bale and eyepins with the same spiral design to match (there's real possibilities in this wire business) and added an obsidian, smokey agate and lavender pearl for some bling.

The ends are glued into magnetic stoppers with some of the Gutterman textiles glue I have for purses. I tried to take one off a different piece the other day to no avail, they really are stuck fast! And that's another tick on my list, we're getting there! 

Two forward, one back

You know when everything is difficult and nothing just falls into place? That's where I'm at just now with the Christmas making. I had good intentions of making nothing this year for gifts and, well, I just kept seeing things that would be "perfect for so-and-so" and ended up with a list and no early start. So I'm under the kosh a bit and very little is actually finished. I also can't actually show you much so this is a bit of a pointless post except to sympathise with other slightly frantic makers.

This pendant for my mother-in-law needs a kumihimo chain run up (this is just a 3 inch test piece) but I'm waiting on more cord arriving. There's a bracelet, too, and I can show this once it's finished. Hopefully this weekend.

Six of these chaps. I've quilted tonight so just binding to go! Almost there but not quite, I need to buy a half metre of something suitable at the weekend. 

This pretty stack needs to be a quilt in the next 28 days. Yikes.

A couple of scarves (although the cats voile is for me!! It can wait...)

But I HAVE finished these. But can't show you. They're awesome though! Even if I do say so myself.

I also have a hat and scarf and and socks to knit and a table square and a guitar strap to sew. So I may not be back before the big day. *grins* It'll be fine!! Onwards!!

Birthday jewellery

My mate Biff had a birthday yesterday so a few weeks ago I decided to make her some jewellery. I really wanted to do something using her kids' birth stones so had picked up some amethyst and emerald nuggets from JewelleryMaker.  There were a few false starts until I remembered the Irish waxed linen I had bought. Knotting it is then!

And a wee pair of earrings, too? Why not.

That'll do nicely.

They were well received, I think, and I was pleased enough with them that I have another couple planned for Christmassy things. Result!

Blogtober day 3 - the emergency jewellery set

I was caught out earlier in the week when a family member's big birthday was several weeks sooner than I thought it was. Oops! Now, knitting and quilting are fairly slow crafts but jewellery making? That's relatively quick - an evening and you're sorted. So ear rings first. The stones on the bottom are frosted agate and the little ones up the top are poppy agate. Awful pretty IRL.

And I made up this kumihimo braid into a wee bracelet to match, again with the two different agates on the bail. 

Both together. 

I'm quite chuffed with them and they were well received so thumbs up all round. So now I'm back to my coat along (my muslin is coming along nicely) and I may have started a new triangular scarf/shawl for the winter. Always something on the go!

Jewellery makering

Well after my lovely stash arrived a few weeks ago I started making bits and pieces of jewellery. The quickest and most rewarding are definitely rings - it's amazing what you can do with a length of wire and a bead or two! Six of these have been sent out to other peeps, some as rather awesome little swaps - I have goodies to show in another post! 

This is my first Christmas present. The agate rounds and chips were wired onto separate pieces of wire, wrapped and fastened together before winding the leather cord through the holes. The big agate connector is also wire wrapped on. It was time consuming but such fun - I have plans for a same-but-different bracelet to match, too.

And I also finally tried Kumihimo. It's basically a way of knotting cord to make a bigger cord. A bit like friendship bracelets. This is the round loom they are worked on and this is the start of the bracelet to match the above necklace. This pattern gives a round tail.

So you can make it up to look like this. Chook did this one (I helped with glueing the ends into the bullet tips) and it was incredibly quick and satisfying. More to come, for sure!

And my last goodies were these strands. That's peacock pearls, peridot (my birthstone) and snowflake obsidian. A simple strung necklace for me is planned - I seem to have bought everything else with the intention of making for others! 

There really aren't enough hours in the day for everything I would like to make! But I am only 9 rows away from finishing my lace shawl!! Whoop!!

I blame Archie.

I know a lot of you know Helen (who I will insist on calling Archie, sorry, mate. #notsorry) and I put the blame for my latest obsession firmly at her feet. You see, last week she sent Chook and I these beautiful beads after kindly remembering we'd done a little jewellery making last year.  Aren't they fab? Well they immediately sparked a gift idea which, natch, I can't show you. But I needed a few supplies to finish my vision (#pretentious) so turned to my guilty pleasure, Jewellery Maker TV.

Along with the wire and chain a few other things fell into my basket with the intention of making some Chrimbo presents.

Quite a few other things. (#whoops)

And Saturday afternoon was spent in a blissful haze of wire and gemstones. This is my first ring - not a perfect creation but good enough that I'm wearing it at work today - that's an agate in the middle.

And Saturday night was spent with "Pitch Perfect"  and lots and lots of agate rounds and nuggets and 2 inch pieces of 0.6mm silver wire. The wee dangles are peach moonstone and fiddly to make but too pretty not to.

Chook, of course, knocked the ball out the park. Her amazonite ring, in particular, is sellable. Not that we plan to, it's just that neat.

So, Archie, thanks a bunch. You may have created a monster. But we'll be a prettily bedecked monster, eh?