Soldered necklace

Steps…uh…1ish through 4ish of making a piece of soldered glass jewelry. It is to the point where the glass pieces with the collage inside have been wrapped with copper tape. Next is the fun part…heating the up soldering iron and melting things!!!

Now I have soldered the edges, added the jump rings, and antiqued the small ones. Some of the black will come off when I polish them, and they will be a little shiny again. Going for the whole ‘look what I found under the floorboards in that old house’ look, so we’ll see. The small pieces are going to be a bracelet, the large ones are destined to be a necklace. Next comes chains, beads, buttons, crystals, shells, dingly-danglies (that’s a techy term)…whatever I find to stick on them.

Well, no matter how I poked, prodded, and pushed, the bracelet parts would not co-operate. They decided they wanted to be a necklace, and that, as they say, was that! So here they are…they got their way, and became a necklace. I hate it when the inanimate objects win…and they do that a lot!!!      ...sigh...

I love the way this looks...the glass pieces turned out great! Not happy with the way it hangs, though, so I will probably be taking it apart and changing the shape. In the words of my hero, Flo...happens to me all the time!

Tatted works in progress

This is a bracelet, tatted with size 10 black crochet  cotton. I like the shape, and the charm, but I don't like the looseness of the stitches. It's soft and rather floppy. I think I will use a smaller diameter needle next time.  I also discovered and fell in love with Lizbeth tatting thread since I made this. Lizbeth has more body, is slightly glossy, and looks really elegant.

Size 10 crochet cotton again, in kelly green. I will block and stiffen them (which should improve both the floppiness and the distortion) and put them on pinbacks.  My grandson wanted 4 leaf clovers for his teacher and room mom, so I designed these for him. I thought they were too swirly at first, but they grew on me! He loves them, so I guess it's all good!

Now we have the Lizbeth size 10 thread in evergreen. It has a little stiffness to it, so the final product lays beautifully, and isn't floppy. It doesn't really show in the photo, but it has a slight gloss to it which is very pretty. This is a filigree piece adapted from a doily pattern. The dime is to show the delicate size of the stitches. I haven't figured out how I'm going to finish it. Sometimes these things have to percolate awhile!

Now for some color! This is a choker, done in a single row of split rings with pearls. I used Lizbeth size 10, leaf green medium. You can see the gloss a little better here. When I get to the other end, I think I will stitch on a cross bar so the closure is a simple toggle and ring. I love the color of these pearls! Oh yeah...this has an almost invisible, shiny Kreinik blending fiber running through it. That's what the pearls are on, since the drill holes are too small for thread. I like the sparkle it adds, and the pearls fit on it!

This is the current design I am working on. It's a finer thread that the other ones, Lizbeth size 20, done on a fine needle. I love tiny, fine stitches! It's hard to see here, but I have worked tiny hexagonal glass beads into the pattern. (After all, I started out as a beader!) I love the way the design is coming together, but am rewriting it with a couple of modifications. I think it will lay more nicely if I change a couple of the join points, and swap out a couple of the beaded picots. Prototypes are always a little awkward, and I always end up making changes in how I first write the pattern.

Things I get to play with...

I was playing in my rock and gem trays the other day, and thought they would make pretty pictures...so here they are!

Amber, Hematite, Ocean Jasper, Ruby Fuschite, Bronzite, Onyx

Labradorite

Lava, Botswana Agate, Unakite, Pietersite, African Green Opal, Hemi Jasper, Aquamarine, Moss Agate, Shell

 

Rose Quartz, Mother of Pearl, Rainbow Moonstone, Black Gold Amazonite, Aqua Calcite, Purple Imperial Jasper,

Cultured Pearls, Stick Pearls, Blister Pearls, Ceramic Moon Jar

Sponge Coral, Branch Coral, African Ruby, Carnelian

Turquoise

Shells