Well, I still haven't found the right clasps to finish off those necklaces. Will have to keep looking!
So, now I have decided to move on to a bit of knitting! Back in November, I promised my boyfriend I would knit him a warm hat for when we moved to Wisconsin in January. Being me though, I have put it off until.... now. He actually mentioned this project this morning, so now I definitely feel obligated to start! I decided to use this pattern that I found on Ravelry:
Seaman's Cap Pattern
I have some incredibly soft alpaca yarn in a nice, dark red. Once I get into the actual knitting, I will definitely have to come back here with pictures!
I should also mention, this is not my first time knitting in the round, but definitely my first try making a hat. Here's hoping it turns out well!
Well, it's been a bit since my last post (bad me!), but now I have a few pictures to upload!
Managed to create a few necklaces, but sadly I realized that I have very few clasps... These are all in their final stages though! Just need to acquire a few different kinds of clasps.
So, here is the first one I put together. Didn't use any of the wire wrapped shell pendants for this one. I had a few pretty green glass beads laying around and since they looked so nice next to the copper wire, I had to put them together!
The next one I chose to assemble was one of the shell wrapped pendant necklaces. I also chose to attach a few hematite beads strung on wire as a few little accents. I really like how this one turned out in the end.
The last one I have mostly completed so far took a bit longer, but again I think it turned out quite well.
Yay! Still need a few clasps to finish these projects up, but I think they are turning out better than I had hoped!
Here is a handy tutorial I used to get the loops that I made using wire in order to string the beads on each of these necklaces. Using this technique it is easy to get near perfect loops every time!
So, I found this project to be quite easy and fun. I had a few different colors of jewelry wire in different gauges (16, 20, and 26). It was quite hard for me to shape the 16 gauge wire, so I think that I will have to wait on using it again until I gain a little more practice. The pieces are arranged in the order I made them. The ones on the left being my first attempts! I think they turned out okay.
This project is great for those who don't have too much experience since most of the crafting is pretty freeform. The 26 and 20 gauge wires were great and are easily bent in a design of your choice! Just play with it! You will need wire cutters as well as a pair of needle nose pliers to help with the shaping, but most of the work is done with your own two hands.
So, I am feeling pretty good about this first project. It didn't take me too long, yet I feel accomplished!
Hmmmm, thoughts for the next project? Well, since every pendant needs a chain to become a necklace, I think my next project will be to string each of these pendants on chains. Maybe add in some other decorative touches?
So, after watching the movie Julie & Julia, I felt inspired to make a blog. I rarely finish things, like the main character, and lately this problem has been making me feel quite worthless. This blog is for me to track and review different crafting projects. I have so many tools, project ideas, and supplies for knitting, jewelry crafting, sewing, etc. that have been languishing in the dark corners of my closet, under my bed, and hidden in the drawers of my desk.
It is time to make a stand and start using these things. I must get my house uncluttered!!
My first project:
Wire wrapped shell jewelry pieces.
I need to start with something small and easy to finish. As the proverb goes, "From small beginnings come great things."
