Rock On

Rock On

It has taken me awhile to get back into the groove of things. I've finished five projects this time. I made a necklace with knotted lace and Teneriffe lace,and also a bit of needle tatting. I worked the center pendant piece with an old poker chip and Teneriffe lace center around the edge that I tatted and added blue Chrystal beads. On the back of the chip I put a glass disk. As a result, I had to remake part of the necklace, because that made it too heavy for the thread the necklace was made of. I think it finally hangs better. Live and learn. This necklace is made reversible. 

 

The second necklace took longer to make than I had expected . I'm guessing it is due to the tiny thread it is made with. The center piece of this one is made with a nice carved bone disk. I tatted around the edge of this one . To the bottom I added a fringe of pear shaped glass beads and some round stone beads. Topped with a vintage triangle shaped bead and a bone spacer on top of that with some more small stone beads. On the necklace portion I used some tube shaped stone beads, then I used oval shaped stone beads spaced around and finished with a button and loop closure.

Third I made a necklace with a nice array of stone beads I had in my stash. The donut shaped stone was the inspiration for this one. I found it in a necklace at my favorite thrift store. I think it fit well together. The necklace part is made with some small seed beads woven between two cords. This one closes with a button and loop closure. 

 

The fourth necklace is made with another stone from the same necklace I found. I made it with a chain fringe ended with brass looking disks, and clay glazed beads on either side. On each side of the focal stone is a brass metal spacer bead, and also brass -looking filigreed piece from a belt. It is one of the links. On top of that I have a Josephine knot and then a wooden bead. I knotted the rest with four more wooden tube beads. I made this one adjustable, knotted with a heavy nylon cord. 

Last is an experiment of a knotted net around a stone. I finished the bottom with a few tear dropped stones. The necklace part is done with a knotting tool that has a two pronged fork. The finished project is a square cord that is sturdy, made with the same heavy nylon cord. My husband said you could use it as a weapon like a slingshot. I guess he's right. My thought was to put your favorite scent on it and the body heat will make it defuse in a subtle way.. This was a fun project. I call it “Rock On” thus the name of this blog.

This was a learning process as well as fun and frustrating at times. Hope you had some fun. See Ya!

Memory Work Come out to play

                                        

Memory Work

come out to play

A friend of mine Margaret Willis gave a lesson a few weeks ago on a Sunday and one of the points she made, touched me. She told about how she has gone to beaches all over the world, and it used to be her goal to find the perfect shell. So she overlooked the imperfect ones. Then she changed her way of thinking and began  to look for the beauty in all the shells she found. Many had imperfections chips, holes, rough outsides etc. She found  that even through the outside could be rough the inside was smooth and beautiful and full of light and color. 

 “As we look for the ways to turn our hearts towards others, remember that Christ-like care-giving does not take a lot of time or money. We can all afford to give five seconds of service by saying hello, showing a smile and giving a complement. This month, let us not only increase our feelings of charity, but also find ways to extend acts of charity to those in our midst. We follow the example of the Savior and honor the Good Samaritan as we serve others”

Margaret Willis

She gave us all a chance to pick out a

 

shell and she challenged us to try to give this five second service to exercise our spiritual muscles and learn hot to serve om small ways. The shell was to remind us. I picked out a shell that had a hole. Then I cam home and had an idea of a necklace I could make.

   I gathered up lots of small bits and pieces, and I began to build. I had an old earring I used as a base. Then I added a small metal piece I placed over the hole in the shell and in the center of that I put a pearl bead that matched nicely and held it on with a head pin and fastened it to the base in the back. I wired it all together. Then I attached an old shell

button on the back to cover the ends of the wire, I added a metal button on top and glued it there. Then I added a small chain and bead to the top and also a Celtic knot piece that came off of something I had made for my husband's pocket watch, which has long since worn out. Then I attached a brass chain that a friend gave me to make something out of.

This turned out to be put together like a play date. This was fun and I have my reminder to look for ways I can help others no matter how busy I am.

I'm also reminded about a necklace I made sometime ago that is also a reminder of my husbands mother. I  made that with bits and pieces I had. I like hoe it turned out. It's one of my favorites. Made from an old earring of hers. So look for the beauty around you. See you next time.

                                             

Two Too Blue

Two Too Blue

The beginning of this Year has Been a DooZy.

I'm hoping That I'm getting most of the negative done for 2013. First my back has been taking me for a ride. 

Not a good one. After some shots to the nerves in my spine I'm getting some relief. That is a good thing. This all started around Thanksgiving of last Year. 2012. Now we have moved into 2013. Just as my back started to get better. We got a flu bug. I just finished that up and then I got a cold. So I've been a bit Blue.

Things are starting to look up again. Yahoo! I've worked on two blue projects. I think it is interesting that they were blue. I was not thinking about that at the time. As I started to write. I thought, what should I title this blog today? It occurred to me that the two projects just happened to be blue. So TwoToo Blue it is.

This first piece came about from a focal point of a glass blue swirl pendant given to me by my neighbor. She thought I might be able to think of something to do with it. So it was born of brass wire and blue thread with different odds and ends of things I had lying around. They consist of glass beads,an old glass button, two metal buttons, some chain and leaves, and glass dangly beads. Come to think of it, the chain was also given to me by the same neighbor, the metal leaves were given to me also by a friend, and the glass dangle beads from another friend. It is that many times, through the tough times friends come to the rescue. This project is a bit disjointed and busy, but the fact is, I had fun doing it. That is the important thing. It helped me pull myself up. I think creation is a bit like that. It helps you to look outward instead of inward. There are three little glass beads hanging on some twirly threads that might remind us of tears, but they also remind me of life and water. We are off to a new year and a new start. Some of the old problems are still here in the “back”ground, but we will deal with them as they come, one day at a time. Also in the piece I used a small globe-like bead that is studded with rhinestones. It kind of reminds me of a party or a disco ball in that it is reflective. This is how we should go about life, reflective and looking for the brightness we can bring to the party. I hope you can see the bright spot of blue as in a break in the clouds, and enjoy the journey ahead.

The second project came about because I'm still trying to learn a lace technique called Punchetto. So I'll just roll with the punches and keep knotting along. Funny how things work together to make a new start. I had some thread left over from the first project, I just started knotting, and this is what resulted. A small little ring, decorated with a faceted glass bead and a bit of warm rusty brown thread in a feather stitch.

I've also been doing a bit of research online and came across another technique called Teneriffe Lace. I was able to download a book of that. Perhaps I'll show you some of that endeavor next time. My husband helped me make a sort of loom to work on that yesterday and put the book together in a small format so I can easily carry it with me. I guess I will sign off for now. Hope you had some fun too. See ya next time. Look for the blue spots in your sky. Enjoy the days whatever they bring. If we didn't have the dark clouds sometimes, we would not enjoy

the bright blue sky when it peeks through at us. Take care.