the Akamai Knitter

I actually finished this bracelet last night, but it turned out to be over an inch too big with the clasp I chose. So with the moral support of my trusty friend Shelly, I did some surgery on it and now it fits perfectly.

No modeled shot as holding the camera in one hand to take pictures is just too challenging for me today. ;-P

I made one like this before, but I really wanted a purple version. I chose different finishes of basically the same color Swarovski Crystal and silver Charlotte seed beads.

Charlotte seed beads have a “single facet” that really add that extra shazzam I always look for.

Another ingredient that adds extra shazzam is the clasp.

I’ve had that clasp for awhile now and it’s just been waiting for the right moment to be able to fit into the final piece of the puzzle.  The photo doesn’t really portray how well it looks in person though.

Although I love this piece, once again, I’ve failed to impress my furry friend. Maybe it was the suggestion that I make him one as a collar that did it?

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

It is Wednesday right?

Yeah. It’s been one of those weeks.

I was so out of whack yesterday I completely forgot it was Valentine’s day, so a belated Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you.  It was also Chinese New Year’s so a belated Happy New Year as well!

I spent the day watching The Wire – Season 5*, knitting, and making some jewelry.  Some of it I can share with you, the rest will have to wait as they’re gifts to certain persons who read this blog.** *

Actually, I can only share one piece with you.  It’s a charm bracelet.

I admit to having a bit of  a skull/skeleton fetish, so I couldn’t resist those Day of the Dead charms when I saw them.  It’s just too bad they’re too big for stitch markers!

The stones I used are Black Jade, Blue Goldstone, and Swavorski Pearls. At least I think those are Swarovski Pearls. They were just floating around in my stash with no label.

Don’t you hate that? Mystery beads and mystery yarn really get my goat.

As for the knitting, I’ve made some progress on the beret.

I think I’m achieving slouchy. I hope I am at least.

o.O

Sammy is meditating on the state of slouchy.

Happy Monday, everyone! Hopefully the majority of you are enjoying a day off. :)

*This is my second go around with The Wire. I just can’t get enough of West Baltimore. At least from a distance.

* Some of my friends and I decided to exchange gifts on Chinese New Year’s instead of Christmas so we’d be less stressed over the holidays and we figured we’d be able to get them out on time by then. The less stress worked. The being on time thing? Not so much.

Do you remember these little suckers that I made way back when?

I finally put them to good use and I now have a bracelet I can wear about town when I’m out and about.

Once I was done with the beads themselves, all I had to do was simple stringing. Only I’m not very good at simple stringing.

Which is why I didn’t do a close-up of the toggle area.

Instead I give you this.

For once, Scheyer is actually giving this one the benefit of the doubt.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Have a good one. :)

Yesterday I was in a not so shiny mood.  Kind of a “I see the colors and I want to paint them black.” You know the song? It was no big deal really. We all have days like those and it soon passed.

What I did with all that energy though, was experiment with this.

I didn’t take any before pictures, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say that these earrings were really shiny before they were turned into this.

And this bracelet was mighty shiny before morphing into this.

I think if I ever do a big piece like that again I’ll need to use a bigger applicator then a Q-tip to get a more even look. In fact, even though it’s much more matte and even looking in person I might go over it again.

A bit about the bracelet, I made it over a month ago at (where else?) but The Bead Gallery during their Cuffcake Class. I got to use this gigantic roller machine to emboss a completely flat piece of metal with a pattern. Then I hammered that flat strip into a bracelet shape.  I love to shape metal with a big ol’ hammer so this was much fun.

I would have posted about this bracelet earlier,  but I normally oxidize my pieces with hard-boiled eggs. Although environmentally friendly, this process can often give unpredictable results. Like the finish will be uneven or the piece will only turn brown instead of black. I also find all this rather tedious.

With the Extended Life Gel, all I had to was apply a little bit of it onto the piece with a Q-tip then let it set. The bracelet blackened in less then 5 minutes. With the egging method it would have taken at least 20 minutes, sometimes more if you have to repeat the process.

Normally Liver of  Sulphur is considered toxic if it’s not disposed of properly, but with the gel you use so little of it, it becomes much more environmentally friendly. You can even use the rinse water to oxidize jewelry!

I also made a ring yesterday.

I haven’t decided whether or not I want to antique this one yet. I’m leaning towards oxidizing it. Thoughts?

Here’s another look. (Excuse the haggish hand.)

I think the next time I make this ring, I’m going to leave out the beads above and below the central focus bead. Unfortuantely I’ve run out of the type of wire I need to make those coils, so that’s going to have to wait. :(

In the meantime, I have lots of wire in other gauges to do many other things.  Not to mention the fact that the spinning wheels are still crying for attention and I just bought some yarn to make my mother the Daybreak Shawl.

I also have my once a year jewelry show on Saturday. I need to get ready for that.  By the way, I’ll be taking all my inventory from the shops. So if you have your heart set on something you might want to get it now. I’m not positive that I’ll be able to make more before Christmas.  I think I can? But I’m just not 100% sure.  I’m also not sure how well I’ll do at the show, but you never know!

To all you Americans out there I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a happy Wednesday to the rest of you! :D

P.S. There are no cat pictures because they all head for the hills when I take my camera out. Bastids!