Crocheting A Necklace

I recently learned to knit and have been knitting up a storm all winter long. I have found the knitting videos very helpful when I get stuck on a specific type of stitch or need to review what I have already learned. I have wanted to try crocheting with wire so I bought myself some fine gauge artistic wire in silver, gold and brass and added some stunning swarovski beads . I was very happy with the results and plan to make some beautiful pieces with pearls and perhaps silver beads . Now that I can crochet, hopefully I can add some trim to the next sweater that I knit.

An Interesting Proposal

I was recently commissioned to make a necklace for a customer who lost a loved one and would like to carry the ashes around her neck in a sealed vessel. She informed me that she had seen the above necklace on flickr.com and would like to hang the urn type pendant on the handmade necklace instead of the spiral that is usually the focal piece of this design. I didn't think this would be possible since I do not not solder, but apparently she has someone who will seal the ends of the tube that I will hang from the necklace. I came up with the above piece to hold the ashes and hope that this is what my customer had in mind. We all need a little challenge to get the creative juices flowing. To be continued...

Afghan Jade Necklace

Well thanks to the help of some kind people on Etsy.com, I was able to get some information on the stones I purchased in Tucson.(see this post) Apparently both the dealers were correct when they told me that it was Afghan Jade, which is a type of serpentine. I was very pleased with the way the first piece of jewelry made with these interesting stones turned out. The smoothness of the stones and earth toned colors seems to be further enhanced by the carnelian center bead and the two kinds of brass findings I used to finish the piece.

I gave this necklace to one of my closest friends for her birthday and she was very pleased. There is nothing like a handmade gift for a special occasion. I look forward to making another piece of jewelry with the remaining stones and will share them here when I do.

Name That Stone!

I purchased these wonderful matte finished beads from a dealer at the Tucson gem and jewelry show in February . He told me that the green and yellowish stones were jade from Afghanistan. I loved the colors and shapes and the stones were so reasonable, I decided to purchase the strands you see above. Recently , at The Whole Bead Show in Manhattan and saw the very same beads and the dealer told me that the stones were serpentine. If any of my readers out there can identify these stones I would be greatly appreciative. Tomorrow I will feature the lovely Serpentine or Jade necklace I made with these stones.

Marvelous Mineral Oddities

Amazing shapes and colors! Hand Carved Turquoise Wild West Scene

A Favorite Cartoon Character

An Amazing Arch and Maze

Where Did He Go?

I was fortunate enough to attend the final show at the Tucson Gem show in February with a friend Robyn Hawk who I met through an online jewelry forum. She acted as my personal guide and give me a tour of the wonderful exhibitions of this year's show. The theme was mineral oddities and we marveled at the amazing shapes and stones on display. these photos give just a small sampling of the wonderful exhibits we saw that day.

Paula Radke at the Tucson Gem Show

I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the booth of Paula Radke at the Tucson Gem and Mineral show last month. For those of you in love with dichroic glass, not many artists can hold a candle to the beautiful designs and work done by Paula.

Dichroic glass is defined by wikipedia as "glass containing multiple micro-layers of metal oxides which give the glass dichroic optical properties." Wikipedia states that"The main characteristic of dichroic glass is that it has a transmitted colour and a completely different reflected colour..." The color of the glass changes according to wavelenghts that are either reflected or pass through the glass. The results are dazzling.

Spending time in her booth was truly exciting and I walked away with some gorgeous glass that I can't wait to use in my designs. If you haven't seen Paula's work check her website and enjoy!

Turquoise

Before leaving for Tucson, I had resolved to purchase some turquoise and wanted to buy authentic turquoise ,not the stuff that has been ground and glued together. Fortunately , I read the blog of Robyn Hawk who also participates in the bead on a wire forum and followed her advice to visit the booth of Stephen Mauldin. There, not only did I find some beautiful beads from the Castle Dome and Nacozari mines but Stephen had some great stories to tell as well.

While looking at the beautiful strands of turquoise he had displayed in his booth, I came across one that different from the rest. It caught me eye and I asked the price. He seemed quite surprised that I was holding this strand and explained to me that it had been missing for quite some time and he thought that perhaps it had been stolen. Apparently, this strand came from the Castle Dome mine that was closed in the 70s due to excessive blasting from the copper mines. It is part of a stash of over 3,000 lbs. of Castle Dome turquoise that was sold when the mine closed. Stephen was smart enough to purchase this beautiful turquoise and that is the reason I found this lovely strand. From what I read, Castle Dome is still mining some turquoise, but it is not the same quality of the older turquoise before the mine closed. I haven't decided whether or not I will keep the strand to make something for myself or not. At the present time , I am leaning toward keeping it. Stay tuned to see what I did make with the other strands I purchased. The beads are very similar to sleeping beauty turquoise and are a bright, clear, (little or no matrix) robin's egg blue. Stephen has just opened a website where you will be able to purchase some wonderful things. I know I will be doing just that in the near future!