Warning my friend in Latvia, I may mention snot...

Hiya ladies.  Wow, what a response I got to my last post, I'm so glad so many of you agree, I was a bit worried that I'd alienate the entire blogland and be a pariah, never spoken to again.  I haven't got round to replying to everyone, I'm not ignoring you, it will happen at some point.  And stop worrying about my foot.  If it is broken, it's fine, you can break your foot and just leave it, it's like a nose.  But without the snot.  I also got a comment on my Nesting Box post from the designer of the project, so exciting!

Now, back in November last year when I went to the craft show at the NEC I showed you some mesh tube made from very thin knitted wire and threatened to make something with it.  Clearly that didn't happen, until last weekend.  Sometimes I'm just so quick on the uptake, it's a wonder my feet don't leave the floor.

I'm not sure what came over me but I had the sudden urge to make these flowers, and then I couldn't stop.  I pretty much used up all the mesh tube I'd bought.  Want to see a close up?

I'm really pleased with how they turned out, so I made them into brooches in the hope that I might be able to sell some at the Craft Fair in December and maybe even in my online shop if I ever get a chance to upload them.

So, you'll be wondering what I made them with?  Well I'll show you, but first I have to apologise for the photo.  I can see you reeling with shock, I mean, my photos are always crap so why the apology for this one?

Well, it wasn't taken on a purple/white piece of wood for a start!  The photo was underexposed, or maybe over exposed, as were all the original photos I took of these flowers.  Instead of retaking this photo when I reshot the flowers in a different room, I just fiddled with this in my photo editing programme. Would you believe it originally looked worse than that??

Anyway, as you can see, it's a knitted mesh tube made from very fine wire.  It starts out shorter and wider and you have to pull it from each end to make it skinny and tight, you can then pull it out, shape it, twist it, turn it and play with it to make ... stuff.

I had enough tube for 2 or three from each colour, less from the ones I used to make leaves. I tried to vary them, some have 2 leaves, some have 1, some have none!

And some have an inner ring, between the central jewel/pearl and the main flower, I don't know if you can make it out in the photos above.

They were pretty easy to make, once I'd got into a rhythm of it.  The first few took ages to get right, but after that, some just worked straight away.

I've kept a couple back as I've got something else in mind for them.  I hope to show you soon, so make a note in your diary around July next year to come back and see if I've done it!  I've still got loads more stuff bought at the Craft Shows to work with, it's about time I got on with it!


P.S. what do you think of the photos?  Better?  I'm happier with them than my usual fare.  Feel free to be brutally honest, I can take it.