Copper and silver necklace

There'll be no review of 2018 or goals for 2019 from me.  I did so little craft last year, I can barely believe it.  I would like to craft more this year, but I'm not putting any pressure on myself, so I'll make what I make and post when I post!

I finished this necklace before Christmas.  I've shown you peeks of me making it.  In this post from March last year, I showed you a bit of the technique!  Making soldered chain IS a time-consuming process, but I'm also quite slow and made various other things at the same time!

It's made from copper and sterling silver.  I made large jump rings, soldered them and cleaned them up, then rolled them through the rolling mill to flatten them.  They were then hammered to add texture.  I then made what felt like about a gazillion small jump rings and soldered it all together.  I then spent a LONG time filing and sanding each and every link!

It is finished with a hand made and hammered toggle clasp.  I love it.  I love mixed metal jewellery and I love rings like this.  I'm not sure I'd embark on making another chain from scratch though!

Silver and gold necklace

I managed to start and finish a piece of silver jewellery in just a couple of weeks rather than a few months or a year or more!  OK, so I started it back in July before the summer break, but technically it was only a few weeks!  

I thought I had some process photos of this necklace, but I can't find them so maybe I don't.  I used argentium, which I used before making my brother's ring, and again I used pieces of my mum's wedding ring.

I pierced out the five pieces of argentium in varying sizes and cleaned them up.  I punched the circles from mum's wedding ring using the hydrolic press and my circle punch kit.  The original idea was to completely inlay them into the silver batons, as I did with my brother's ring.  After fusing the gold to the argentium, I loved the way they protruded, so decided not to roll them in.

I bought some thin tube and the omega chain, then cut the tube to fit the backs of the batons.  I soldered them in place before cleaning everything up.  I then cut more pieces of tube to act as spacers.

You can see them on the photo above.  Then it was just a case of threading everything on to the chain and resoldering the clasp.  Job done!  This is a necklace I will treasure.

Silversmithing - end of term

Silversmithing ended for the summer last week.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the last class as I fell down the stairs at work and badly sprained my ankle!  At the time, I actually thought it was broken, luckily, it wasn't, but it did mean I couldn't walk or drive.

There were three pieces I wanted to finish before summer.  The chain necklace I've been making for months which just needs to be cleaned up, I'm more than half way across.  This I could actually do at home, then just pickle and barrel polish it in September.  Secondly, the spinner ring which is a replacement for the one that didn't spin which was a replacement for the one that became too big!  And finally, a silver pendent using gold from my mum's wedding ring.

The pan-ultimate lesson brought some disasters.  See that raggedy bit towards the top left?  I melted it.  I heated it too much whilst annealing.  I had to file the whole things down.  I filed for about 90 minutes.  Ouch.

I took this picture about halfway through the filing!  You may notice that the join also split.  Oh dear, not going well!!

This is a new piece.  Sorry for the sideway-ness of the photos.  Apparently you can't rotate in Photobucket without it making a mess of the photo.  The bars are argentium, which I used in my brother's ring.  This makes it easier to attached the tiny gold circles which are cut from mum's wedding ring.  I used a hydrolic press with a set of circle cutters to cut such precise circles.  The idea was to attach them, then run them through the rolling mill to make an inlay, but I decided I liked them standing proud.  I just need to add tube to the back and clean them up and this will be ready.  Sadly, it will have to wait til September now, thanks to the fact I'm so clumsy!

Silversmithing update

It's been a while since I did a silversmithing update.  After the summer break, then a further enforced break whilst I had a broken shoulder, I went back to class in January.  

I've been working on the necklace that I started last year.  The copper was so tarnished it had to go in the pickle before I started.  I don't know what came over me when I decided to completely hand make a chain, madness!  The picture above is me trying to keep track of which rings were soldered, which ones were next and which grade of solder I'd used.  Solder comes in Hard, Medium, Easy and Extra Easy.  Hard has the highest melting point, so you start with this one.  If you solder something and it comes into contact with the flame again, you want it to be a higher grade so it doesn't remelt.  This would have been a lot easier to tackle if I didn't have a pattern to the chain involving copper and silver rings and larger silver rings!

I feel like I'm going to be soldering this forever.

For a bit of a break, I started another project.  Back in 2016 I made a fiddle ring.  I loved that ring and wore it every day.  Then I lost some weight.  None came off my ample behind or tummy, it came off my fingers!  Yeah, great, thanks body!  The ring no longer fits.  It was time for a new one.

I didn't have a long enough piece of silver, so I added in a copper section!  Since this photo, I filed it down and cleaned it up, but when I came to dome it (to accept the spinner ring), the solder cracked.  I'll be re-soldering this tomorrow night.  And hopefully finishing soldering the necklace... which means I have several months of filing and sanding ahead of me!

Soldering rings

I am rapidly running out of things to show you - hence the lack of posting.  I have this project on the go, and I finished a quilt yesterday which I'll show soon.  Beyond that, I have 2 half finished bags and that's pretty much it!  I honestly don't know where time goes these days.  I have less house work to do as I don't make such a mess as the ex did, so why don't I have time to craft?

Anyway, here's what I've been up to in silversmithing class.

Soldering rings!  That's an elicit shot - if my tutor had seen me take that I would have got a health and safety telling off!  I soldered tons of them.  Copper ones and silver ones.  The plan was to make a simple link bracelet.

I seem to have caught the solder just beginning to melt on this photo!

Here above is the pile of unsoldered rings and the two I'd done.  You can seen how the metal changes colour with the heat.

When they were all soldered I ran them through the rolling mill to make them nice and squashed.  I think this is 2mm round wire I was using.  I love the look of this little pile.

Next, I filed and sanded them, and then took the hammer to them to add some texture.

After making some smaller rings in silver, I dumped them on the table and my tutor remarked that they'd make a nice statement necklace rather than a bracelet.  I spent quite some time messing around the with arrangement, couldn't come up with anything so used some of them to make a bracelet instead!  It's almost finished so I'll show you soon.  I do intend to make the necklace too, I just need to come up with a design.

Finishing things off

Hello my lovely readers.  I am back.  I think I'm back, I suppose that remains to be seen. Thank you for your wonderful messages of support on my previous post, it's so lovely to know that people care.  My situation remains unchanged, some days are OK, some are horrible.  I'm struggling to differentiate what is grief over the end of my marriage, what is me missing Mr Ex-CA and what is depression/BPD.  Anyway, enough of that!

I've made plenty of things recently. I've been to a lot of classes (including 4 at the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show), however I've completely failed to take photos.  I'm going to remedy that soon, but in the meantime...

I made the clear and black version of this necklace in a class, a LONG time ago.  I then bought the components to make the aqua and black one.  A couple of years ago, as I was putting on the aqua one, the thread snapped and the beads on one side fell off.  Another day, the clear pendent fell off the necklace.  There they sat for years... I think it took me 20 minutes to fix them both!

I also finally took the time to hang some of the wall hangings I've made.  I bought some dowel which I cut to size and sanded with my Dremel.

This quilt got pride of place over the fireplace.  I love seeing it up.  I wish I'd put it up months ago as maybe Mr Ex-CA needed reminding of what I was going through...  (see the quilt here)

My large blackwork sampler went on the wall in the living room.  I felt I needed a narrowish space to hang it due to the shape.   I apologise for the photos, however there's no natural light in my house (I have film on the windows to stop people seeing in) and this was the best I could do.  (Much better photo of this piece found here)

Harry ended up on this wall in the dining room with a picture I bought for Mr Ex-CA and (just out of shot) one I letterpressed for him.  I'll be removing them at some point so Harry might move.  (See a post about this quilt here)

This hanging was placed next to my ceramic hearts in the first floor landing.  I can't get a front-on picture as that would involve me falling down the stairs...  Again, it's pretty murky and the hall (along with 70% of my house) really needs doing up!  Any keen DIYers who fancy coming round? (Better picture of the quilt here)

This post was quite painful to write (though I don't really know why), but I'm glad I'm blogging again.  I'll be back soon.

more finishing

As I mention, a lot, I've not been crafting much outside the classes I take with mum, but I have been doing something, I've been finishing a few things off.

I made these enamelled copper pieces at the Manor House hotel, 2 years ago now.  You can see the original post http://thecraftersapprentice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/manor-house-enamelling.html.  They have been lying in my jewellery WIP box ever since.  I'd open it, look at them, put them back and forget about them!  This time I took them out so I wouldn't forget and they sat on the table for a couple of months instead!

I made each one a different pendent, using various pieces of chain I have.  I often buy fancy chain at craft shows and this seemed a good use for it as it can overwhelm a beaded pendant.  I've forgotten how to spell pendant again.  I could have made kumihimo or beadwoven straps for them, but I quite like them simple.

In my last finishing post, I showed you that I'd finished this goldwork piece.  I had to order an embroidery hoop for it as I wanted a 4" hoop but only had 3" or 5" ones at home.  Then it took me an age to decorate it as I wanted to paint it but couldn't find my paints anywhere.  I still can't find them and, as I'm sitting here typing this, I remember where I put them!  Too late now.  I decopatched it instead.

I chose red, gold and silver papers and stuck then down in the same order each time.  I'm not sure if this will damage the embroidery, but then it's hardly a heirloom piece and I don't have any heirs anyway!

Finally, I finished these pieces.  I made a really long red kumihimo cord, then cut it into two.  I threaded a bell flower on the necklace piece and made the other piece into a double-wrap bracelet.  I'd be nice with some charms on it so I may add to it at some stage.  The necklace on the right was actually made by my friend Kerry, but the ribbon was too long.  I'm short and very chesty and long necklaces looks stupid on me and are probably dangerous with the way they swing!  I shortened it by a few inches and added new ribbon clasps.

Now I just need to buy some red clothes...

More finishing things off

I did a post a few weeks ago about some languishing UFOs which I'd finally finished.  Well I've finished some more.

This bead embroidered pendent was made in October 2015, you can see the original post here.

When I was putting pendents on chains the other week, I tried this one on a chain, but it wasn't right.  it needed something different.  I thought I'd try a beaded rope so I got out some suitable seed beads and my copy of Seed Bead Stitching by Beth Stone.

The photo above shows the samples I made.  On the left is a spiral which just didn't look right, I can't remember what the middle one is, and the one on the right is a peyote tube.  I really like the peyote tube but it was too big for this pendent.  Instead I chose a tri-stitch from Bead Play everyday, also by Beth Stone.

I didn't take a close up of the beaded chain but it is quite delicate.  I've worn this a few times recently.

I can't find the origins of this project.  It was cross stitched a long time ago, at least 4 years I think.  All it needed was stuffing and the turning gap sewing up.  I'd neglected it so long as I'd cut the linen too close to the seam and it was fraying.

I put lavender in it and sewed it up as best I could.  It now lives in my knicker drawer so I don't suppose the messy seam matters.

Finally I have this rather strange bunny to show you.  Again, I can't find a post about him, but I think I made him before my nephew was born and he's 4 now.

I made the pattern up myself, I have no idea where I got the idea for such a weird bunny from!  The pink bits on the ears are appliqued and I embroidered a face, but I used a pale pink so it's barely visible.

All I had to do on this fella was stuff him, sew up the turning gap and sew on his tail.  There were three different pompoms with him so I selected the one below.

I wasn't sure what to do with him, I was just pleased to get him out of the UFO basket (or rather drawer, though I do have UFO baskets, and bags and piles...) so he lives with my Jellycat bunnies in the bedroom.

I've got to keep on top of this finishing off, I must have scores of UFOs... 

Finishing things off

It will come as no great surprise, after reading the post title, that I've been finishing things off.  I have various projects half finished lying around all over the house.  The majority of them are so very nearly finished, they just need a little something adding, but I never get round to doing it.  I have more jewellery items almost finished than anything else.  I was sick of moving a load of pendents I'd made round the house, so I decided I was going to finish them.  

I'm not sure I've ever shown you this before.  I can't find a post about it anyway.  It's made from two Luna cabochons placed back to back.  I have no idea what they're made from but they feel kind of rubbery and the glow to them is incredible.  The pattern was from a magazine and it wasn't until I got going that I realised my cabs were smaller than the ones in the pattern. 

I finagled it anyway, it's it's just been sitting waiting for me to thread a chain through.  Yes, really, that was all that needed doing!

I took loads of photos as I was trying to get the full effect of the Luna cab.  The beads that form the bezel are delicas.

Do you think that's enough photos of this one piece of jewellery?  No, just one more?  OK...

The next pendent only needed a chain putting through it too.

You can see the original post here.  I haven't been sitting on this one for long at all, I only made it in June this year.  Or rather posted about it in June this year, so it could have been made in May or even April!

The next one, I'd forgotten I'd made!  I went down a slightly different track here, using a suede cord to hang it from.

The colour just matched so well.  The picture above is very dull, the one below is much better.  You can see the original post here, I posted about it in September 2015 so it was made sometime in the couple of months before September.

Again, I took loads of photos, but all had their various plus points and none of them were perfect!

Finally, I added more chain.

The original post is here, these Herringbone Bell flowers were made around October 2015.  A single green one.

A triple blue one, and there is also a single red one but I had to make a different kind of hanging for that and it's not quite finished...  I hope it doesn't end up back in the WiP pile for another 6 months!

Good going, I just need to keep up the momentum!