A welcome distraction

I am still on holiday, and although my head is full of ideas for new designs I am determined to make the most of this break, so today we enjoyed a two hour walk with our dog.

I would like to share some of this sunny but cold and frosty stroll from our home


Having walked up the lane, across the fields we found ourselves on the bridge over the canal































We then slid down the path to join the disused railway

This buzzard flew out in front of us and across the field to the top of this tree
couldn't resist trying to capture this image















The only plant we found in flower was this gorse.
























































We eventually left the railway line and walked up a woody lane






























And then down a hill past this















Following the public footpath which led us through a garden , and across more fields including this harvested maize field































And then back along the canal to the lane. and home again to smoked salmon sandwiches, well it is still our Christmas holiday!

In the light of day

As the pictures of the Christmas decoration were so dark yesterday, I thought I'd try again in day light. So here goes:

I experimented with lengths of strips before making the decoration and was left with a spare strip, I don't like wasting materials so I folded the strip in half and sewed wire along open edges, I then used the remaining wire to make a loop at one end to make a pendant.

My Christmas decoration is completed at last!

Thanks to Daisychain Jewellery for reminding me about a simple paper Christmas decoration which gave me the idea for this knitted version.
The photo is really dark, but if you click on it, the image comes up slightly better. I love the way the light catches the tiny gold seed beads.

The instructions for my knitted version can be found below.















You will need
1 reel of 0.315mm coloured wire vivid red or colour of your choice.
seed beads gold coloured or colour of your choice
3mm knitting needles.

Thread 1920 seed beads onto your reel of wire.
Cast on 42 stitches, include one bead per stitch.
Knit 8 rows include one bead per stitch,
Cast off include one bead per stitch.

Repeat.

Then knit two strips of 30 stiches, two strips of 18 stitches and one strip of 12 stitches.
Arrange strips so that shortest is in centre and other strips are attached in increasing length order each side.

Use wires left from casting on and off to join strips together and then twist remaining ends together to make a hanging loop.

A jewellers work is never done

So there I was thinking all I have to do now is knit a decoration for my home, when a customer phones asking for a last minute order before Christmas so decoration has been put on hold.

Thought I'd have a play with my dog before setting to on order, bad idea, hand got caught up with spectacle chain as throwing ball and snap, spectacle chain ended up in two.

I need spectacle chain for tonight, but no beading thread at home. I do though have some wire.

So I thread all the beads except the bugles onto wire and crochet a chain.

As lovely as it is I have decided it is too fussy to have up around my face. So chain will have to become a necklace.

Plan B, I found some small glass seed beads, so I have crocheted a much more suitable chain for my glasses.




















Now I can get back to my order and hopefully the Christmas decoration will get started on tomorrow when I am at the Gallery, although Saturday in the Gallery could be busy.

Make it personal

Last night I attended my last booking before Christmas;
I held a jewellery making workshop for a local W.I. group.
One of the attending ladies brought her daughter, Beth, with her. Beth was wearing her name necklace she had received from me at her birthday party earlier on this year and was very keen to show all the ladies, so I thought I would show you a couple of others. I make these on a range of coloured leather and they have been very popular at events I've attended over the last year or so, as I can make them to order while my customers walk around looking at the other stalls.

Let's go Victorian

This has to be one of my favourite events of the year.

The Victorian Christmas Fair in the wonderful setting of St Lawrence Church in Gnosall.

I would like to recommend this event to you for next year.

Memories of the School's Hebridean Society came flooding back as the singers sang good old favourites such as 'My Grandfathers Clock' and 'You are my Sunshine' but that's a story for another day.

We were really well looked after this year by the 'Friends of St Lawrence' being offered drinks or relief from manning the stall throughout the day, so unusually for this type of event I was able to have a good look around at the other stalls and spend money.

It is a shame this is so dark, I became very excited at this stall, weaving on sticks,
my mind is now full of new possibilities.

Watch this space.

There's no stopping me once I get started

Living in a wonderful rural part of Britain as I do, I regularly enjoy spectacular views of Buzzards flying out from hedges along the road in front of me as I am driving to and from my workshop, never though have I had one fly into my windscreen, until today, that is.


So there I was keen to get back to share pictures of my completed jewellery with my blogging friends when out of a hedge flew a large buzzard, straight towards my car, carrying its very heavy prey, so heavy I could see it was struggling to get the lift it needed to clear my car, It all happened so quickly I swerved to try and miss it, but it still managed to clobber the top left hand side of my windscreen, such a noise!, I stopped, I was ok, a little shaken but ok, the windscreen is still in one piece and the Buzzard flew off into a nearby tree, I couldn't see the prey at all, no doubt it retrieved it once I had driven off.




















So safely back at home and having checked the car over again, I can now show you a couple of sets I made today with some of the dichroic glass.

Postman has just been,

I've been waiting for these dichroic glass beads all week, so I'm off to my workshop to play again, just in time for the Victorian Christmas Fair in Gnosall on Saturday.

The large pendants will be hung from Sterling silver snake chains.

The oval glass beads will be used to make necklaces and matching earrings along with some Swarovski crystals and other glass beads.
I will post the end results later.

First sign of Winter

To see more of the same, please look at 'Views from my Garden Gate' blog















Working in the Gallery again so time to play.
Celebrating the first frost of the winter















My ice inspired bracelet.
Using 2 different coloured wires, I started crochetting and twisting wire and beads, and as usual let the wire lead and see where it takes me.
















The finished bracelet;
Necklace is almost finished