Just a few words

I have not been able to write this week, and I don't really know how much or when I'll be able to write again. These are very difficult times for me and my family; words fail me. I cannot find the joy in writing, or in making jewelry, these days.

It will return; I am confident about that.

Bo-ring!

Today was one of those totally uninteresting, but very necessary, organizing days. My desk is clear, I'm up to date on photos, and all of 2007 has been archived. Hooray!

I added a new piece to my Jewelry Tales blog; take a look if you haven't been there in awhile. I will be adding more as time permits; I was a bit behind on taking pictures and now I have quite a few queued up.

I'm feeling the after effects of organizing, and I need chocolate! NOW!

From Micro to Macro

Yup, that's me: inconsistent as all get out. Today, I made the biggest, heaviest necklace I've ever made; it is a graduated necklace that runs from about 3 mm in diameter at the clasp to about 6.5 mm diameter at the center. It is about 20 inches long; my favorite length. I resisted the impulse to add beads or gemstones to it; not even in the clasp.

I have not been wearing very many necklaces lately, but I think this one is going to change that.

Ooooohhhhh

Can you stand one more post on micro maille? I finished enough of the 22 gauge Jens Pind chain to make a bracelet; I am wearing it now and it is almost impossibly delicate looking on my wrist. I gave it the tiniest clasp I have ever made; it has a 3 mm pink tourmaline that actually looks large on it.

This chain is surprisingly strong; but then, Jens Pind is a very dense weave, and the aspect ratio of the rings used to weave it is very, very small. I will take photos in a day or two, but the photos are not going to do this baby justice. It's the size of it; the almost impossibly small size of it, that keeps me looking at it again and again.

Oh, yeah, this is why I do what I do.

I'm a maniac

A maniac . . . for maille! Yup, today I qualify as a maille maniac. I cut some itty bitty 1.75 mm rings from 22 gauge wire and wove them into the beginnings of a Jens Pind chain. These rings worked up into a very fine chain; it was, surprisingly, not that hard to weave; but cutting the rings without slicing myself was a real challenge.

I had to slow down. I'm not good about slowing down; I usually have two speeds: fast and faster. My lack of patience is legendary. But this chain is worth cultivating both. It's going to take awhile before I have a completed piece of jewelry at this size; I've had enough for today, and my chain is a mere 6 cm long. But it's so pretty! It will be well worth several days of work.

I started making maille about a year ago; it was something I'd always wanted to do, but I found it so very frustrating to learn on my own. I could not hold onto two pairs of pliers without hurting someone; and I flung rings across the room with abandon, sometimes even by accident. It was, to say the least, very frustrating. And then, a brilliant designer and very special friend, Jennifer Casady, walked me through creating my first piece, one little baby step at a time.

She even managed to convince me that aspect ratio was a necessary thing to consider. So I dedicate this one to you, Jen; however long it takes!