Playing with wire...

I've started playing with wire again after a fairly long dry spell. Here are two experiments, done in copper wire because I refuse to experiment in silver these days. :) The stones are encased in needle lace. The first picture has two cabs done in standard needle lace:





while the second picture is an agate encased in buttonhole style needle lace.




I like it, but it's a bitch to get going. The wire keeps sliding off the smooth stone. The first time I tried it, the damn thing got so big I ended up making a little cup for the stone to sit it. (the small agate on the right). I may try painter's tape for the first row...although that will have its own challenges.

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Happy B-day, frodo_jim!

More jewelry stuff...

I got some semi-decent photos of some of my other recent projects... Photographing jewelry is a major PITA. I'm having difficulty getting the lighting right.

Silver oak leaf pendant. It really IS silver...I just used liver of sulfur to give it the autumn leaf patina. I made it in a class at the Puget Sound Bead Festival when I went out to visit Monkey Girl. Started with sheet silver, cut and pounded and soldered. I'm happy with it!




Pod Ring. Also from a class at the festival. Not really my style, but there's some cool weaving on the sides, and I'd never made a ring out of wire before. :) I'm including two pics, because one is a close-up, while the other features Usna, my baby who won't sit still for photos! OK, so it's only the top of his head, but that's more than I've gotten before. :-D





Finally, here's an experiment (note the copper!). It's a woven bezel made for a cab. I think it turned out pretty damn good for a first attempt.