Shaping a filigree flower

I haven't been feeling very creative lately and energy's been low. For obvious reasons, really. But I thought I'd sit down and do something. Anything. Just to keep some spark alive. And that something was these filigree flowers. For these I've used white (painted) filigrees from a pair of earrings I bought at a sale for the sole purpose of butchering them.



Uhm, yes, sorry for the bad photos by the way. Must invest in some better coloured papers to use as background when I want to get pics of white things. Hope the orange/peach paper isn't too ugly to look at...


But let's return to the flowers. For my first flower I just wired five of the filigrees together. Looks like an old crocheted doily in the colour doesn't it? I wasn't that pleased with the result as it doesn't really look like a flower, which I was aiming for. Maybe it will look better when I bead it, but for now it just look like a doily.


So I had to make a new version and this time I wanted to shape the filigrees before stitching them together. Curving the pieces would perhaps make them more like petals. So I curved each filigree using round-nose pliers and stitched them together. I finished by curving the tip of each petal.

While I still think the shape of the filigrees aren't perfect for petals, I think this second version looks much better: the shape itself makes the design more "flowery" in appearance. Plus, making it more dimensional adds interest to the design.

As for the final design, well, I'm thinking of using light blue beads to the centre. Not so much for the sentiment "something borrowed, something blue" eventhough I envision this as a bridal project, but because the white is of a slightly cold hue. And the colours can look sweet together -- I've seen some very nice white and blue wedding gowns by a finnish designer.

R.I.P. Isse

I'd been thinking about blogging today. But I never thought I'd have to write this post. Me and my sis buried one of our cats earlier this day. Having more or less always lived with cats, it's not the first time I've had to do this. It doesn't get easier -- and I guess that's a good thing, would be horrible if it did get easy. He's now buried next to Dun, our oldest cat that died this winter.

Svartis was named after his colour: he was pitch black but for one white spot. As you can see in the pic of him as a young kitty above. He was born as no. 3 in a litter of five and I remember that because he was the only black kitten. First came two striped ones, then Isse, then two more striped kitties. Would you believe that kind of symmetry? It's true, it really is.

I say Isse or Isso because that's what we called him most of the time. Lately I've been calling him Ajse-Gajse as that's what I begun to say when I was feeling sorry for him when he got ill. So he wasn't 100% healthy these last years, but I really didn't expect him to die yesterday. Despite having health issues, he was a cat filled with energy, strength and good apetite. The evening before yesterday he went out as usual -- our cats are indoors/outdoors cats, mostly the latter -- but he didn't get home as usual. Home, yes, but as soon as I saw him I could tell he was dying. I began crying right there and then, seeing him so ill and without even the energy to acknowledge my presence the way he usually does. Couldn't even keep the flies from his eyes and body. I knew he would probably not live for many more years -- the bad days were getting more common -- but it was such a shock. I never imagined he'd pass so soon.

Isse was a lovely cat. One of the best things he knew was to lay in bed, under the blankets. Most of the time with us holding the tent up, but he'd sneak under there at other times aswell. He always did have a sensitive stomach and when he began to get ill, it too got worse. And that meant he couldn't keep sleeping in mine or my sister's bed in the way he loved to do. That's one of the things I feel most guilty about, apart from not being able to cure him, that we deprived him of that one thing he loved. The best way he knew to be close to us and at the same time feel cozy -- and safe from cats that didn't get along with him. The way he'd been doing since he was a kitten.




There's another way he was real special too. He was so strong and tough. Not as in a fighter, he was never a great fighter (his brother was always hard on him). But he had a toughness like no other cat, which you could see when he wanted to come indoors. Me and my sis share a small house on our parents' farm, living on the upper floor. When the cats want to come indoors they have to make us open the door. But not Isse. He knew a better way: if he could reach the gutters, he could jump in through a window, which was normally opened when the weather allowed. And if closed, he knew we were more likely to hear a cat calling for us if he was outside the window instead of on the ground.

But here's the thing: getting up into the gutters isn't that easy. He had to first scale the unstable trellis by the wall, then, from the top 0f this trellis, bend outwards -- as the roof and thereby the gutters protrude beyond the wall -- to get a grip of the semi-circle underside of the gutter, slowly reaching the paws up to the edge of it so he could pull up his body into the gutter. Then, finally, he was ready to jump in or call for us to open the window. (Of cause, until dad fixated the trellis, this caused a lot of noise so that even when asleep we'd hear him coming and we'd be prepared to open the window.) Dad used to reluctantly admire this eventhough he at first did not like it as he thought Isse would damage the clematis on the trellis. But the more he sat in the kitchen eating breakfast and watching Isse doing this day after day, the more he began to admire him and to overlook that the cat might damage his plants.

We've never had another cat doing this. A few youngsters have tried to copy him, but they always give up when reaching the top of the trellis. No one have the urge and the stamina to scale the gutters from there on. Dad says he's never seen a cat being able to -- or wanting to -- do something like that.

I'll miss him so much.

Finger crochet bead jewellery

I felt a bit nostalgic and perhaps even more inspired when I read a post on finger knitting/crochet over at The Beading Gem's Journal. I used to have so much fun doing finger crochet in school: it was so fast and easy to make that many kids got addicted to it. And they still teach this in school, with new generations falling for the same fun addiction.

So of cause I had to give it a try again after reading that post. I use the "looping method" described at e.g. Craftzine rather than the more common "weaving method". So I began looping my yarn, knowing I still remembered the technique -- though, just to be sure I wasn't remembering it wrong I asked my sis if it was correct. "Of cause it is, have you forgotten how it's done or something?", she retorted. Well, it was perhaps fifteen years since I last made a finger crochet snake so why wouldn't that be possible? Anyway, I hadn't forgotten: I've finger crocheted so much it's forever ingrained in my brain I think.

First (finished) piece I made was the simple bracelet above. It's made using a thick novelty yarn called Fiocco Oro by Gedifra (colour no. 6601), making the bracelet look less airy and loose than finger crochet normally do. Also, because my pinkies are so short, I found it much easier to crochet by just using three fingers instead of four. All pieces below are crocheted like this.


Then, of cause, I had to try adding beads to my finger crochet -- after all I do "regular" bead crochet as well as I've tried adding beads to my knitting nancy. I've got a lack of apropriate stringing materials for this technique so I had to make due with what I found, which was subtle enough to crochet and also thin enough to string beads on. I got out some pearl silk. I wasn't sure I had enough pearls strung so therefore only one loop on each turn was made with a pearl. I think the result is kind of nice (se below for more on the issues I had using this stringing material), but I suspect there'll be some of the same problem floating necklaces can have with beads migrating downwards due to the large loops.


That left me with enough strung pearls to make a matching bracelet. This time I added pearls on every loop, which made a significant difference in the result. Just too bad the pearl silk turned out to be a poor choice: if a loop becomes snagged, if so just on a finger nail, it pulls on the whole cord making big unsightly loops. So does some of the pearls themselves as well. A loop is easily pulled back into the cord, but really, you don't want a piece of jewellery that distorts that easily. Add to that the fact that these pieces, necklace and bracelet, keeps stretching! Ok with a necklace, but my bracelet is now far too large.


I wasn't about to give up my efforts to create a beaded version of finger crochet. This time I wanted to work in monochrome as it would highlight the texture and shapes rather than the cord itself. In the end, I got out some C-lon cord in black and strung matte black 8/0 japanese seeds on it. These beads are smaller than the pearls and together with the somewhat more rigid cord, the look is completely different from the pearl bracelet eventhough I used one bead per loop here aswell.

The stiffer stringing material also makes this cord stretchy, but not in the way the silk is stretchy. Rather, this cord is "bouncy" and when not worn it pulls together, almost like elastics when not stretched out. I think it'll stop doing that once I've used the bracelet some time and it's not a problem -- other than when you want to get a good pic of it. It's not slowly but constantly growing like my pearl bracelet; it keeps it's lenght and shape much better.


My conclusions so far are that finger crochet is a fun technique that can be used for jewellery that appeal to adults, it's not just a thing for kids. Just as with many other things, it's just a matter of what materials you use and how you use the finished cord.

Also, it is possible to add beads to the cord, but be aware that big beads can thug the cord so it distorts and note also that small beads can "sneak" through the loops: you can't expect a "perfect result" with evenly spaced beads as when using a knitting nancy, instead the beads will slide along each loop and perhaps even end up in a loop belonging to another bead. A good thing about using beads was that I found it easier to pick upp the string to push it over my finger when grabbing hold of the bead rather than the cord/string. (I use a pretty tight tension regardless of that technique I work with and it's not that easy grabbing hold of string that's sitting tight against my fingers.)

This will absolutely be something I'll continue working with, eventhough I'll probably not do it as often. If nothing else, it's a nice way of killing time or relaxing when I don't feel like beading. And, yes, I'll keep experimenting with bead finger crochet.

How I suspended a brass sparrow

I won this brass stamping in the shape of a flying sparrow at the Vintaj blog. The easiest way to use this stamping as a pendant is just to attach wire, jump rings or a stringing material of your choice to the corners where wing meets tail. The way you can see it done in Vintaj's own examples. I was playing around with my swooping swallow, not sure what I wanted to do with it. I had been interested in getting one to make Melanie Brooks' cool Arteria Arcanum Pendant, but I don't have the supplies to make anything similar.

Instead, when sorting my Vintaj loot -- som bought, some won -- I found some leaf charms I'd bought to make a necklace never realised. What if... I thought. Soon I had begun bending by leaf charm to make the suspension you can see above. Here's some instructions for how I made it.


First I put the charm through the corner of the hole between one of the wings and the tail, flipside up and placed so the leaves where pointing inwards and the loop was beyond the tip of the wing/tail.

Then I just bent the soft, malleable brass charm so that the leaves now faces outwards, laying over the loop. I pushed the two sides of the charm together to minimize the gap and thereby not risking the charm falling off. Then I repeated the steps with another leaf charm around the second wing tip.


I carfully manipulated each leaf, moving it to one side or the other while holding the rest of the charm still, until I felt they were in the right position. As I use the same charm on both sides and the charms are asymmetrical, I didn't want the leaves to look as though one was just an identical but upsidedown version of the other.


The holes between the wings and tail are so large I could use the charms as hook-and-eye clasps, hooking the leaves around the tail, but I was afraid the thin soft charms would too easily be bent when using the "clasp", which could lead to the charm snapping from metal fatigue.


Now I'm ready to make my pendant into a necklace. I'm thinking an all brass piece of jewellery here. Don't really know why, but when I look at it I keep getting associations to the 18th century. Not least when adding the "flowers" and leaves I plan on using in the necklace. Perhaps it's the leaves together with the shape of the bird (especially that tail) that reminds me of the motifs used in interior decoration and frames in those days. They'd use gold or gilded materials: this brass looks like patinated antique gold or gilding I suppose.

I'm still working on the details -- this is a work in progress -- but when I get that sorted I'll post a pic or two of the finished necklace. Let's see if I can keep that 18th C feel throughout the design process.

Old, but new -- when the child within is choosing what beads to buy

As a kid I did of cause love playing with my Nabbi/Hama beads, making all sorts of patterns on the plastic pegboards and then letting mom or the teachers at pre-school iron them. Most of all I think I made hearts and stars. And like most kids I also made simple necklaces and bracelets by stringing the beads on twine. (I used to chew them sometimes too: this was before I was old enough to buy chewing gum whenever I wanted.)

Then I grew older and put such childish things behind me. Sometimes I looked at the beads, but mostly as a slightly nostalgic note, not with any interest to work with the beads again. Well, that dragon-shaped pegboard was fun.

Fast forward to a few years ago. I'm into beads and active on the bead forums online when I encounter Emo, a woman who didn't outgrow the love for these plastic cylinder beads but instead became an expert on mastering not just the classic flat ironed bead technique but making bead "paintings" as well as 3D figures. At the time I would perhaps enjoy and admire her work, but I didn't feel that interested in trying it myself. Well, that PhotoPearls stuff perhaps, but not going back to creating ironed beadwork. So I did feel a little tempted, I must confess.


That's how I feel for a couple of years. What happens then is that Hama releases a mini version of the beads (earlier, they sold the standard "midi" size beads as well as maxi sized beads for younger children). These plastic beads are just 2,5 mm and much more the same size as the glass seed and cylinder beads I love. Just half the size of the 5 mm midi beads. The small size means you can make smaller motifs as well as creating motifs with finer details. That was what finally made me buy a package. I could no longer resist the temptation. Tiny hama beads, well, that intrigued me.

Still haven't actually made anything with the beads though...

Bead blog recap weeks 29-31

Ah, yes, I've got a few reasons not to write much lately, but I've sort of decided to begin blogging regularly (at Manekis Pärlblogg) again, starting this Monday. I sure hope I've got the energy for it back! While we're waiting, here's a recap of the last three -- rather unproductive -- blogging weeks.


Bead quizzes and tests
A few quizzes and tests related to beads for those of you who like to test your knowledge or just have some fun with personality tests. (American or Canadian? One like is to the Artbeads Bead IQ Trivia where you can win bead money.)

Swedish contest: Skärgårdsdröm
Bead shop Stareyes is hosting a jewellery design contest on the theme skärgårdsdröm, "archipelago dream" (should I explain the theme for non-swedes perhaps? Many urban Swedes spend the summer on boats or summer cabins in the archipelagos on the West coast or outside Stockholm.)

New blog design
Yes, I've re-design Manekis Pärlblogg as I'm getting ready to start blogging regularly again after my summer break. Feedback on the new design is welcomed.

Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Artists, Fall/Winter 2010
Margie Deeb has released her latest Color Report for beaders and jewellery makers. For those of you that want to stay updated with colour trends as well as those of you just looking for colour inspiration.

Vintaj Design Challenge, July
Vintaj is now accepting entries for the July challenge, titled Butterfly Orchid. As usual you'll find inspiration posts on the theme in their blog. Last day to enter is next Friday, August 13.

Bead Unique steampunk contest
More contests and more steampunk. Enter the Get Steampunked design contest for you chance to win a subscription to Bead Unique magazine and be featured in the mag. PS! Don't forget the SoftFlex Flex Your Creativity Beading Contest (click banner at top of blog entry), which also feature a steampunk theme this year.

Afghanistan jade

I did some accidental bead shopping in Helsingborg yesterday. In an effort not to begin calculating how much I spent I'm going to talk about something completely different.

This is afghanistan jade. Like many other "jades" it's not actual jadeite or nephrite, but a fancy stone called jade. According to Wikipedia, the reason for this is that the Chinese and Koreans use the same word for jade as for pretty/decorative stones in general. That is, anything fit for jewellery is "jade", or yu. Just using the word yu does not on it's own signal true jade, zhen yu, but if translated to English, the word for yu is jade. I don't really speak a word of Mandarin or Cantonese so I'll just trust the sources about this, but I have seen some Chinese auction listings that hint towards this being a factual source of confusion. (I also think it's an important story that can reflect that there are many reason a stone is called by a descriptive name, it's not just always that the seller is trying to scam someone as some people sadly seem to believe.)



Afghanistan jade is not the same as afghan jade, which is serpentine, according to the seller who says that the stone is most likely a dyed calcite or limestone [source]. In fact, unlike Afghan jade, Afghanistan jade doesn't even come from the country it's named after. I wasn't planning on buying this stone. I hadn't even seen it in the shop prior to placing my order, but then I saw it and thought it was pretty. The price was very reasonable so of cause I had to buy a strand.


I'm glad I did because these beads are very pretty with a lovely fresh green colour. A sweet colour that makes you smile. The beads are not uniform in appearance: the colour is very even, but there are natural variations in the stone. Most beads are slightly transparent while some are fully opaque. Some beads show lighter banding and a handful have light brown/taupe flecks. About three beads or so are half sand brown, half green. I'll probably cull those and use the all-green beads in one design and the sand/green beads in another: sometimes it's nice with colour variations, but sometimes I like a more uniform colour.


(That last pic is taken in strong sunshine: hard not to get all the colour washed out, but I think you can see the difference in opacity more easily in this photo.)