All done

Stretched and pinned….

And ready to wear

What next? This.

My to do is almost to done

Aaaaarrrrgggggh. That is the sound of my impatience. Or more rightly, my impatience being shouted down by my “if you’re going to do it, best do it properly” muse.

As per my last post, I’ve now replaced the plastic beads with prettier ones….they do look much better but boy do my fingers hurt! Straightening aged end pins enough to get the tiny red seed bead off, not to mention the big round white and brown ones turned out trickier than I anticipated. As did bending them back into shape when I’d replaced said beads. But I think it was worth it?

And here they are in close up

I attacked the charms with brass cleaner and the hearts have come up particularity well I think. And I think this is the order I’m going to put them on, with the ank in the middle.

So why have I not finished?

Well, I decided to go with suede cord crocheted into chainlink to hang them from, as the one metal chain I had was too silvery and all my wire is either silver or green and I thought it wouldn’t look right against the brass charms and brown-toned beads. So I used my 4mm hook and chained a good length, trying as hard as possible to keep the cord straight and flat. But the natural stretchiness of the cord means I need to dampen it and flatten it overnight before I string everything on it. Like I said. Aaaaarrrgggh!

So that’s tomorrow’s first task – at least I know what I’m doing when I get up in the morning!

Today’s to do

I used to have this choker, bought from a second hand market.

I wore it a lot, and then the clasp broke. I fashioned a repair. Kind of. And then when I relocated it got left in the other house and I got used to not wearing it. Fast forward 18 months to our reuniting….and I’d kind of fallen out of love with it. Well, not so much the bits as the main – the chain just felt wrong. So I got to thinking a little while ago, that I’d take it apart and remount it.
So I did.

But now I’ve taken it apart, I wondered if that was enough. I debated actually replacing the linkage but have talked myself back from that and instead I’m just going to replace the plastic-looking cream and dark brown beads, so now I’m just unsure of two things – what colours and what necklace?
I’m looking at browns and greens

So my question, dear readers, how to string it? I could crotchet a chain with brown cord or maybe with wire. I could recycle another necklace and use that. Or I could do something I’ve yet to think of but you’re about to tell me…thoughts in a comment highly appreciated!

Recycling, up-cycling just not bicycling

Firstly, for those who’ve been along for the rid on the nest front, we’ve had two mornings of pretty hard frost in the last few days – like ‘having to scrape the car before I can see out’ frost. I’ve been worried about the my little egg guys, but yesterday saw mum and dad partridge very close to the nest, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’re checking in and know what they’re doing. So there’s that. And while we’re on the subject, we have a new addition to the window feeder – a blackbird. No-one’s told him it’s not meant for birds his size or weight and after a few bad landings and watching the others, he’s now got it figured out and manages to land and squeeze himself under the roof and eat all in one relatively graceful movement. He has also learnt that his tail wont bend no matter how much he tries to squish it against the window so that he can turn round. Smart guy. There also appears to be some kind of queuing system in place along the drystone wall amongst the blue tits, wagtails and bullfinches. The robins don’t seem keen on it, they’re queue jumpers, flying in from the other angle. Sneaky.

So on my to do list over the next couple of days is something thanks to my friend Annabel at work, who kindly donated some unwanted jewellery to anyone who wanted it. I picked three pieces and have plans….sort of.

I’m thinking this pretty stone is going to become the pendulum piece in a wind chime, if I can find some little tubes when I go to the hardware store tomorrow. I’m thinking crocheted metalwork frame, and suspending the tubes either with clear fishing line or actually making it a feature and using ribbon and then either ribbon or crochet chain and bead up to a hanging point. It’s one of those “I’m not going to know until I start” things, I think.

This bracelet is going to have several new lives! I’m looking at the little charms for…well, I don’t know yet, something will need charms sometime, I guess! The silver spacers I’m looking at for a necklace in crocheted wire, so it passes through and then fans back out, and also as a base for some biggish carved wooden beads, wrapped in fine wire. And the stones themselves can be used as centre points to a bracelet or necklace, I think.

The other bird’s nest

I’ve made a couple of these, one for me and one for a friend. It’s been a good way of experimenting with different thicknesses of wire – thicker works better than thinner. I like the browns and greens for the “eggs”. (Oh…eggs…maybe I’ll make some for Easter gifts…)
I am still struggling a bit with the jump ends though, but am having more success with some from one shop as opposed to another so it may not just be my inability (though if anyone has any jump end failsafe instructions I’ll gladly hear them!)

And as for the other nest? Five eggs still present and correct. Keep watching.

And so it begins

Such a long time away. Sometimes it’s felt like it’s been too long to come back. But then I think it’s a Catch 22; with nothing to bog about, I won’t craft = with nothing to craft for I’ll have nothing to blog.

So here I start once more. Putting behind me the pressures of work and life that have kept me away. And trying to move on from the hardest part – losing my sweet little Toby.

I find that sometimes, when the bad happens, you just have to wait for the good. Well, maybe not good as such, just something opposite to before. Sometimes it comes the next day, sometimes you have to wait a week. I seem to have had to wait months. But I think it’s here.

I came home from work on Friday to see my tulips had emerged from nowhere.

Pretty, sure, but not enough to change everything. I went to have a look….and found this.

After a bit of research, it would appear that the Grey-Legged Partridges that like to wander about the garden and peck at the TTs alloys (they seem to prefer it to the Peugot. Not unlike us.) have decided that between the raspberry canes and the tulips is the perfect spot for building a nest.
This may also explain why the Grey-Legged Partridge is on the RSPB’s red extremely endangered list. But I figure I’m being reminded that life goes on. (Of course, if they don’t hatch, or get foxed/stoated/rated/etc) I’m going to feel crap, but I’m trying to be optimistic.

So there we are. New life, new start. And some spring flowers in my garden.