Getting Started with Viking Knit

I've missed working with wire lately.

Beads are fun and colorful, but the sheer volume can be a little overwhelming at times.  So many choices - size, shape, color, finish, etc.

With wire, silver, copper and gold colored are pretty much the decisions I have to make.  And I need to decide the gauge too - but that decision is usually made by the project I decide to make.

And the type of wire is typically decided by what I'm making as well.  Is it something that I've never tried before? Then I use copper or brass because it is inexpensive and I have oodles of it.

Is it something that works better with soft wire? Then copper it is.  That was easy!

This week, I decide to try making Viking knit chain - something I've never tried before. I really haven't done very much wire weaving at all, so this was definitely a little stretch for me.

Is there ever a bad time to learn Viking knit?  I don't think so and I'm sure the Vikings would agree.

Holding Tubular Beadwork - Cellini Spiral

I seem to be beading a lot of tubes and spirals lately.  The latest is this Cellini Spiral, which is a nice way to say tubular peyote with graduated sized beads.

It is fabulous though.  A bit of a marvel to look at, and surprising easy to create (the way beadwork should always be, in my opinion!)

It's been challenging trying the various tubular beadwork techniques, but the hardest part for me is maintaining tension and getting the tube started. For the first couple of rounds, it's hard to tell which row is which and the beadwork wants to go in a circle outward instead of a tube upward.  I think I've finally met the challenge and won though.

Native American Technique for Daisy Chain Stitch

Ah - this week brings me such a feeling of accomplishment.  I learned how to do something the right way that I had been doing wrong all my life.

I am talking about making beaded daisy chains, so the right and wrong classification is entirely subjective. But, I finally learned how to make the daisy chains using what I believe to be Native American beadwork techniques. And they are soooo much better.

Shall we start with a quiz?  Which two chains are made using the new technique and which are my old way?

Making Holes in Coins for Jewelry

Well, I promised myself I would get back to my regular blogging schedule, and here we are again. Yay!

 

Today, I figured I would write about making holes in metal, like coins or earring findings like these hoops.  It's a super easy thing to do with the right tools - and the right tools are definitely not a drill.  And of course, I'll show you the projects I made with each of these.