I enjoy doing wire-wrapping quite a bit, and a few weeks ago to round out a supply order (needed new stringing wire) to get free shipping, I added supplies to make another bangle bracelet. I have to be careful making these, as I use a good length of wire to anchor the Swarovski crystals, and my cat finds the movement of the wire irresistible. She played with the wire on this one as it got shorter and shorter, and got more excited the shorter it got, so used her claws more, and wound up smacking my hand more and more as we went along. I finally had to chase her away so I could finish.
I guess you could say this bracelet got Cassie's stamp of approval.
Name: Bejeweled 2
Price: $25 (reason: Swarovski crystals and time spent)
Length: 8.5 inch bangle
I decided to give the twisted tubular Herringbone another try this week, having bought a pair of seed bead packets specifically for the project last week. I wanted to use a pair of colors that contrasted better than the colors I used last time, and I chose better quality seed beads so they would fit together more evenly.
I selected silver lined dark teal and silver-lined ice-blue (I really like the extra sparkle and richness of silver-lined colors). The ice-blue looks more silver than blue in the bracelet, though, but overall I'm happy with it. As with the other of this pattern, I stitched the ends together to form a clasp-less bangle. The colors remind me of the different shades sea ice can be.
Name: Twisted Ice
Price: $15 (reason: time and effort)
Length: about 8 inches
Five episodes of Planet Earth plus the "making of" diaries after each later...
I got the twisted tubular herringbone bangle done! I couldn't finish it the way the book said because I couldn't seem to get the bottom two rows (the starter rows) unwoven from the piece, so I had to make do with a slightly uneven connection. Good news is, if you don't know exactly where it is, you can't see it. The piece as a whole took me longer than I thought...I watched the entire Planet Earth season and all the diaries; each episode is an hour or so long, plus a fifteen minute or so diary. There are 11 episodes. Now that I've got the hang of it, however, it shouldn't take that long again.
Frustration: I was sewing the ends together and was nearly done when I dropped the piece and it yanked the needle. I instinctively locked my fingers, which bent the needle too far and broke it. That was my last needle. Now I absolutely have to order a new card of them, unless there's one in the bag of leftover floss and pattern for the cross stitch sampler I made Mom for Christmas...
Name: Twisted herringbone bracelet
Price: $15 to $20 (it would depend on number of colors used, size, bead type)
Length: about 8" circumference
I've learned a new technique over the last couple of days out of the book my boyfriend Dan bought me: the tubular twisted herringbone stitch. The book was a little vague at step 4, which is where the tube starts working upwards, so I had to experiment a few times. I finally got it to work, and intended to finish it for a dinner Dan and I had last night (this is going to be a bangle bracelet that ties into itself so no clasp), but then I broke my last needle. I had been running low on needles before the show in November and had bought more from my usual source, but broke all but one in a matter of hours. This needle was the last one of those--hadn't been used before yesterday. It snapped within two hours. I've never gotten a bad batch before. Fortunately, I found the last of the previous card of needles this morning, so hopefully by the end of the day I'll have the bangle done.
I made this pair of earrings a little over a year ago. I like them because they have a Celtic feel to their appearance, and I've always been a fan of the subtle patterns in blue lace agate. They were originally made for my Mom, who really liked the silver bangle when I made my sister her yellow Swarovski wire-wrapped earrings for Christmas, but they just wound up too big for her taste when I showed them to her. The rounds are 6mm and 4mm.
Name: Blue lace agate earrings
Price: $10 (reason: bangle pricing)
Length: 1.5"
