Sleeping Beauty as a Viking

I decided to splurge last week and buy a strand of very nice Sleeping Beauty turquoise nuggets from MagpieGemstones, along with a few other goodies. I had a particular design in mind, combining the turquoise with some red coral I had on hand for a Viking knit piece with a Southwest look, but when it came down to it, I just couldn't bring myself to combine the two stones. That look may appeal to some, but it just doesn't look "right" to me, so at the last second (seriously, I had to "back-out" a stitch and remove one chip of coral), I substituted baroque white pearls, which I find a better accompaniment to turquoise. Here is the result:

And how about some earrings to go with that?

Viking knit bracelets

Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it?!?  I began making these bracelets over a month ago and have only just now gotten around to posting them!  They are basically miniature versions of the necklaces I made earlier this year.  They look rigid and triangular, but actually sit comfortably on the wrist.  The Viking knit portion stays on top of your arm and the other segments are strung on flexible Accuflex wire that curves around the wrist.  They are easy to put on by yourself and stay put once on.   I am having a hard time deciding which one I want for myself!

Turquoise Set

I made this set last week and used my new photo studio set-up for the photography. I must admit that I am thrilled, THRILLED, with the result. I think I am getting close to figuring out how to configure my lights in order to get this look. I have two more photos of older work ready to post, but I think I will spread it out over the next few days, so come back to see the pretties!!

This necklace is 5-stitch Viking knitting with the turquoise chips worked into the weave. I didn't make it long enough, and so had to add the links on the ends. I thought the result would be awful, but I find that I like the effect.

"Tabletop" Photography

I finally received my tabletop photo studio and have figured out, more or less, how to configure the lights in order to get decent photos. The entire studio consists of a white nylon fabric light tent and four lights with natural spectrum CFLs, purchased from Steve Kaeser Backgrounds on E-Bay. Overall, I am quite pleased with the quality, especially of the lights. The stands are sturdy and the lamp bases have nice on/off switches. The only thing I had to get (so far) was the appropriate surface and background. I went to a picture framing shop and bought a piece of non-glare glass (there IS a "right" side and "wrong" side) and used a large piece of black paper that I had under the glass. In the photo above, the surface looks grey, but that really is a piece of black paper under the non-glare glass!

After much repositioning of lights, I finally took some photos that are decent. I am still trying to figure out how to get rid of the uneven whitish reflections, but I will get there! And even though this is a "tabletop" studio, I don't have a table big enough for it! It currently sits on my basement floor, as you can see!

Here is one of my newer pieces, photographed in the new set-up. The center is 8-stitch Viking knitting with turquoise chips, and the side chains are 4-stitch Viking knitting and a strand of turquoise. This one came out a bit long. I may try it again with shorter segments.

Tornado Hoops with Turquoise

These are my version of a pair of earrings I admired on JewelryLessons.com. The artist's version is full of color and utterly delicious; I love them. I don't have many small gemstone rounds or rondelles right now, however, so I used some of the smallest turquoise chips that I have. The silver was oxidized then buffed. This is also the first time I have made closed hoops. I have no idea why it has taken me so long!

Some Eye Candy

I keep thinking about posting, but life get so amazingly busy, that it drops off the end of the "to do" list. I have some new work to post, but no photos yet, so in the mean time, enjoy the Eye Candy!! Honestly, the gemstones look like real candy!!