YOJ09-20 Viking Knit Ring

Viking Knit Ring (2009)
Fine silver, malachite, howlite
Nalbinding, single knit, constructed, cold joined

I finally got back to writing this week!  I have six tutorials to write in preparation for my class in Haliburton in July.  So far I have completed writing the draft on one of them.  Photos and actually putting the tutorials together are still outstanding.  I’m keenly aware of how quickly the time is going, so a few weeks ago I decided to put Tigger into daycare two days as week.  That is giving me several hours of uninterrupted work time, since it co-incides with the days that Thumper is in school.  What Heaven!

Usually I make the project, writing the steps as I go.  Then I put the text aside for a week or so, come back to it and reconstruct it following my instructions.  If I stumble on any part of it, that means a rewrite is in order.   Refining continues as I take the photos and do the layout.  Lots of work… which means I gotta start makin’ like a bread truck and haul buns…

This week, I was working on instructions for viking knitting.  I experimented with incorporating 2 and 4 mm beads, which led to a screw up – err… “Design Choice” – when I went to draw the chain.  I ended up having to take the chain apart, but salvaged enough to make this ring.  It’s been an interesting experiment in timing myself as well – construction of enough chain to make a bracelet is taking a little over 2 hours.  Adding the beads was just for my amusement, and won’t be part of the final instructions.

More photos:

Bridal Commission

Flotiste Headpiece Final Flotiste Necklace FinalBack in December I was contacted by a lady who wanted a bridal set based on the Musicali Necklace.

She wanted the necklace and a headpiece based on the necklace.

Since she was getting married in Scotland, she also wanted two Celtic-style pendants for her attendants – one based on a shield with a malachite bead, and another based on a treskele with garnet beads.

Flotiste Treskele Flotiste ShieldI got a follow up email from her at the end of last month. She was very happy with all of the jewellery.

Apparently the dressmaker loved the jewellery so much “she refused to allow me to put any kind of embellishment on the dress, because she said the necklace and headpiece were already the perfect compliment to it, and would take away from the overall effect.”

Here’s the bride wearing the headpiece and necklace, and another shot of the bridesmaids wearing their pendants.