Sea glass bead choker

I now have a collection of small sea glass "beads" in a variety of colours. Common shades are deep to pale green, pale blue and white. Depending on location, brighter blues, yellows and reds (rare)can be found. Different beaches produce different shapes and sizes.

These beads, separated by Swarovski pearls, are threaded onto sterling silver wire. Width from LH bead to RH bead is 4".

Seaglass pendant

Another interest is making silver jewellery. It started as beadwork on silver plated wire but as my taste moved towards more elaborate beads I wanted to set them off using sterling silver. A few "how to" books set me off, and I was helped along by the videos by Luis Moreno on Youtube. I now have a rudimentary knowledge of cutting, annealing, forming, soldering and pickling silver. I'll never produce the fine work seen in jewellers' shops but keeping it simple ensures my pieces are unique.

This pendant started off as a piece of slightly curved sea-worn glass found on Redcar beach - 3.5" long. As it's so irregular in shape I found it difficult to work out what to do with it. The silver which forms the mount had to be annealed to make it soft enough for forming without having to use a mallet. I employed a cook's torch, and dinner spoon handles were used as "pushers" to form the silver around the glass edges.

The pendant is finished with a snake chain.

First up

Althought this blog is intended to share a range of craft experiences, my current fad is knitting, hence the blog title which is a reference to old sizes of UK knitting needles.

Latest knitted item - jacket using Noro Silk Garden yarn (silk/mohair).

Wheatsheaf jumper/tunic

This pattern appeared on the front cover of the Sunday Times supplement on 9 Dec 1984. I wrote off for the pattern (no online resources then) and made it up using an Acrylic/Wool mix. This is the second I've made, this time using Jaeger Matchmaker Merino which knits up beautifully.

I replaced the lower ribbed band with the pointy one you see here as I wanted the jumper to fall straight and not cling to my hips. I also added a higher roll collar and added my own "Thompson" mouse at the neck. In the photo I've pulled the neckline forward to show the mouse; this gives the impression the rib is slanting - it's not. The stalks are cabled, and the wheat ears are embroidered on afterwards.

The article in which this pattern was mentioned featured "The Knitting Bishop of Leicester" - a sort of religious Kaffe Fassett - and some of his fabulously colourful knitted creations.