Time to Relax

The absence of posts on my part has been because I have been extremely busy for a number of months working and doing two courses for the Craft Yarn Council (one for knitting, one for crocheting) to become a certified instructor at Michaels.  The two courses which occupied 6 months of my life while I was also working two jobs are now complete and I have passed!

During that time, the only other creative work I was doing was for jewelry courses I was teaching at Michaels.

 

The heart necklace was supposed to be a bracelet but I thought it would look much better as a necklace.  I taught the technique to my kids.  They made the smaller hearts on the ends, so this necklace has special meaning to me.

After my coursework was completed, I got back to a project a friend had commissioned me for in the fall, but I had to put on hold because of work and course load.  I am very pleased with the results and so was the client and the girlfriend he had me make it for.  I created the turtle myself from various beads and Nymo D beading thread.

And now, I have gotten back to knitting again.  More pictures of recent projects to come in the near future.

Pharaoh Watch Pendant and Necklace

Here is my latest creation.  My husband gave me this gorgeous Pharaoh watch pendant on a necklace many years before the kids were born.  As years went on, the plating on the chain came off and I reacted to the nickel content in the chain.  For a couple of years now, I kept meaning to make a new necklace for it.  I gradually gathered beads I liked and decided to go 3 tiers on this one.  I’m very pleased with the results.

Now, for Something Completely Different

As the description under my blog title says, “a few other crafts thrown in for good measure”; this one is macramé.

My kids have me wrapped around their little finger. Anything they want Mommy to make, Mommy can do it (well almost – I had to decline the request for a knitted a Spider-Man outfit for Halloween because of the whole "day job" thing).

My daughter requested a bracelet be made from her seashell bracelet/necklace kit with a few other miscellaneous beads thrown in. My son got in on the beading action, too (I'm so proud of him). I did the macramé knotting. Notice my thrifty use of a cushion actually intended for bobbin lace making (I will get to that hobby one day, really I will; I have the tools and books and everything).

Why am I using a bandage to hold the macramé down? Because someone had me open a bandage for no good reason so rather than throw out the unused, now non-sterile bandage, I gave it a purpose. Sometimes, my thriftiness is a scary thing. The adhesive on the bandage is great to hold the other end of the work down and has been re-used several times already just for this purpose (no humans were injured to use the bandage).

I’m using the read bead at the end as a clasp. Ta da! The recipient is quite happy.