Pretty Good Jewelry

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Too much spam for an inactive blog.  You can email me at goodjools@goodsol.com

All jewelry is now gone.  Maybe someday I'll get back to making more.

Thanks, and see you around!

(Unofficial) Doctor Who Cookbook!

My friend Chris-Rachael is writing it!  I am very excited about it! Eleventy-one!!!!!!!

Here's a teaser:

COMING THIS DECEMBER!

Adventures in Spinning

It's all Diana's fault.  I was at Knit Night working on the Shawl-That-Never-Ends, when she started teaching the person next to me how to spin on a drop spindle.  It looked so cool!  I was sucked in immediately.  I went home & ordered a drop spindle & fiber.

This is my first drop spindle (purchased from Maine Woods Yarn & Fiber), with fiber I purchased from the Sheep Shed Studio.
      

Carol included some bonus fiber:

(I bought a few more spindles, too.)

Next, I moved up to a spinning wheel.  I haven't taken a picture of mine (her name is Judy), but you can see the model I have here.  Once I got the wheel, I finished spinning & plying this yarn:

The yarn was very uneven. I decided to knit it into a hat holding it doubled.

And that's what I've been doing lately.

My Quizzie is gone

and I am very sad.

http://www.asharewarelife.com/2010/05/inquisitor.html

When she was a young cat, she would play Fetch.  Lately, when I was in bed she would sleep at my head, switching sides if I wasn't facing the right way.  When I sat at my computer, she would curl up beside me.  She hated whistling, so she would always come when I whistled just so I would shut up.  The fur down her spine stood up in a spiked ridge & I always called it her FauxHawk.  I would tell her that she was the best Quizzie ever, the best Quizzie anyone could ever have.  And she was.

I really miss her.

What I'm doing now

Knitting.  I'm mildly obsessed at the moment.

Everything listed here for sale still is for sale.  If you have any trouble, please let me know.

Thanks!

My latest excuse

I have three pieces to photograph and post, and I need to finish going through all of 2006's pieces & put them on sale, but I haven't been doing any of this.  Instead, I've been reading up a storm (while still carrying on with the day job).

Why?  In February, I bought a Kindle 2.  I love it, and now I find myself reading more than ever.  In addition to buying books from Amazon, I've been reading free books from Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, Manybooks, and Baen Free Library.

I'll be around even if I don't update for awhile, and I'm always available for sales or commissions.

TTYL!

Keshi pearl necklace + earrings

Most pearls are formed when nacre is deposited around a small irritant.  Keshi pearls, however, lack the central nucleus and tend to be flat rather than rounded.  Being pure nacre, they tend to be highly lustrous.  (You can see my other pearl necklaces here, here, here, here, and here.)

These pearls are about 5 to 6mm in diameter.  I strung them with small gold-filled saucers, and finished with a gold-filled lobster clasp.  The necklace is 17 inches long, and weighs 0.5 oz.

I made hoop earrings to match.  The hoops are gold-filled, about an inch in diameter.  The earrings weigh 0.1 oz.

Price: $83 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Rainbow obsidian square-diamond bead-link necklace + earrings

Here's some gorgeous rainbow obsidian for you.  This is a really good batch: just look at that rainbow effect when the sun hits the beads!

I'm a sucker for that square diamond shape.  The diamonds measure between 20 and 21mm from corner to corner.  I joined each with gold-filled wire, and finished with a vermeil s-clasp from India.

The finished length is 21.75 inches, but you can wear it shorter by clasping the hook between two beads as shown.  The necklace weighs 2.5 oz.

I made matching earrings with gold-filled French hooks and vermeil charms.  The dangles are about 1.5 inches, and the earrings weigh 0.3 oz.

Price: $58 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Blackstone, onyx, & silver necklace + earrings

The large black beads are 10mm blackstone, and the smaller are 4mm onyx.  I love the contrast between the matte blackstone and the polished onyx!  I strung them with sterling silver wave tube beads, finishing with a sterling silver lobster clasp.  The finished length is 17.25 inches, with a weight of 0.8 oz.

I made matching earrings with sterling silver French hooks.  The little saucer beads are also sterling silver.  The dangles are about 3/4 inches, and the earrings weigh 0.1 oz.

Price: $24 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Lava rock, blackstone, and silver bead-link necklace + earrings

The three large black flower-shaped beads are lava rock.  Cool!  I bought the round matte blackstone beads to go with them.

The lava rock beads are 25mm across (about 1 inch), and the blackstone beads are 10mm in diameter.  The larger sterling silver beads are from Bali, measuring about 11mm in diameter, and the smaller ones are plain 6mm rounds.  I linked each with sterling silver wire, finishing with a Bali silver s-clasp.  The necklace is 17.5 inches long and weighs 2.1 oz.

The matching earrings are made with sterling silver French hooks.  The silver end charms are from Bali.  The earrings weigh about 0.2 oz, and the dangles are about 1.25 inches.

Price: $49.50 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Black "fire" agate & matte blackstone bead-link necklace + earrings

The lantern-shaped beads were sold to me as black fire agate, but it is actually agate that's been made to crackle & then treated with black dye.  I like it a lot, but if you want to see real fire agate, click here.  The round black beads are blackstone, which is a catchall name for various stones that are then permanently dyed black.  My best guess would be that it's some sort of jasper.

The agate beads are about 11mm in diameter, and the blackstone 10mm.  I linked each with sterling silver silver wire, finishing with a Bali silver s-clasp.  The necklace is 17.5 inches long, and weighs 2.0 oz.

I made earrings to match.  They're a bit on the heavy side--0.4 oz--and the dangles are 1.5 inches.  The French hooks are sterling silver, and the silver spacers and small end dangles are from Bali.

Price: $39 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Drusy & black agate gold chain necklace + earrings

I found these drusy beads at a local bead store.  The crystals on the surface are very fine and sparkly!  The largest bead measures about 20x25mm.

I used gold-filled wire to link the drusy beads with small black agate nugget beads, and I then joined the bead-link unit to my favorite gold-filled figure 8 chain, finishing with a gold-filled trigger clasp.  The necklace is 16.5 inches long, and weighs 0.6 oz.

I made earrings to match.  The wire joining the beads and the French hooks are also gold-filled.  The longest dangle is 1.5 inches, and the earrings weigh 0.2 oz.

Price: $39.50 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Square drusy & silver bead-link necklace + earrings

Druse is a coating of small crystals on the surface of a rock or mineral.  Drusy beads are beginning to be more available and this is my first experiment with them.  The sparkling crystal coating is on one side only, with the other side smooth.  The flat squares are 20x20mm, and the 25mm twisted links between are sterling silver from Bali.  I joined the links with sterling silver wire.

I finished with a Bali silver hook & eye clasp.  The necklace is 17.25 inches long, and weighs 2.2 oz.

I made earrings to match, with Bali silver hooks and headpins.  The dangles are about 1 1/8 inches long, and the earrings weigh 0.4 oz.

Price: $64 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Copper chain maille bracelet (Japanese 12 in 2)

I should have posted this bracelet earlier, but I only got it photographed this month.  After I finished this bracelet last fall, I took a vacation from jewelry & explored other crafts.  (I learned to tat, and if Geocities ever goes the way of AOL Hometown, this tatting site will be a sad loss.)  But it's past time for me to get back to jewelry!

This particular chain maille bracelet is done in the Japanese style, called 12 in 2 because each pair of flat rings has twelve vertical rings connecting to it.  The rings are copper, and I finished with a copper toggle clasp.  The bracelet is 8 inches long, 0.75 inches wide, and weighs 1.4 oz.

Price: $27 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Gray moonstone wire-wrapped pendant

I bought 10 pounds of gray moonstone rough this summer.  Not all of the pieces I tumbled are ready for prime time, but I quite liked this little piece.  I wrapped it in sterling silver wire.

The pendant is about 1.5 inches long, and weighs 0.3 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $16 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Black stone wire-wrapped pendant

I'm fairly certain that this is jasper, but I'm not willing to bet on it.  It came from an assortment of mixed stones that I tumbled this summer.  I loved the matte finish, so I pulled it out & set it aside to wrap later.

I used sterling silver wire to wrap it, and I had to be very careful, because if I rubbed the wire against the stone it left a silver spot.  The finished pendant is about 2 inches long and weighs 0.2 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $15 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Bloodstone wire-wrapped pendant

This is one of the stones I tumbled and polished this summer.  It's bloodstone, and I wrapped it in sterling silver wire.  The back isn't as neat as I would like, but luckily it *is* the back and not the front.

Anyway.  The pendant is 2 inches long and weighs 0.5 oz.  No chain included, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $15 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Green fluorite faceted round pendant

Here's some lovely faceted fluorite for you!  This stone is not flawless--notice the black speck at the edge in the one o'clock position--but it is gorgeous and fairly huge.  It's 24mm in diameter (that's just under an inch), and weighs 26 carats.  I set it in sterling silver.

The finished pendant is about 1 1/4 inches long, and weighs 0.5 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $35 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Seraphinite wire-wrapped pendant

I adore seraphinite.  (I have seraphinite necklaces listed here and here.)  I bought this lovely little cabochon from the same guy who sold me the cappuccino jasper I used in my earlier pendant.

I wrapped the cabochon in sterling silver wire.  The finished pendant is about 1 1/2 inches long, and weighs 0.2 oz.  I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $32 (shipping is free)

SOLD

Prehnite wire-wrapped pendant

Prehnite is one of my favorite stones.  I love the way it glows!  (I purchased this stone, but I'm happy to say that I've got a ton [not literally, just a bunch] of prehnite in my stash of stones that I polished this summer.  I will get to making pendants of it one of these days....)

I have prehnite earrings for sale here and here.

I wrapped this stone in sterling silver wire.  The pendant is about 2 inches long and weighs 0.6 oz.    I am not including a chain, but if you need one let me know & I can add one for about $14.

Price: $30 (shipping is free)

SOLD