Going crazy over wire knit

It's not new that I am addicted to knitting with wire. Of course I am just as addicted to wire crochet and bead looming, but a while ago I had to grab a little bag with cabochons and start experimenting with wire knit again.
The beginning is usually the same. I take my crochet hook and knit a bezel for a cabochon. I could just as well crochet one, but the knit stitches are easier to shape around cabs and more open which also makes it easier to add something to the bezel.


Let me show you the different variations I have come up with lately.

For this pendant I used a cab and tiny smoky quartz beads.

I started knitting onto the top row of the bezel using a little bead in each stitch for three rows, then I fixed this part to the bottom row of the bezel and added an extra row for safety.

That way I could open up the stitches around the quartz beads to make it look as if they are almost floating around the center.
It is available here.

This pendant is completely different. I called it pillow pendant because the setting feels like a pillow if you squish it. That is the result of three disks added to the cab's bezel. If you look close, you can see the one in the middle peeking through because it's a gunmetal color. By crocheting all of the disks together on top you get this bowl-like look with the cab sitting in the depths.
You can find it here.

In this case I also used tiny beads, seed beads this time. As you can tell they are worked right into the knit bezel, however, and there is more than one in each stitch which makes this a very tight looking bezel. I did that because I liked the contrast between the dark hematite rock and the bright wire and beads.
If you want to see more pictures, you can do so here.

I really had fun with this little piece. It was my second attempt to put two cabs into one setting and keep both of them there without one slipping or sliding.
A flat little black agate is sitting on top of a howlite cab. It's not glued or stuck on there, it's simply held by the tension of the bezel. I manipulated the stitches on the howlite to let it shine through better and make the setting more fun, but added a very tight row on top to keep the agate in place. I was really happy how well that worked out!
The pendant is in my Zibbet shop now.

Last but not least I have one my own favorite pieces to show.
This is a beautiful stone and I wanted to give it a simple yet bold setting. What do you say, did it work?
You can find this pendant here.

Ok, that was a lot, thank you for your patience! Isn't it fascinating, though, how much you can do just with a bit of wire and a crochet hook?
And if you thought that was much just wait for next time when I will talk about the HeatherCats again ;-)

Love

Love comes in all sizes, colors and shapes. We love cheese, our favorite actor and the color blue. We love our family, our friends and our pets. We love from afar, silently, secretly and too much. We love flowers, songs and our new outfit.
Don't roll your eyes, I am actually going somewhere with this and it's neither philosophical nor heavy stuff ;-)

This month's subject for the blog carnival at the Jewelry Artisans Community was love, in honor of the Valentine's Day. Our February challenge was to make something related to that day, but without the use of red or pink. What usually comes to mind next are hearts. I have a personal reason of not being fond of Valentine's Day, so I struggled a bit with the subject.
Then my dear Heather came up with a brand new painting. When I saw it, I knew I not only had a new HeatherCat on my to-do list, but also the perfect piece for both the challenge and the blog carnival .... what do you think?

For more posts please check out the other members' blogs!

Bead Sophisticate
Jewelry Art by Dawn
Ponder the Cat

Interview with the artist - Lauren from Lauren's Creations

Remember this post about trying a new technique and how I was inspired by an artist called Lauren? Well, of course I couldn't hold back and had to ask her if she would like to do an interview with me and she said yes! Grab yourself a drink and a chair and be prepared to enjoy.

Good to have you here, Lauren!

Beaded floral hair comb

Tell us a little about who you are and where you come from.

I am a young mother of two little boys (ages 4 years and 18 months). My husband, Scott, and I have been married for 5 years, and we live in our little home in Southern Utah. He works as a Systems Specialist and Programmer, and I stay home to care for our children. The little ones take up most of my time, but I spend what little free time I have working on my micro business. 

I'm a fairly quiet person who enjoys the simpler things in life. I'm happiest at home with my family, even when they drive me absolutely crazy. I love sci fi and fantasy novels and movies. 

What's your craft and how did you get to do it in the first place?

My craft is French Beading, which is a very old art that is believed to have originated in the 1500's. Basically, you string tiny seed beads onto wire and wrap it using various techniques to make petals and leaves which are then assembled to create some truly unique flowers. I stumbled across pictures of french beaded flowers while I was searching for new bead weaving techniques, and I had to learn how to make them. My hobby turned into a business about a year ago. In the beginning I made mostly just hair accessories, but I've recently been branching out into jewelry and home decor. I love the challenge of designing a new pattern, which is one of the reasons I enjoy custom orders. There's something so fundamentally thrilling about using your own two hands to create the things you've been imagining or researching.

French beaded Tiger Lily made to order

I think this is one of the most asked questions – where does your inspiration come from?

Since most of my designs end up being some sort of foliage, I'd have to say that Nature is probably my largest source of inspiration, though I often incorporate my own little flair. 

Do you do other crafts, if yes, what?

My first love was gourd crafting. For those unfamiliar, hard shell gourds are grown in your garden, but if you let them dry out over the winter, they turn into a wood-like substance that can be carved, burned, or painted just like regular wood. I am still pretty new to the craft, and am by no means a master, but I hope to get there someday. Unfortunately, since I've had children I haven't been able to work on them as much as they are still very young and require constant supervision. Power tools, sawdust and curious little boys don't mix very well. I do have some fun ideas for mixing my beaded flowers and gourds that I hope I get to work on sometime soon.

French beaded roses from vintage beads

I read there is a difference between French beading and Victorian beading. Have you tried Victorian beading, too? If you have, can you tell us a bit about your experience with the two techniques?

Most people don't realize that French Beading and Victorian Beading are two different methods. Both involve tiny beads and wire, but the difference is in how they are put together. French beading requires you to wrap beaded wire around a central row, so you build your rows outward. With Victorian beading you are using two ends of the same wire and passing them through opposite ends of a row of beads and crossing them, and you build your rows stacked on top of each other. I have tried Victorian beading, and while it is easier, I personally prefer the French method as I like the finished look of the petals much better.

Daffodil pin made to order

Which one of your pieces is your absolute favorite? Which one was the hardest to make and why?

My favorite piece, and my hardest one are one in the same. I have recently completed my largest beaded flower project and I am so very thrilled with it. It is a wall hanging featuring a trio of Calla Lilies, with the accompanying foliage, mounted on a frame wrapped in beads and accented with a large amount of wire worked scrolls. Over all, it took five weeks - 90 working hours - to finish, with a great deal of trial and error, blood, sweat, and tears going into its completion. I'm so very proud of it and I have many more ideas for other wall hangings I can make!

Calla lily wall hanging

If you could choose one supply, no matter how expensive, what would it be? 

I've been dying to make French beaded flowers completely out of Swarovski Crystals instead of seed beads. But I'd need thousands of them... which would be very expensive indeed! It's on my to-do list! 

Do you sell online, if yes, where can we find you?

I do sell online! My largest shop is Lauren's Creations on Zibbet.

Beaded autumn table wreath

Is there anything you would like to share with us? 

This year I've taken on an endeavor to build my flower repertoire and give myself a fun challenge. So I've started a Flower of the Month Challenge where I take a certain flower and build most of my new designs around that flower. If you'd like to follow along with me, you can visit my website/blog.

I can also be found on Facebook and Google+ .

Thank you, Lauren, that was really informative and fun to read. I'm already looking forward to seeing more from you!

And the winner is ..........................

You didn't really think I'd just blurt the name out, did you? Let me tell you about my morning first.
It started with Greebo knocking a tin off the nightstand and rolling it around on the floor. Although I didn't have much sleep - which is my very own fault as I knew the brats don't care how early in the morning I go to bed - I gave up pretty quickly. Once he tires of knocking around stuff, he usually plops down on my head next. Today I wasn't sure if I was ready for that.

So I got up, fed the monsters, did a bit of this and that and then wrote the list. The list has all the names from people who commented on my giveaway post and I want to thank you them for entering!
Each name got a number, then I went on to Random.org.
And the number is 3!

Now who's got the #3 on my list? It's Carole! Congratulations, Carole! I'll send you a message and your Golden Cat will be on the way soon!

P.S. Sorry for not having a quote of the week today, but this was so much more exciting, wasn't it? ;-)

Basket world sneak peek

If you have been following me for a while, you also know my yarn basket pendants. It's one of my earliest designs.
Usually I crochet them from fine silver wire and fill them with balls of colored copper wire "yarn".
Then I had the idea to offer them in a copper wire variation as well.
All of these little baskets from colored copper wire are ready to be filled up with yarn and knitting needles or a crochet hook. I will finish one of them as a sample, but leave the others empty for the customers to choose their own colors and yarnie tool.

Lurking in the shadows

How many times have I tripped over a cat mysteriously turning up before my feet? How many times have I been close to a heart attack because a cat suddenly came out of nowhere? Or even worse, how many times have I been about to panic because one of my (inside!!) cats have been missing, then said cat was right behind me when I was ready to run out into the night yelling for it? And had probably been on my trail like that for the whole time I was trying to look under closets, the fridge, armchairs and the washing machine?
Many, many, MANY times.

Maybe that's the reason why I reacted to Heather's Shadycat with such passion. A camouflaging cat in the shadows probably brought up memories from the time I searched for Dude, a very visible white cat (I finally found him in a dark corner behind the armchair which was standing next to the wall), to the time I was convinced Esme had escaped through an intact cat screen and was running around on the scaffold at one side of the house (it was probably one of the crows, heck, both are black, it's an easy to make mistake, isn't it?).

I couldn't stop at just one color combination and although I made three of the Shadycat pendants until now, I am by no means done with it.

Tell me which color combinations you would like to see and who knows? If I have the beads, I might just make it!

All of these are available in my Zibbet shop now, the grey/white one, the metallic matte one and the silver lined shiny one.
The black and white one is of course Heather's original painting.

Zibbet finds of the week - Cats

Cats. How difficult can it be to find a few cats on Zibbet. I'm kidding of course. The internet was made for easy access to millions, billions, fantastillions of cat pictures!! Forget everything else. It should be named caternet or something like that.

So I had plenty of choices which did make it difficult after all. I have a feeling a cat post will have to come up every, now and then. Today, however, these won my heart.

Words fail me if I try to describe how much I love this felted cat. Isn't she adorable??

Gray and white licking cat by DoAn Art

I have heard of Persian cats, Siamese, Ragdoll, Turkish Angora and many more, but never of an Origami cat! What a fun idea!

Fine silver Origami cat pendant by Allegro Arts

It's no secret that cat eyes are fascinating and magic. Here you have all colors on those fun ceramic tile coasters!

Cat coasters by My Black Rabbit

Being a bead loomer myself this loomed bracelet caught my eye of course. All cats are perfect? Yes, they are! Even at 3 am! ;-)

Bead loomed cat bracelet made to order by Adora Designs

Wherever you want to use this lovely fabric sketch of a cat, it will always look great. On a tote bag, on a pillow, I have no doubt you could come up with something yourself!

Alice Calico Cat pillow panel by Raven Art Studio

Cats and the moon are inseparable in my opinion. They are slightly crazier than usual around full moon time, often that's how I know there will be a full moon without looking it up.
Would you believe that a few days ago I told them "The moon will be full soon, you won't have to wait much longer, my little wolves." True story. I guess deep inside I'd like to see them change into little werecats? ;-)
This pendant doesn't show the full moon, but it's wonderful.

Sterling silver pendant "Cat on the Moon" by Ant Jewels

P.S. If you can't get enough of cats, check out my friend Frauke's cat spotlight on her blog, too!!

P.P.S. Please don't forget the HeatherCat giveaway. You still have until this week Saturday to enter!!