Day 56 - Wednesdays Are For Sharing

I've been addicted to wire crochet ever since I saw my first piece. I think that what I create is pretty darn wonderful, however, there are so many people out there who are more talented than I. I thought I would share some of those wonderful artists with you today.

Over at Etsy, one of my favorite artists is PreciousMeshes. She combines crochet, pearls and stones in such a lovely way. Some of my favorites are:

The Protozoa earrings

The Captured necklace (it also comes in a bracelet)


And the Bird's Nest necklace.

Arline Fisch is one of the premiere jewelry artists in America. She has used textile techniques such as weaving, knitting and crochet in her jewelry using metal rather than fiber. I have several of her books that I often look to for inspiration. I recently discovered that she would be teaching a 3 day workshop at a museum an hour from my house. Needless to say I am thrilled at the prospect. Now I just need to work out how I can attend.

Finally, here is the completed piece I showed yesterday. I've been doing these for a while but this time I sewed it closed using seed pearls. I love how it turned out.

Day 55 - More WIP

The beginnings of a crocheted bangle.

51, 52, 53, 54

Yes I did craft over the weekend, I just didn't blog. So here is a peek at what I did over the weekend:

Day 50 - WIP

Day 8 - All Wired Up

When it comes to crafting, I am basically self taught. Its not that I am opposed to taking classes, I just don't want to waste my time. I would rather play around with things trying to figure out how to make it work the way that I want, than have someone tell me I'm doing it wrong. So if someone asks me how to make a wrapped loop or some other jewelry technique, I could tell them how I do it but it wouldn't necessarily be textbook correct.

I guess I'm just independent that way. Or maybe just stupid. Whatever it is, it just works for me.

A several years ago I was in New York visting my friend. At one store I saw a ring made out of knit or crocheted wire. It looked so delicate and intricate. I wanted it. But it cost $100 so that was not going to happen. So I said I'll just make one myself.

I didn't really think much of it again for a few years until I saw another piece of crocheted jewelry. Finally I decided I had to make one for myself. The only problem is I didn't know how to crochet at all. So I bought a teach yourself crochet book and taught myself. A few scarves later I figured I was ready to move on to wire.

Once I tried it, I was hooked (groan). You can create really cool things with normal hooks. Or you can by the teeny tiny hooks and create more delicate designs. I've been playing around with this for a while but haven't added much to my storebecause I haven't figured out how to photograph them to show off the intracacies of the design. (Its part user error and part wrong camera for the job.)

These are two works in progress. The chain will most likely be made into a necklace with the circles going all the way around. The other will most likely be a pendant.