Friday, May 23, 2014

Waxed Linen Blog Hop

I have always loved fiber arts and anything with vibrant colors. In fact, I started making jewelry because I wanted to crochet some earrings. While making them, I realized how intimidating threads actually are to work with...other than with needlework and embroidery. I just was not comfortable finishing them, kept feeling everything will open up and fall apart. I did make jewelry with it in spite of my fear, but never got comfortable with it. I bought books and read all about it, I read tutorials and saw other people do it, yet, I could not trust that my work won't fall apart. Until the bead cruise...when I met Erin Siegel and took a class with her. She made it all look so easy. While I am still not as skillful as I would like to be with it, my fear is definitely gone.

Another friend I met on the cruise, Suburban Girl - Diana Ptaszynski. She was helping Erin with her class and fell in love with waxed linen as well...and thus happened this blog hop! She asked who else wanted in on all the waxy, lineny fun, 42 folks rsvp'ed for the party, and here we are :-)

My first entry is this pair of earrings.


Simple earrings that go with this necklace. I made it before I signed up for the hop, so they are not officially part of the reveal, but here it is for the sake of completeness..


I took the necklace me on the cruise to get some input from Erin about the closure. I had made this necklace for a friend who has a young baby, and he likes to yank all the pretty colorful things she wears. I needed to make it baby proof. And Erin did show me how to reinforce it. But I don't have a picture :(

Moving on...I made a knotted necklace to match a pair of earrings a friend bought from me. The earrings were purple and yellow, and I found the perfect lavender cord in my stash to make the necklace with. I made it, and added a loop like Erin had taught me. But I am not a good student. And I am also a very stingy economical person. I hate wasting materials, and ended up cutting less cord than I needed for the loop. Ended up with this super ugly loop while trying to add more cord to what I already had. Don't even ask what I did. It was so wrong!


But I trudged along and finished the necklace. Only to see that it was too long. I wanted to make a choker and what I ended up with was just not right. So I tried opening the knots. Yes, I know, laugh away. I didn't even manage to open a single one. I had used up all the beads I had, so I had to cut each bead out of my work (all the while the miser in me cringing about the wasted cord!). I did it all over again, and this time made a different loop. Just strung some small seed beads instead of doing the half-hitch knot. Here's the final product..


I really like this necklace for two reasons:
1) I had wanted to make a color-blocked piece for the longest time, and this is just a perfect example.
2) I hate the luscious colors of the cord sometimes get lost in a design. It can be seen very nicely in the yellow section, so that goal also achieved :)

And then I had this cord lying around. It had come with a gorgeous marble pendant which I made a fitting necklace for (that's for another challenge, so can't show it here). And I had the pendant all wrapped and lying around for a while too. So I put the two together and made this:




The pendant is from Southern Gals Designs. It is a gorgeous pendant, lots of details and colors in there. I should say it "was" a gorgeous pendant. I wore it today on my trip to New Mexico. I admired it my entire flight. And somewhere between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, my worst fears were realized. The knot opened up, and the pendant fell off. I didn't even realize it! Am so so sad about it. The necklace looked fantastic.

Oh well...

There's more...the best one!

Diana, Erin and I visited our friend Barbara Bechtel of Second Surf when our ship anchored in Florida. Barbara gave each one of us a little box of beads which came in a cute little bag, which was tied shut with a handmade wood pendant, which was strung around cord. Her stepfather cut them for her from different hardwoods from his wood pile in Pennsylvania, and Barbara wood-burned them. So its a  very special pendant!

I used a thicker cord for this...added African bone and brass beads, seed beads and my favorite part: little brass bells! Yes, they jingle! A friend has already claimed this necklace and I will be making matching earrings as soon as I get home from New Mexico.



A big thanks to Diana for hosting this party! I know its a lot of work and its much appreciated :)

Here are the other participants:

Diana Ptaszynski  <-- The Gracious Hostess


















Kelly Morgan
 
Jayne Capps












49 comments:

  1. Great fun designs Kashmira and lots of variety - lovely work.

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    1. Thanks Lesley! They were fun to make..except for the part where I had to cut out the knots, lol

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  2. Oh Kashira, it's so heartbreaking to lose something like your necklace, what an absolute bummer! I do like all your designs though, especially the colour blocked necklace.

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    1. Thank you! I was thinking of gluing it since it looked loose, and then I was in a rush to take it with me. Sigh..price paid for lesson learned :(
      I am going to have to make another one of those color blocked ones, I do love it a lot!

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  3. Wonderful pieces! I tended to not cut enough cord in the past too, but I've started doing better. I know I can always use small leftovers for earrings or other small projects. Your beaded closure looks beautiful. I also love how the lavender linen shows between the yellow beads. Love that last necklace with the gorgeous Barbara Bechtel wooden pendant!

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    1. Thanks Ann! I do have a lot of bits and pieces saved up from before, so am definitely going to start being more generous from now on. Yes, love how the lavender is a design element there :)

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  4. Hi Kashmira, You sure made bold color choices in the first necklace. The second necklace is an interesting design. The yellow color blocked section really does let the waxed linen color show well. it is my favorite piece even though I don't normally wear yellow or purple. I am sorry to hear that you lost your beautiful pendant. The fourth necklace has a natural vibe to it which is very different from your usual color choices.

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    1. Thanks Becky! I have been gravitating a lot towards yellow lately...although I only have ONE yellow top. The original color combo was a request someone made, and didn't like it after it was done (they had a different shade of purple in mind)..but the whole set found a new loving home :)

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  5. Lol. You made me laugh with this post, Kashmira. Thanks for sharing the ups and downs in your design process. I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who ends up doing things like cutting too little cord. Really fun pieces you made... I like what you did with the color blocking one especially. Sorry about the loss of your pretty pendant. :(

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    1. Thanks SJ :) From the other comments, it seems like cutting too little is part of the "growing process" ;-)

      I want to make more color blocked stuff...hopefully soon! Its quite an idea for a blog hop too!

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  6. Oooooo I love that color-blocked necklace! Also the fact that you used Barbara's little wood slice pendant is sooooooooooo sweet! Thanks for participating!!!

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    1. Thanks Diana! Had promised Barbara I would make something with it soon and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

      I love the color blocked necklace too...am thinking of having a blog hop with it!

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  7. Awwww, how sad that you lost your necklace. That one was my favorite of all the ones you showed.

    I've taken apart many waxed linen knots. The best tools are an awl, a strong magnifying light and some patience. :-)

    Sandy from keepsakecrafts.net

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    1. Thanks Sandy! it was indeed very beautiful.

      As for the tools...where can I buy the last one? ;-)

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  8. I feel your pain about wasting materials - I have an issue with that as well and I also ended up cutting apart some pieces I made that weren't quite right. It can be so frustrating when that happens. I like the pieces you shared, especially the last necklace with the wood pendant and brass bells. Very fun!

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    1. Thank you! I need to stop being so anal about the cord...because when I do that, I actually end up wasting more cord and also my time redoing things. Need to remember that for the next time! The last necklace is my favorite as well, its going to be hard to part with!

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  9. Hi Kashmira! I'm sorry to hear you had such a hard time with a few of your pieces, but all that experience will serve you well in the future. Just look at some of the beautiful pieces you made! The end result of that lavender and yellow set...Stunning!!! So beautiful. You should be really proud of that. I also really love this last necklace you made with Barbara's wood pendant. Super cute!

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    1. Yes, I am going to practice the half hitch some more...I think its the sticky nature of the waxed cord that makes it a bit harder for me. But am not giving up. I do love the color blocked one a LOT. Would have submitted it to some magazine if it wasn't a commissioned piece. The one i lost was my favorite though, simple and so cute.

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  10. They are all nice pieces but I can see why you like the last one best. The pendant is great plus it has sentimental meaning.

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    1. Yup...I love having stories to go with what I make :)

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  11. Fun to follow your journey! That last necklace is wonderful. I love how the cord plays such an important part and it's got a stripped down feeling.

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    1. Thanks Janet! Yes..was trying to make it look rustic and what you said...stripped down, yet pretty!

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  12. All the pieces you made are lovely but I absolutely ADORE the pink/yellow necklace. It's so vibrant, I would totally wear it. What a great color combo. I totally understand being stingily w supplies. Especially with cording its so important to have more than you think you need. I ran into the same problem, not having enough to complete my necklace and had to scramble to make it work!

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    1. Thanks Kelsy! The color combo was requested by someone, and when I made the earrings, they said they meant a different shade of purple. But am glad that happened, else the necklace wouldn't have happened!

      Your's is a super pretty necklace! I

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  13. I had to laugh. I am drawn to waxen linen and other textiles because I trust my knots much more then I trust crimps. I haven't had any come loose but then between the wax and the surgeon's knot I use, they are pretty secure.

    They are all great designs but I am especially in love with the last necklace. I love jewelry that talks to you so adding bells is always a winner in my book. I can see why someone has already claimed it.

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    1. I have lost some crimps too...looks like those definitely come off over time. am going to have to learn how to make that surgeon's knot! Seems like the answer to my fear!

      Oh, I LOVE bells! Have used these in a few designs already.

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  14. Great pieces! I remember when you first posted that necklace on facebook asking for finishing ideas...love the earrings, they go perfect. The last necklace is so wonderful what a special treasure!

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    1. Thanks Kari! Oh yeah, it did create some confusion when I had posted it. Lol ;-)

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  15. What a very busy lady you've been! Such lovely creations! I think the last necklace is my favorite! :)

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  16. Lovely pieces that you put together. I particularly like the last necklace - everything about it is super.

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    1. Thanks Linda...isn't it great how everything just fell together in that last one!

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  17. Hi Kashmira!! so wonderful pieces and very interesting post! I have a good time reading it. Myy fav is the last one withe wood pendant!

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  18. Thank you for sharing the challenges and successes so openly. I'll admit that I had to re-string my necklace too, I just didn't blog about that. LOL. I cut the cording too short and there wasn't enough of it to knot around the clasp. I had to re-string all those darn little seed beads. Sigh. I love how your color block necklace turned out. And bells! How fun! Love the pendant that Barbara and her step-dad made!

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  19. I love the colors and design of the orange necklace!

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  20. I like the necklace with the pendant is very beautiful. I like the way you leave the cord falling on the pendant..Nice job!!!

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  21. All your pieces are very pretty. So sorry you lost the one pendant. My favorite would be the last necklace with the wood pendant. I love that pendant and the linen, knots and bells just seem to set it off. Very nice.

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  22. Kashmira, how sad that you lost such a pretty pendant!! Why is it when we want to untie knots there is no chance but when we don't things like that happen?? All your necklaces are beautiful!

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  23. Hi Kashmira,
    Beautiful pieces! I know you must have been heart broken when you discovered your ceramic pendant was missing, that one by the way was my favorite of all your pieces. Second favorite is the one with the wooden pendant by Barbra.
    Therese

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  24. What a shame that you lost that pendant! But I do love the one you made that is already sold, too bad you couldn't keep it for yourself! Great job, I like seeing your learning process!

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  25. I really like all your necklaces.Love the color block one - it's bold and fun! I am so very sorry you lost your pendant on your trip - that one is my favorite!! (I feel your pain!) the last one is super special, too - love the texture and color and the pendant is just fabulous! Wish I could have participated in this hop - how much fun is waxed linen and all this color!!!

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  26. They are all such cool pieces!! sorry about the lost pendant, hopefully someone finds it and loves it.

    Sharon

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  27. Your pieces are pretty, the designs and colors make your pieces pop. The last one is by far the favorite of them all. I like it's earthtone, and style.

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  28. Love that last necklace! All the elements just seem to sing together. I understand what you mean about wasting materials. In preparation for this hop, I partially strung a bracelet that I didn't like and it's just sitting there. I know I'll have to cut it apart to reuse the beads. (Sigh!)

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  29. Bummer about your textured leaf necklace. You should call the airline. You never know. Love the wood burned pendant necklace. It has an awesome bohemian vibe to it. A couple of tips for you. Pick up a bottle of Fray Check at your local fabric store. You can use it to seal all your seams in the crochet to reinforce them. Then you can feel more confident about using it in your jewelry. Secondly, for the miser in you. I found that with a corsage pin I could fairly easily undo the knots in the waxed linen. I made a few mistakes that I had to back up and redo. If the linen started to fray, just rub your fingers along the cord to spread the wax and reseal that section. No wasted fiber. :)

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  30. Oh Kashmira, what a wonderful post! I smiled (I too had my mistakes), I cried (Southern Gals), I learned so much! Your colorblock necklace is sublime. I agree, the beautiful waxed linen cord between the yellow beads looks great & the crystals above & leaf stations are glorious! And I too had bells (didn't get to them... next time :) -- and wow! You created a brilliant grand finale with yours! Love your work -- outstanding, as always, and inspiring! Bravo! Happy Hopping! ♥ TJ

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  31. Knotting just takes a little practice, Kashmira :) And I really love that last necklace!

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  32. Holy freakin WOW! All super gorgeous!!! I am jealous of all the time you got with Erin Diana and Barbara!

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  33. Beautiful creations...the last necklace grabbed my attention the most! Great job!

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