Reality Sets In

Well it's a very good thing we celebrated before the package came for D#2 from Hopkins. I am in shock, sticker shock. We're expected to fork over something like 1/3 of take-home pay for college. Seriously. DH will call the financial aid office (again, they apparently started their winter break early, as in when the letters went out!) and I've been selling off my jewelry on eBay. I used to collect vintage costume jewelry, especially if it needed a repair that I could do easily (restring, set a rhinestone). I've hauled out my repair stuff to make sure everything looks good, and on a lark I listed some of the jewelry I made. And sold them! Along with the costume jewelry, which is selling pretty well for a down kind of year.
So I've opened a shop on Etsy to sell the jewelry I make. You can take a peek here. Up top is a pair of watermelon tourmaline earrings in sterling I made a while back that's in the shop. If you visit and decide to buy something, mention that you are a blog visitor, I'll give you free shipping in the US and discounted shipping elsewhere (cost of shipping elsewhere minus cost of US shipping = your cost).

I think one thing has been completed for my new office. Wonder how much they'll get done while I'm away. Yes, I am going away, supposed to be vacation in Los Angeles for my nephew's bar-mitzvah celebration, but I've been asked to speak at the City of Hope Hospital for Cancer Research, since I'll be in the neighborhood (30 miles as opposed to 3000 miles). I guess that makes it a working vacation. I haven't been to LA in over 3 years, should be exciting to see the changes, visit old and new spots (we know we're going to Malibu one day (weather permitting) and the Mojave Desert for a few days). Hopefully I'll return on the 17th to an office I can move into, then my cramping shoulders will finally feel better and I'll be able to knit again.

Do you schmap? I didn't, had never heard of schmaps until the schmaps folks asked if they could use one of my photos of Tucson in my Flickr album. Glad they asked for permission and attribution. Now, if they ever need someone to go someplace to take photos, I'll be quite happy to do that!

A Nifty Finish to My Necklace

I ran out of toggles! and I'm in a cheap mood, so what could I use? Buttons!! I found a great source for vintage buttons at a great price and I bought a few. Add a beaded loop and voila! a one-of-a-kind clasp for my necklaces. The button is vintage Czech slag glass. In natural light, it matches the vintage Lucite beads. I bought some really super buttons for other necklaces- enameled, with Swarovski rhinestones and cabochons, transfer patterns on porcelain (like on dishes), oh I could have spent a fortune there; fortunately I didn't ;^D.

VA Training, Part II

Also known as knitting at taxpayers' expense. Well, I had to spend the past 2 days at the VA sitting through the remaining part of orientation. Which consisted of 10 out of 18 mandatory training sessions, most of which have nothing whatsoever to do with my job (or the jobs of most attendees). So I wouldn't be too antsy (and in the spirit of the VA), I brought along hats for the Ships Project, now that mailing of wool things will begin again in September. See the hat I completed above? It's made of Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, a yummy blend of wool and cashmere and silk. The baby cable rib biased though, that never happened when I made this hat before with other yarns. I have another ball of it; I'll do something different and see.
Now see the trio below?

The sock I worked on a little yesterday when I finished the hat (worked from the gusset dec start to where it is now). Both hats were only casted on (first 2 rows worked in the flat), then the rest was done today at the VA. I am not kidding! Had I not run out of wool, I would have finished 1 of them. That is how I spent 8 1/2 hours today in stultifying ennui relieved only by my knitting. The details: the hat in the middle is the Blueberry Waffle hat (yes, it is based on the famous sock pattern), and it is being made of merino wool, Zegna Baruffa Maratona. The hat on the right will use up the remaining Plymouth Galway I have in stash; it is the Zig and Zag hat.
And now for a little jewelry treat, another Dutch spiral necklace:

The purple and gold flower beads are vintage Lucite; I've been waiting for the right project to incorporate them. They really aren't that pink but closer to the heliotrope color of the main set of beads. Really. I'm going to make a special clasp for this; ordered the special accessory for it. Check back to see it and tell me what you think.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

I finished the necklace! See the neat sparkly beads along the sides? Those are vintage Lucite beads I found at Ozzy Beads. I love to mix vintage with new beads when I make these things. Check out the beaded toggle- I had a bunch of sterling circle parts left from some project, so I took some sterling wire, and beaded it up, with a loop in the center and loops at the ends. Got the idea from reading how to make woven beaded toggles. But when I wove some beads into a toggle, it was too fat to fit. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.

On a new knitting note, I started a hat for the Ships Project out of luscious SilkRoad Aran Tweed wool/cashmere/silk yarn by Jo Sharp that I got from a fellow KR member for a song. Nothing but the best for our troops doing the hard stuff.

Beadazzled

Returned to my other avocation, making beaded jewelry, the other day. The WIP above is the beginning of a necklace in a stitch called the Dutch spiral. I'll stop when it's about 9"long, then string sterling Bali and other interesting beads up the sides to the clasp. These look best, to me, when they are about 18" long. I'm getting some new handmade lampwork beads in and have new ideas. Can't wait to try them out.
I've posted a few of my other creations below; these are for sale and the details are given in my Stash Flickr album (link is on the left). I'll be posting more pictures in the coming days. I've made some sets, cell phone charms, ID lanyards, and more. I made a lot of these pieces 2 years ago to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina (raised nearly $1000 on eBay selling mainly ID lanyards, raised a few hundred more through some special jewelry auctions). After putting it away for 2 years, the beading bug is back!