Playing with earrings

Now this has been one of my all time favourite earwigs!!! Ah, that's the brown one below.

The number of times I've made this one and in so many colours and bead combos I'd not dare to count!!!

But there comes a time when an old git like me needs a more exciting pair!!!

The pink pairs below are my first 'real' attempt.

Well, I say 'real' because three or four others 'hit the bin' before these were made!!!

Actually these are the reason I found the new way of adding beads to a ring and a split ring - there's one of each in this pattern so that you can practice if  you choose to make this earwig.

The pattern is now on my web site here.  I've written it slightly differently so that it reminds you to add the larger beads BEFORE starting the ring or split ring.  

I did that for myself really as I kept forgetting!!!!

The final piece

I still had a few beads left so a brooch was the next thing in the 'ensemble'!!!!

Won't I be a 'Bobby Dazzler' IF I ever manage to wear them all at the same time?

Earrings to match!

First the necklace, then the bracelet and now the earrings!!!

Whatever next, I ask myself?!?!?  

Good find

Next to our local tip there's a shop. This is run by a hospice and it's where you can take things that you no longer need but are too good to throw in the skips.

I regularly go past the entrance to the tip so pop in to see what's there.

Occasionally there are beads. Necklaces and bracelets. I buy these if I like them and then cut them up to use in my tatting. The lanyard was made using bracelets found there.

One day I found a sweet little necklace and my friend said that the beads are actually cornelian stones.

They were quite pretty as they were and I nearly left the necklace to wear as bought. Then I decided to cut it and see what the dear little beads would look like in split rings. I'm very pleased with the results.

Thoughts on addiing beads

I'd like to thank all the kind people who have written to me both in comments on the blog and privately.

There has been a lot of interest in the latest two ways of adding beads to rings and split rings and I'm only too pleased that people find the two pages useful.

The thing that constantly surprises me is that this hasn't been shown before. I can't believe that it's an original idea.

OK, so IF it is then that forces me to ask another question. Having played with beads for the past (must be roughly) thirty years then why oh why didn't I think of it before?!?!?!? I can't understand why and how I came across this while fiddling around AFTER designing a new pair of earrings which needed these two techniques.

I suppose it was partly because I wasn't happy with the results I was getting. This isn't to say that the ways I was using before (making the ring or split ring and then pulling the core thread down) meant an untidy result - it really means that I just wasn't very good at it!!!!

I wonder if there's anything else that I need to fiddle around with to get a better result?

OK, I know the answer to that. Housework!!!!! FORGET IT!!!

Isn't this strange?

If you go to this link or this link you'll find two links to my blog!!!

I'm honoured that whoever owns these places thinks my 'not really original' lanyard is worth linking to.

The strangest thing of all is that I've now got hundreds of free original patterns out there but this rather 'silly' simple one that's been done thousands of times before by hundreds of people has been picked out!!!

I guess the reason is that it was put on my blog and not on the pattern pages.

Ain't life strange?