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Friday, June 20, 2008

The rings have a mind of their own

I finally managed to steal a couple of hours to weave last night. I had some very pretty rings I'd just ordered -- bronze-colored niobium and a color mix of titanium, which anodizes very pretty pastel hues.

I knew exactly what I wanted the niobium to become -- a choker, with delicate brass hued-chains draping every direction. I wanted to weave it in a traditional European chainmaille pattern, but on the bias, so that it came to a point in the middle. That in itself, with 7/64 inch rings (yeah, about like this: O ... 2.8 mm... ), when I had never joined maille on the bias like that.. well, honestly that worked out okay when I sorted the rings out, but when I was finished the design I had in mind just didn't hang right. So.. it's a ring now.

The titanium, on the other hand... I had no idea what I wanted it to be, but if you weave and you haven't worked with titanium at all before, be forewarned: they don't make spaceship parts out of it for nothing. It's stiff. The links decide when they want their ends to meet, not you. And they may be lined up perfectly and still not meet. I decided the best I could manage was some mobius flower earrings, and I'm still not entirely happy with the way they decided to lie, though they are rather pretty and Victorian looking... I love it... space age materials used to make a Victorian necklace. Can I list that as Steampunk?

By the time I was done the set of napkin rings I intended to make turned into a simple pair of earrings, as well.

Nothing goes the way you plan, but most of it turned out all right.

Pictures to come when I get a chance to take them.

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