Netting choker

I made this choker a few days ago. Found my inspiration from a new beading book that I recently got.
Looks quite nice with some brown outfits I have.

The Dresden Files

So what have I been up to lately? Not much in the jewelry department, as I had to catch up with a bunch of books to read, in order to send them out to people that I am trading with (particularly through bookmooch.com).

The book I've just finished reading was the first in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, called Storm Front. A great series, it was on my wishlist for a long time. It was well worth the wait though, as the first book was very good. Better yet, since I also watched a few episodes of the new tv show based on the same series, all while reading, I kept having the mental image of Harry Dresden doing the magic, solving the cases, and the book really came alive for me.

If you like Tanya Huff's Blood series (which has also been just now brought to screen in the Blood Ties series), or Laurel K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, you will definitely love Harry Dresden!
I can also imagine Harry Dresden as a grown up Harry Potter, fighting the baddies with his magic wand.

Looking forward to reading the #2nd book.

Back to beading

I've had this bracelet unfinished on the tray for over two months now, before getting into wirework, so today I decided to finally finish it before I tip the tray over and lose all my beads, lol.
Simple cellini spiral from the big white Russian book.

Hm, when I posted the pic at the Australian beading forum, I've been told to head over to the seedbead challenge topic, and enter my bracelet as it qualifies. Oh well, looking at the other gorgeous pieces there, mine pales in comparison, but I entered, nevertheless. Even if just to keep track with what goodies other post there as well.


And this is my latest mail creation, a full persian with beaded units sticking out.
Got the idea from Plumlee's book, which I bought a few days ago. His full book is based on the Byzantine, but what an eye candy there is in the book!

Full persian with cross

This bracelet is done in full persian weave. It took a while to get the hang of it, as it's not as easy as the previous ones shown. In honour of finishing the bracelet, I also made a cross in the same weave, with the tutorial taken from the Dreamseeker's page. Once I understood the weave, the cross went very smoothly. I need to get some smaller rings to make another cross, and use this one for a necklace. Although I like it, for the bracelet it could be a little smaller.

Cyprus is a very religious country, so I figure once I start making silver jewelry, these will sell quite well. Now if I could just find a cheap local supplier of silver rings, or even silver wire and I'd learn to cut the rings myself...

Shaggy Loops set

The earrings and bracelet are a few posts below, however I wanted to have a full set for this, as I like it that much :)
So I finished today the necklace, and took a picture of all pieces together.
Hope you like the set :)

What I'm currently reading

With all my excitement about my latest hobby, chainmail, I neglected my other hobby: reading.
So what am I reading right now?
A vampire book from the late 1980s called Vampire Nights by Timothy Moriarty.
It is a horror novel, not one of those cheesy paranormal romances (which I like btw, lol) of the last few years, where the vampires are romanticized. Here the vampires are the bad guys.

Funny trivia: one of the leading protagonists, Libby, is a jewelry maker, and several times she's wearing her own jewelry.
Quote from the book: "Around her neck she wore an amber pendant that matched her rust-stained oval sunglasses and silver chains; all the jewelry was of her own design." Yayy, I like Libby already!

For anyone interested in a list of vampire novels that have appeared from the 80's onwards, here is a pretty good list by year and short book description.

And speaking of descriptions, for some great book reviews, check out Janelle's blog, she is an Armchair reviewer. Sometimes I put new books on my wishlist based on her reviews alone!

Another European...this time 6 in 1

Following Spider's DVD, the next pattern is the Euro 6 in 1. I thought it would be more difficult than the Euro 4 in 1, but somehow I found this pattern easier, more intuitive to follow.
Hubby doesn't like it that much, it's too wide for his taste, but I quite like it :)
And I bet my brother will love it too, as his favourite so far was the Euro 4 in 1.
I wonder if I can make any earrings out of this weave...