20
June
2007

Other stuff I did with my hands

I caught a bug:

Yes, I started playing with chainmaille. My sister Lisa, a much more talented jewelry maker than myself (that’s fine, she can’t knit), made some pieces that fascinated me a few years ago. Since then, I have perused bead magazines and sent her ones that have neat chainmaille patterns in them. Last week, I stumbled upon Bead & Button’s Wirework issue. I picked it up for her, but showed it to a friend, Kim, who has a thing for maille. And Kim realized that she could make it herself. And in looking into it online for her and Lisa, I realized I could probably do it too.

After a couple of days surfing maille sites and not knitting sites, I’d ordered a kit, but decided that wasn’t quite quick enough for me. And I passed a bead store last night and bought a small pile of aluminum jump rings. I used to do a lot more with beading, but got bored with it because it was so much effort for so little product. But after an hour with a couple of pairs of pliers, I had that bracelet. Here’s a close-up:

It’s not perfect. They didn’t have the size jump rings I wanted in stock, so I had to go with some slightly bigger and my aspect ratio is a little large for the pattern I was going for. In knitting terms, my gauge was too large for my yarn and thus the fabric is too loose. But it’s still not bad for a first try and it’s very shiney. I could insert some beads into it too, and I might. It’s a toy project after all. Can’t wait for my kit to arrive. It appeals to me for the same reason that knitting does, there’s a mathematical aspect to it. But it’s also something of a puzzle, which is also very fun.

So, that wasn’t all I did last night. I also did this:

Those are a bunch of different brownies for a bake sale at work to benefit my Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. I have another 6 recipes to try tonight. All my friends brought in pans for me to use so that I could just keep baking. My kitchen is perfect for mass baking like this, I’m going to miss it when it sells. Speaking of which, how do you hide 6 pans of brownies so that the house is ready to show at a moment’s notice?

Sssshhhh, don’t open that cupboard!

Posted by amy! under: Almost Random

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8 comments

  1. Bron:

    That bracelet is very, very cool. Good job! Hmmmm…brownies. :)

    Still sending good house-sale thoughts your way!

  2. Joan:

    Beautiful bracelet. Leave the brownies out– they’ll make the kitchen smell good!

  3. Janelle:

    That’s a great bracelet! I love chain maille, too. It’s relaxing like knitting–keeping hands busy while using just enough of the brain to stay interesting and fun. Definitely addicitive!

    Good luck on selling the house!

  4. Cynthia:

    That’s really neat. If my son knew that people still made mail he’d have me turning out a coif & hauberk in no time …. shhh, don’t tell.

  5. AlisonH:

    That’s cool! You don’t mind if I chuckle at the sibling-rivalry part, do you? That is so my sister and me. (She paints, I knit, we both like what the other does.)

  6. Romi:

    I love it! Great job. :)

  7. vanessa:

    Dear Amy,
    I’ve been trying to get a reply to your question to you, and I suspect you haven’t been receiving it. I asked for your Hanne Falkenberg spreadsheet for the Mermaid pattern, and you asked me to answer the question ‘what technique is being illustrated at the bottom of page 5 of the leaflet?’ My answer is: it’s a diagram showing how to do mattress stitch.
    Thankyou so much,
    Vanessa

  8. aija:

    Chainmaille is so interesting! Have fun with your kit :)



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