Volcanic Lava and Knitted Wire

It's amazing how resourceful you can be when you have to utilise the stock you have rather than ordering the stuff you need. I'm facing a huge car repair bill tomorrow and so I'm seriously counting the pennies, and that means no more cruising the online supplies shops for a while. To satisfy my urge to make some jewellery with a difference I dug out some beads that I was not sure about and some very fine jewellery wire that was lying about in my bead stash.


This is what I made today. The black beads in this super chunky necklace are made from lightweight volcanic lava and have a fabulous grainy matt texture. The gorgeous red pendant is pressed sponge coral, a semi-precious stone that holds some natural patterns within it. I think the two colours go so well together and the silver spacer beads accentuate the intensity all the more. This piece can be found in my Folksy shop.


To create this lacy wire bracelet I threaded a mixture of 24 genuine freshwater rice pearls and rose quartz beads onto a long piece of wire and used knitting needles that are as thin as tooth picks. I brought a bead up to the top of the needles whenever I wanted to knit it into position and knitted 4 rows in all before loosely casting off. Despite having knitted constantly throughout my life, this has to be the most difficult piece of knitting that I have ever done! Not only that but the wire scratches the metal needles to bits.


Finally, and as light relief, I combine a few freshwater rice pearls and aurora borrealis beads to create a simple but very elegant and understated pair of earrings. The amber coloured beads catch the light with a deep blue hue.These can also be found in my Folksy shop.