Friday, April 9, 2010

Long goldstone necklace

This one I have made for myself. It has been a wonderful experience with the copper silver plated wire.


A gift to my mother

Here is a gift i made for my mom. A bracelet with 4mm coral beads and Tibetan silver clasp.


Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Home slippers by Sue Norrad

Last week my son saw a pattern for knitting home slippers and said: "Can you make these for me?" I have agreed and he started to play up in order to speed up the whole process:-) It took me 2 evenings to make these slippers for him and now he does not take them off, very happy :-)

This is how they look like. I have made them from blue and white yarn, in the picture is used red and white, but they are identical to mine.



This is the link to the pattern and the picture is taken from this site also, author is Sue Norrad: http://www.allfreecrafts.com/knitting/moccasin-slippers.shtml

Just in case I place the copy of the pattern here. There are some small mistakes in stitches, so keep counting while knitting :-):


KNITTED MOCCASIN SLIPPERS by Sue Norrad
CrochetandKnitting.com


These knitted slippers look small when they are not on a foot, so I took a picture of a slipper being worn. They are naturally stretchy.

The pattern provides instructions for small, medium and large sizes, but you can also adjust the pattern further to accomodate other sizes.

We also have a pattern for Crocheted Moccasin Slippers, again in a variety of sizes.


MATERIALS


Yarn: Use two strands of 4 ply worsted weight yarn. I'm not sure how much it takes as I bought 170 g skeins and had plenty of yarn leftover.
I knit these slippers in two colors. Black for the sole and light blue for the rest of the slipper. You can make them all one color if you want.

Needles: Two 5mm needles. I used circular needles as I find them easier to work with. I used them the same way I would use the two long 5mm needles. But if you prefer using the two long needles, by all means do so.

SIZE: These will fit a foot of 9 1/2 inches.
For every 1/2 inch larger add 4 stitches when you cast on.
For every 1/2 inch smaller subtract 4 stitches when you cast on.
I will have notes in blue on the pattern for where to add or subtract stitches for the different sizes.
It will be listed as (S, L) - meaning Small size which is 1/2 inch smaller and L meaning 1/2 inch larger. For even smaller and larger sizes, just add or subtract sts from those sizes.


Please note: I have not tried to make these in different sizes. I am only going by my gauge, I think it should work out.


Gauge: 4 sts = 1 inch

Abbreviations used:


st - Stitch

K - Knit

P - Purl

K2tog - Knit 2 stitches together

P2tog - Purl 2 stitches together

inc st - Increase stitch. (I did my increases by picking up a loop between the stitches and putting it on my left needle, then knitting it.)


This pattern is worked in rows. When completed you will sew up the sole and the back of heel seam.


Important: The slippers are folded in half lengthwise when you are finished, so that is why the sole seems big at the start. Just continue working the pattern and when you get to the "Sides and Top", you will notice it taking shape and see where you sew the bottom seam and back of heel seam.

SOLE Of the Slipper:

Working with two strands of yarn held together, Cast on 52 sts. (48, 56)

Rows 1, 2 - K

Row 3 - K1, inc. st, K24 (22, 26), inc. st, K2, inc. st., K24 (22, 26), inc. st, K1 - (56 sts)(52, 60)

Rows 4, 5 - K

Row 6 - K1, inc. st, K26 (24, 28), inc st, K2, inc st, K26 (24, 28), inc st, K1 - (60 sts)(56, 64)

Rows 7, 8 - K

Row 9 - K1, inc st, K28 (26, 30), inc st, K2, inc st, K28(26, 30), inc st, K1 - (64 sts)(60, 68)

Rows 10, 11 - K

Row 12 - K1, inc st, K30 (28, 32), inc st, K2, inc st, K30 (28, 32), inc st, K1 - (68 sts)(64, 72)

Row 13 - K33 (29, 37), inc st, K2, inc st, K33(29, 37) - (70 sts) (66, 74)

SIDES and TOP of the slipper:

Change colors here if you are using two colors.

Rows 14, 15, 16, 17 - K

Row 18 - K31 (29, 33), K2tog, K4, K2tog , K31
(29, 33) - (68 sts) (64, 72)

Row 19 - K30 (28, 32), K2tog, P4, K2tog, K30 (28, 32) - (66 sts) (62, 70)

Row 20 - K28 (26, 30), K2tog, K6, K2tog, K28 (26, 30) - (64 sts) (60, 68)

Row 21 - K27 (25, 29), K2tog, P6, K2tog, K27 (25, 29) - (62 sts) (58, 66)

Row 22 - K25 (23, 27), K2tog, K8, K2tog, K25 (23, 27) - (60 sts) (56, 64)

Row 23 - K24 (22, 26), K2tog, P8, K2tog, K24 (22, 26) - (58 sts) (54, 62)

Row 24 - K22 (20, 24), K2tog, K10, K2tog, K22 (20, 24) - (56 sts) (52, 60)

Row 25 - K21 (19, 23), K2tog, P10, K2tog, K21 (19, 23) - (54 sts) (50, 58)

Row 26 - K19 (17, 21), K2tog, K12, K2tog, K19 (17, 21) - (52 sts) (48, 56)

Row 27 - K18 (16, 20), K2tog, P12, K2tog, K18 (16, 20) - (50 sts) (46, 54)

Row 28 - K17 (15, 19), K2tog, K12, K2tog, K17 (15, 19) - (48 sts) (44, 52)

Row 29 - K16 (14, 18), K2tog, P12, K2tog, K16 (14, 18) - (46 sts) (42, 50)

Row 30 - K1, K2tog, K12 (10, 14), K2tog, K5, K2tog, K5, K2tog, K12 (10, 14), K2tog, K1 - (41 sts) (37, 45)

Row 31 - K13 (11, 15), K2tog, K11, K2tog, K13 (11, 15) - (39 sts) (35, 43)
Cast off. Sew up seams.

Contributed by Sue's Crochet and Knitting site, which offers Free Crochet and Knit Patterns, a Craft Discussion Board, Craft Supplies and much more.

Necklace and Bracelet (Jasper and Goldstone)

He is my last work with previously mentioned stones: blue veined jasper and blue goldstone. I have used black seed beads for decoration and for fun :-)

Goldstone and Jasper

This post will be about my last work with blue veined jasper and blue goldstone.

Jasper

There are many types of jasper; it is one of the oldest known gemstones. All jaspers are strong securing, stability stones. It is a powerful protection against things that are not good for you and it eases emotional stresses.

Jasper is an earthy, solid grounding stone. It encourages practicality and skillful application in a realistic way. One if its main energies is repair and healing of matters that are physical.
Jasper stimulates honesty and bestows courage, can help you pursue and achieve your goals.

Source:http://www.crystal-cure.com
Photo: http://www.beadsdirect.co.uk

Goldstone

Goldstone is a man made gemstone that has been around since the European Rennaissance.

Early monks working at a glass factory near Venice, Italy were practicing alchemy when molten copper accidentally tipped into a molten glass container.

This crystallized into thousands of tiny crystals and formed a melt with golden light sparkles. This is how the first goldstone came about. Though it is not technically a gemstone, it is often referred to as one.
Red goldstone is associated with vitality and energy. Blue Goldstone is associated with learning and communication.

Goldstone is an energy stone.

Source: http://crystal-cure.com/goldstone.html

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Books

I was looking for something interesting and inspiring for myself to read and to find some ideas for my future works and I have found these amazing books. They are old, but so interesting. I hope someone will find it useful and inspiring as well.


1. "English jewellery from the fifth century A.D. to 1800" (Year 1921).


A link to the library: http://www.archive.org/details/englishjewellery00evanuoft ,and a book to read online:Read Online , or PDF to download: Download a PDF to read from your computer


2. "Silverwork and jewelry : a text-book for students and workers in metal" (Year 1912).


A link to the library: "http://www.archive.org/details/silverworkjewelr00wils, and a book itself to read online: Read Online
or download in PDF format: to read on your computer

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Howlite and coral necklace

Please feel free to comment on my last work. I is made of coral chips and howlite chips. Very calming stones even if they are very attractive (red coral and white howlite):