Getting back to what I had in mind.

When I started this blog my idea was to share the journey of jewelry making.  To allow you to come along as I learned to make different pieces of jewelry and let you know how I over come the problems I faced.  I should have known that I would probably not be able to follow that plan.  Mainly because I am the type of person who finds a solution and moves on.  I am now thinking that posting these small triumphs may be a way for me to see the progress that I am making.  This will also show I am not in the time warp I sometimes feel I am in.

First I want to say when I decided to start making jewelry it was a need to remake myself.  I left a very stressful job as a surgical technologist and my youngest daughter had graduated high school, married and left home. So faced with an empty nest and no career I needed to find something to do with my time.  I picked up a few odds and ends for jewelry making one day.  After creating my first piece I was hooked.  Not because it was so incredibly great but because it gave me a feeling of accomplishment and I enjoyed the creative process.

Naturally I started searching the internet for information on jewelry making.  I came across wire working.  I was amazed at the weaves and circles.  I watched videos showing people holding their wires as they created different patterns.  I gathered my supplies and jumped in.  I am not a strong or rough person but the first problem I came up against  when weaving was I would bend my support wires.  I was using 20 gauge.  Which is still the gauge I enjoy using.  I did what I always do when I come up against a problem.  I called my Dad. LOL  My Dad is 70 and I am so blessed to still have him in my life and close by.  He is someone who can come up with simple low cost answers.  I explained I would like to have a frame that could help hold the wires while I was weaving but I wasn't sure what kind of clamps to use.  His answer "How about a clip board?  Then you can cut the middle out."

Here is the outcome of that conversation.

 
I chose to use two clip boards so i could vary the length.  I cut out the middle and placed holes in the sides and used screws and wing nuts to hold it together.  The length can be varied by using the different holes.  The ends of the wires are slid under the clips which hold the wires straight and allow me to weave easily from front to back with out bending the support wires.  Note; I used mini clip boards.

This is one of the projects I have completed using my home made wire loom.

This is a journey of learning.  Sometimes self teaching is a slow painful method of learning.  Sometimes you surprise yourself and find you are more capable than you ever imagined.
Happy Creating to Everyone.