deep in the heart of Ironforge...

where was i? oh, yes... that lovely storage case. i bought this mainly because i fell in love with the closure. yes, i am very easily swayed.

open this one to reveal... a hot mess of random bits. clearly my OCD was on hiatus that when i packed this case. the kitty is looking away in utter disgust. 

this one houses assorted spools of wire, a small selection of thread for beading, and an assortment of clasps, crimp beads, bead caps, and other random metal bits (all of those tiny metal parts are collectively referred to as "findings").

it also houses (most of) my collection of wire cutters and pliers...

and my favorite wire-working tool, a mini anvil and hammer set. i like to imagine myself deep in the heart of Ironforge when i am using this thing. perhaps i have said too much.

there are also several tubes and baggies of seed beads in a relatively tame assortment of colors.

this bag of beads came from a necklace that i purchased for a buck from our local Salvation Army. unfortunately, the necklace broke shortly after i got it home, and i had to scramble to collect as may of the tiny beads as i could. i probably lost half of them to the vacuum cleaner.

there were also a few projects i had completely forgotten about.

this necklace features a large number of small beads and even smaller quartz chips that had to be individually wired before assembling the piece. i wanted to add a tiny pop of color to the smoky-grey palette, so i included a couple red faceted quarts beads in the body of the necklace, and i echoed that with a single red bead that is meant to dangle at the back of the neck. i have never worn this thing.

then there are the other projects in various stages of doneness.

i intended to add some different shaped/colored beads to this bracelet, but i never go around to it. it also needs a clasp, as it is being held shut by a small piece of wire.

this necklace also needs a proper clasp, but that has not stopped me from wearing it a few times.

this simple necklace has an adjustable hook and chain closure. however, i cannot bring myself to wear the thing as it is a little too rosary-like for my personal taste. i will have to give it a tweak one of these days... maybe.

oh, and i made that adorable s-shaped hook myself from a short length of wire, and i got to use my tiny anvil to give it a few thwacks to help harden the metal, so it does not get bent out of shape easily. i really enjoy that part of the craft.
 

my most frustrating project to date involves a lot of little plastic beads that were repurposed from another Salvation Army find.

i spent many hours wiring them up in little groups of two or three beads.

the plan was to arrange all of those little groups into some sort of necklace. i tried out a few designs, but i was not especially excited about any of them. if all else fails, i can string all the little loops onto a length of leather or hemp cord, and wear it like that.

my most-worn project to date has to be these earrings. they are my go-to accessory in the Summer.

i also have a few simple bracelets, which i do wear every once in a blue moon.

i made this one back when i was attempting to give myself a crash-course in wire-weaving. it is currently being held closed by a twist tie i found in the bottom of a kitchen drawer, but he expressed some interest in it, so i may add a proper clasp and pass it along to him.

there is also this silver and blue necklace, which is another go-to Summer favorite.

and they all rotate between being buried in the box or hanging on the nifty little jewelry display/storage mannequin. it was a gift from my mom. thanks again, mom.

sorting through all of that has left me eager to get back to making pretty things... which will most likely end up being stashed away in a storage container, never to see the light of day.

constellation of distractions...

it would appear that my attempt at public-shaming from two nights ago had the right effect... on the wrong person.

him: i did not realize you had that many projects on the go at once.
me: oh, i'm sure i missed a couple-few. i didn't feel like digging around in the back of the yarn closet.
him: hopefully looking at all of them in one place will motivate you to get them done.
me: you'd think so, wouldn't you? meanwhile, i want to cast on a million new things.
him: what if i say that you can't buy any more yarn until you finish those projects?
me: uhm... good luck with that one. that's what i say.

the worst part is that it is not just new projects, but entire new crafts that are calling to me at present.

it is almost lambing season in the Northern hemisphere, which is followed by fleece-shearing season. i usually spend weeks in deep contemplation (not to mention lots of harassment of sheep-breeders) while i decide what sort of fleece i might want to purchase. mind you, i still have the two fleeces from last year waiting to be spun, so that is one definite distraction from getting my WIPs and UFOs completed.

then there is the other distraction.

i have been watching a whole lot of beading and jewelry-making videos on the You Tubes of late, so now i want to drop everything and make jewelry. worst part is, i already have more than enough stuff on hand to make that happen.

see these two storage-type devices? they are filled with all the bits and pieces from an earlier obsession of mine.

there are about a dozen of these black-and-white boxes scattered around our place, most of which contain fragments of the constellation of distractions that keeps me sane.

oh, and speaking of constellations, we had a few nights recently where the skies were so clear that we could see Orion. we were on the sofa one night, and i looked out the window, and there it was... Orion. and it was there the next two nights. then we went back to near-constant overcast skies and snow, so is has not been seen since. but that is not the point of this thing. where was i? oh, yes... boxes of distractions.

be forewarned: when i get interested in a thing... i tend to go all the way.

this box contains...

many little plastic organizers filled with assorted beads and other such things.

this is one of the areas where my OCD goes into overdrive. buried into each of those sections is a small piece of paper which bears the type and size of bead.

you may have noticed that a few of those beads have been embellished with metal bits.

these particular beads were intended to become part of a space-inspired bracelet. [fun fact: i really wanted to be an astronaut when i was a kid.]

i was teaching myself to wrap wire around beads, and the effect on these cracked-glass beads looked totally cosmic to me. so pretty.

these are my two favorite bead containers.

this one is double-sided, so you can flip it over and store even more things.

and this one has three layers that stack together like one of those nifty multi-layered lunchboxes.

one of those layers houses lovely bits for making earrings.

and yes, there are more labels here. i take my OCD very seriously.

i also have four plastic containers, each of which holds an assortment of jump rings and head pins in four different colors (dark-grey, bright-silver, silver, and copper).

this is when the Little One showed up... and she refused to move.

that object she is examining is part of bracelet i started to construct when i was attempting to teach myself a bit of chain weaving.

and i recently purchased some hemp cord that i hope to get around to experimenting with in the near future.

oh, and i have some of those bits for making cords for glasses... which i promise you will be a near-future project of hilarious proportions.

then there is this awesome case... but i will save that one for tomorrow.

on the fifth day of Christmas...

i'm feeling so relieved 
i... cannn... BREEEEEEEATHE!!!

finally!

to be fair, it is only one nostril back in action, but that is enough for me to survive without the constant mouth-breathing of the past four days.

i feel so dehydrated, especially as drinking anything meant that i had to stop breathing entirely while i sipped and swallowed. who knew breathing was so complicated??? no exaggeration, i experienced a massive life-or-death dilemma while eating a gingerbread cookie. i was chewing it for what seemed like forever, but it still felt like a mouthful of bone-dry crumbs. that is when i remembered that i would soon have to inhale.

problem was, with a mouth full of dry cookie crumbs, even the slightest inhale would result in some of that going racing into my lungs, which would end with a fit of coughing and choking. that is when the panic kicked in.

i could not decide what to do. should i spit the chewed up bits of cookie all over the floor, then inhale? or maybe i should try to form some kind of tunnel to let the air through? trust me, it was hilarious. i ended up using my tongue to sweep all the bits into one cheek and keep them there, while i finally sucked down some air on the other side of my mouth. all of that because of a lousy cold.

but, now... i can breathe! i am celebrating the happy development with my first cup of coffee in almost a whole week, and it smells and tastes great. i had almost forgotten how awesome smelling and tasting stuff can be.

i think it is fair to write off this week as an official bust. we are both still not over this bug, and it will be a while yet before our home stops being filled with the constant sound of coughing.

the worst part, however, is that i was genuinely too sick and tired to work on the one project i had set aside especially for this week.

i was calling this my Marvel-ous sweater, as i was going to work on it while we watched those movies (plus some other stuff). i was totally convinced that i would have it done in time to wear when we have our special New Year's Eve dinner. at this rate, the special meal may turn out to be yet another bowl of chicken soup for two.

the pattern is called Morning in Engelberg by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne. i especially love the juxtapositioning of the textures in the garter stitch and the cable.

that cable is plump, almost to the point of being marshmallowy... -ish, -esque, -like?

and i am using this adorable stitch-marker that i made some years back when i was deeply fascinated with creating things from beads and wire.

and now i need to add that to the list of activities to revisit in the coming year. no promises though.

salvage job...

so... i made this bracelet...

but i've been haunted by this feeling
of overwhelming incompleteness.  it just did't feel done.  don't get me wrong... i am renowned for the dullness of my mostly-black wardrobe, but i do love bold accessories.  this thing just... well... it has all the excitement of hand-washing gym socks.

so, i sorted through my stash, and added a few random bits and bobs in an effort to create a more controlled-disorder effect. 

not bad, eh?

i love the twisty metal bits and the crystal dangling from the chain.  this project ranks somewhere in the range of advanced-beginner.  it is, after all, a simple charm bracelet... but there is so much beauty in simplicity.   

oh... and i had a handful of wired beads left over...














so i wrapped them onto a a few links, added ear hooks, et voilà... earrings!!!  with a bracelet that busy, it's best to keep the earrings simple, or just opt for a pair of hoops instead.

after all the hard work taking pictures of my own wrist,  i unwound with a treat from the little pâtisserie up the street that claims to make the world's best donuts.  the pillowy, old-fashioned dough is filled with a vanilla pastry cream that is absolutely superb.  the chocolate donut disappeared mysteriously while i was searching for the camera.  hey... no one's ever accused me of having either patience or self-control.  not sure if i'm ready to uphold the advertised claim of world's best... but that is one absurdly good donut.