My Top 5 Jewelry Craft Reference Books

I have a bit of a book-buying problem. I'll admit it. I should never be left alone in a Barnes & Noble or a Borders. Browsing through their craft section the other day got me to thinking about reference books I love (and reference books I want).



The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques by Anastasia Young.

This is a new release from Interweave Press, a solid crafts book publisher. (We carry a lot of their titles at work.) I flipped through it the other day and The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques looks to be one of the most comprehensive guides I've seen yet on jewelry making, from beads and gemstones to metals and soldering, as well as step-by-step project instructions. Hardcover with 320 pages of beautiful color photographs, this is sure to become a well-referenced classic in the world of jewelry texts. The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques is at the absolute top of my crafty "to-buy" book list. Available at your favorite book retailer, or online from Interweave. ($34.95 US)


Gemstones of the World: Newly Revised & Expanded Fourth Edition by Walter Schumann

I call Gemstones of the World my "little red book." My copy is only the third edition, but nonetheless it's invaluable for anyone at all interested in the mineralogy of the gemstones they work with and the science behind their beauty. Gemstones of the World is one of the top guides in the field, and has been since its first publication in 1976. The writing is clear and concise, and the photos are all in glorious color—essential for a book about gemstones!—and contain examples of specimens both rough and polished. Gemstones of the World also has a comprehensive index and a slightly less comprehensive Table of Constants to help you identify minerals. Changes and updates to the fourth edition of Gemstones of the World (published December, 2009) include:

• 400 new gemstone listings
  
• expanded information on "What's On the Market"
  
• a new chapter on treated gemstones

Available on Amazon, $24.95.



Beading Basics by Carole Rodgers

or any other beginner's book


Beading Basics is pretty much what it says. Most serious jewelry makers are probably well beyond the level Rodgers addresses in Beading Basics, but that's why it has "basics" in the title. By her own admission, Ms Rodgers describes her book as geared for the beginner; a book she would have liked to have when she started. But that was then, this is now; Beading Basics is solid enough, but there are a plethora of beginners's books out there. Whatever you find works for you; for me, this books works. I included it in this list because she has the best instructions for making eyepins and wire-wrapped loops that I've read or heard anywhere, as well as full-color illustrations and solid tools explanations. But if you can wire-wrap in your sleep and know how to peyote stitch or put clamshells over your crimps, pass on this one—unless one of her included projects strikes your fancy.

Available on Amazon (I've also seen it in JoAnn's and Michael's, with the beads), $19.99.



The Handmade Marketplace, by Kari Chapin

Kari Chapin is a big deal name in the crafty world: teaching classes at Etsy's Summit of Awesome, hosting e-courses, writing books. The Handmade Marketplace is another book that's on my "when I get more disposable income" list. It was the #1 craft book on Amazon in 2010 and has nothing but rave reviews. It's a little book, but packed with a lot of awesome and a lot contributions from various Etsy artisans, all about how to sell and market your awesome handmade goodies. Given the time, I would have probably devoured the whole thing in Barnes & Noble. Alternatively, you can sign up for one of Ms. Chapin's online class and get some valuable one-on-one time with the amazing lady.

Available on Amazon (and for a song, on the Kindle!), $14.95.



Beginning GIMP: From Novice to Professional, Second Edition by Akkana Peck

(or any other photo software reference book)


The number one tip any seller gets on Etsy about how to improve their store is almost always: better photos! And while knowing the basics (lots of natural light, no flash, crisp and complementary backgrounds) is important, more often than not you're going to have to touch up your work digitally. Enter Beginning GIMP. The highest-rated GIMP reference book on Amazon, Beginning GIMP is comprehensive, with chapters ranging from GIMP basics to touch-ups, color, scripting, and plug-ins. Ms. Peck is an active member in the GIMP community, occasionally even contributing source code—all of this comes straight from the horses's mouth. While not everything will be relevant to Etsy product photos, too much information is certainly better than too little.

Of course, if you don't use the GIMP, then this isn't much help at all. Any good text on popular image editing programs (Photoshop, CS, etc) can fill in this slot. It's just that I use the GIMP.

What are the top reference books in your library/wishlist?

Spotted!: Pi Hats by The Pi Shop

You can ever get your kids into math too young, as ThePiShop on Etsy can tell you. Why not get them into geometry in style with a sweet, understated pi hat?



I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with this idea for math-based accessories. Can I also say that I love the idea of an Etsy store devoted entirely to pi? How about some pi sweaters? Pi scarves? Pi mittens?

Too cool!

Treasury: Lunar Eclipse

On late Monday night/early Tuesday morning, a total lunar eclipse will be visible all throughout the Western Hemisphere. Astronomy enthusiasts in Europe and East Asia will also be able to see the eclipse at moonset. The action starts at 12.27 AM EST Tuesday morning and finishes at 6.06 AM.

I did you all a favor and scoured Etsy for everything you need to enjoy the eclipse from the comfort of your own backyard. Enjoy!

'Total Eclipse of the Moon' by Kokoba

Single Serve White Hot Choco... SimplySweetCak... $3.00	Antique Brass and Leather Fi... HoudiniHouse $47.00
Oh my stars astronomy-themed... buffalonerdpro... $25.00	MOON Felted slippers made of... ing00te $70.00
Crochet Womens Young Miss Gr... catssoftstitch... $40.00	Cabled Mittens in Soft Gray HandstitchedSt... $14.00
FREE SHIPPING Wool Blanket -... magiebelle $36.00	Winter Solstice Herbal Tea HMApothecary $10.00
Crochet Coffee Cozy skypeachshop $7.00	Vintage 1960 ASTRONOMY Book ... CarolMai $28.00
Eclipse Necklace - Sterling ... erga $235.00	Working Telescope Spyglass N... sandrandan $36.00
Vintage XL Wool and Persian ... MotherMidnight $78.00	Camera/Video Case-Vertical dpmilsom $8.00
Pine Tree and Moon Pottery C... JimAndGina $25.00	Antique Eastman Kodak Browni... AntiNu $28.00

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

Finished: Viking Knit Project

My best friend is a chemist. For her birthday, I offered to make her a custom Avogadro's number (6.0221415 x 10²³) necklace. That was in early September. I just finished it last night. Oops!



The lampwork beads were, in turn, a custom job from a friend/former co-worker, Nancy Sala of Kaleidoglass Studios. She does beautiful work all the time, and this was no exception.



This also marks the first of my finished Viking knit projects (the gold-colored wire part). I learned how to do it back in August, but I never used the finished knit for anything before (just for practice ones). Now I'm working on a copper double-knit for a potential order from Twitter. The question is: to patina, or not to patina?

Viking knit, by the way, is super-easy to do, turns out very cool, and also gets you a nice, gender-neutral chain result. All you need is wire (from any craft store) and a dowel rod. Tape is useful too, but I find I can manage without it.

Viking Knit How-To:

• Rocio shows you how to Viking knit.
  
• Viking Knit video tutorial, for those of you who would prefer to see an example in action.

Viking Knit Supplies:

• Heather Ferman does custom endcap orders. I haven't ordered from her personally (I had picked up others before I caught wind of her), but I've seen her work and it's quite good. My friend who taught me Viking Knit orders from her and has been satisfied every time.
  
• Nancy Sala, like I mentioned before, does wonderful things. Lampwork beads can be pricey when you start purchasing sets, but Viking Knit pieces (especially bracelets or anklets) are great for showcasing just one bead at at time.
  
• Koregon on Etsy also has nice lampwork beads; unfortunately they only ship in the US at this time.
  
• Wire you can get just about anywhere. I buy mine at Gilman's here in Hellertown; I know others without a local source order from Rio Grande Suppliers.
  
• If you want to get a bit fancy, you can use liver of sulfur on your finished (silver or copper) chain for a colored patina—very vintage and rugged-looking. Here is a video tutorial on YouTube. Mine I can get, again, at Gilman's. I don't think I see it much in big box craft stores, but Rio Grande Supplies carries it, so you can order from them.

Happy knitting!

Serious Business: Bombings in Stockholm

I am so unplugged from the news that I don't hear about suicide bombings in my future adopted homeland until days after the fact from other people. (And not even from my Swedish boyfriend/fiancé-type-creature who lives in Stockholm!) And since no one on Facebook was posting about it, I had to hear it from my boss here in the States when I dropped in to return a work shirt.

Only the bomber himself was killed, apparently—guess he failed the "massive explosives" course at terrorist training camp!—but obviously it's still a bit of a shock. Between this and escalating North-South tensions on the Korean peninsula, it seems like everywhere I want to go has recently been under threats of violence.

I'm not frightened about it. I'm not angry. Those are the kind of responses that actions like this set out to trigger; you give into those, and "the terrorists* have already won." I will still go to Stockholm in January, and I will still move there after another year in Korea. Likewise, the Cheonan sinking or military shelling in Yeonpyeong won't keep me from going back to Korea. If South Koreans aren't living in fear, then why should I?

I think the only appropriate response to political violence is disappointment. Sadness. There's one fewer person on the planet, that much less potential for good and kind things in the world—though arguably that was lost long before Taimour Abdulwahab Al-Abdaly blew his guts out, people can turn around. Can change. He also left behind a wife and three kids to live with what he did. What he wanted to do. "Oh, your dad was the guy that blew himself up in Stockholm back in 2010, that's right." What a crap legacy to leave behind for such cute kids!



My condolences go out to his widow and children.




*why I hate the word "terrorist" and go to great lengths to avoid using it is another blog entry altogether; just making my dislike of the word vocal, here.

Math Doodles

Lawyer Mom, bless her, emailed me a link to Vi Hart: Math Doodles. Vi is a "recreational mathemusician" (best job ever? I think so!) and when she's not busy being awesome has a whole bunch of math, music, and general neat stuff she does online. Take this video, for instance, about infinite snakes on a plane:





And even a section on math & beads: hyperbolic planes with beads! I'm already contemplating ways of turning those into pendants.

Bucket List

When I was in elementary school, we did a class project on the rainforest. (We actually focused on Belize in particular.)

"How cool would it be to actually go there?" I thought back then. "Probably will never happen, though."

Fast forward about fourteen, fifteen years.




This teaching certificate has been a lot of work, don't misunderstand, but it's also left me with the time to do crazy things like ZIPLINE THROUGH THE RAINFOREST.

I've also not forgotten my crafty endeavors. Two items in particular have made me pleased as punch.

The first is this little fellow. I picked him up at a store in nearby Moravia in the least kitchy, least tourist-y shop we could find (that wasn't attached to the super-cool old-fashioned leather workshop for which Moravia is famous).




He's quite small, only a couple centimeters tall, and looks to be cast out of copper. He's going to become a bracelet when I get home, so I have a handmade souvenir of my time in Costa Rica.


The next one is an item of interest to any of you tailors/seamstresses out there. Quite simply, these are the coolest pants I will ever own in my life. They are multi-step pants.


Step 0



This is what you start out with: a piece of cloth (rayon, or something else lightweight) with the drawstrings. You can't see the bottom in this picture, but it's a mirror image of about what you see here. A large rectangle of fabric with a seam/pucker in the middle, and extra ties on the short ends.

Step 1

Tie one of the short ends around you like an apron. Your front will be covered and there will be a knot in the back.



See how it puckers a bit? That's not just the drape of the fabric, there's a seam in there that will later become the crotch of the pants.



Step 2

Stand with legs apart. Reaching from behind and through your legs, pull the fabric through your legs.

Right now, one short end of the rectangle is fastened to the front of your body. This brings up the other short end to the back of your body.



Tie it around your front.

Step 3

Look super chic!

The end result are pants that are breezy and open on the outside, though both sides overlap so it's not open all the way up. A strong breeze is enough to expose you, though, so I wear leggings under mine. Plus, because they're lightweight and open, you can get pretty chilly pretty quickly. What they're absolutely perfect for, though, is beach-side cover-up.




I'm having a rough time finding any information on this kind of pants online. One of my fellow CELTees called them Mexican Fisherman Trousers, but those don't match quite what I have (except that they are also pants that you tie on out of a large piece of fabric). This is the closest I can find: Thai Fisherman's Pants. Still completely different construction, though; the crotch is sewn into those, while with the ones I have you create the crotch by folding the fabric.

Once I get home, I'll spread out more and post some better pictures (tripod's at home) of the fabric flat, so it's easier to reverse engineer your own pair.

On a note unrelated to maths or handicrafts, I'm officially certified as an EFL teacher now, which is rather mind-boggling. It was a short but intense month, filled with paperwork and practice teaching and lifelong friendships. Finally, I have some time now in Costa Rica to myself, which I plan to spend on the beautiful shores of Guanacaste at Samara beach. (Or, hopping a bus to La Fortuna again, to get another shot at Venado Cave and to relax in the free hot springs.)

I have to admit, though, I also look forward to going home (despite the cold cold weather) so I can finish up some jewelry projects. Fingers are twitching!