How did November Go by so Fast?

 I feel like I have nothing to show for it; my stitching has focused on two Christmas gifts, one of which I'm not entirely sure will be ready in time.

But I did do a little bit more. Like this sugar skull from Kiriki Press:

And these steampunk book charms that of course I had to turn into earrings:

It's Black Friday, and I'm out of black floss which I very much need for one of the gifts. But I don't know if I can bring myself to venture out into the rain and the crowds to get it. If only one could arrange for thread delivery like one can for pizza ...

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

Ok, so I'm a little late with February's entry in the Inspired by Reading group (maybe because I only remembered to start reading the last week).

Watchmaker is Pulley's debut novel, and an unusual novel it is.  Set mostly in London, 1883-1884 (with a few flashbacks to Japan), it details the odd relationships that develop between Thaniel, a telegraph clerk for the government, Mori, the mysterious titular watchmaker, and Grace, a physicist at Oxford. Despite the setting and clockwork inventions, and even the touch of magic, "steampunk" doesn't really apply as the story is far more concerned with the philosophical concepts of fate and free will.  The novel is deeper and darker than its synopsis would suggest.

Fittingly, with the exception of Thaniel (a genuinely good man) the characters are difficult, flawed people who don't neatly fit into storytelling tropes like The Ally, the Wise Man, or The Antagonist. Grace in particular is fascinating, exasperating, egotistical, and sometimes just plain terrible. This gives the novel a depth that keeps it from becoming too twee and whimsical. By the story's end, there is a lingering disquiet because we don't know who is ultimately right about Mori, Thaniel or Grace. 

On to the jewelry! Incorporating watch parts was a no-brainer, but I wanted a fairly simple necklace:

I added a typewriter key because of Thaniel. Yeah, telegraph keys are unadorned because there's only the one per machine, but I like the way it looks.

I really enjoyed the thoughful Watchmaker, and I look forward to the coming sequel.

Jewelry Round-Up

Another beaded bangle, like the Christmas one, but with pale pink pearls and black seed beads:

Steampunk earrings, made from clockwork gears from Blueberry Cove's Steampunk Box (with faceted glass beads from the Renaissance Box):

A red and turquoise necklace:

The beads were two inexpensive strands from Michaels, but even together it wasn't long enough. I attached each end to a large jump ring, and then added chain with a strip of red sari silk woven through the links.

I don't remember what I was going to make with these Indian glass beads, so I made a necklace instead.  Super fast and super pretty -- it's like a strand of hard candy around my neck:

Pretty, sparkly cup chain wired to two "gold" bangles.  I got the idea from the March 2013 issue of Bead Style (Becky Nunn being the designer).  It will look lovely with these bangles.

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

The Iron Duke is billed as a steampunk romance, but it is quite a bit more bonkers than that -- yes, there are airships and clockworks and a Victorianish atmosphere, but there are also secret societies, pirates, radio-controlled nanoagents, zombies, cyborgs, and giant half-metal sharks.  Brook is such a talented writer, however, that you just take all that craziness in stride and enjoy the story.

This is primarily a romance, so there was an awful lot of relationship angst and thinking about feelings; I would have preferred more adventure-having and mystery-solving.  And there is the potential for some ugly racial issues.  According to this alternate history, the Golden Horde successfully took over most of Europe for hundreds of years, and England only recently regained its freedom.  Even in our world, where there was no Mongol empire ruling everyone through the use of mind-controlling nanoagents, white people nonetheless managed to have (still have, in some cases) some ugly opinions about Asians; you can imagine what the fictional English in the novel think of them.  Brook smartly mitigates some of this by making the female protagonist half-Asian, but this can only go so far (especially given that she is the product of a rape) and there is the danger of tokenism.  There are also brief references to a resistance within the Horde, so perhaps later books will widen the scope.

Still, this book was loads of fun.  I also read two novellas set in the same world -- The Blushing Bounder and Wrecked.  As is often the case in romance novellas, the couples go from hate to true love far too quickly, but the novellas are worth reading for the added world-building.

Button and Charm Necklace

The idea came from Beautiful Button Jewelryby Susan Davis, right there on the cover -- a necklace of peach pearls, with vintage lockets, buttons, and charms.  I rooted through my stash (including jewelry I no longer wear) and pulled together this:

Which then became this:

A locket box, into which I inserted a scrap of photocopied vintage handwriting and a lace doodad, and a plastic button with a lacy pattern:

Vintage buttons:

An inexpensive "brass" locket, another vintage button, and a milagro paired with a mother-of-pearl ring:

A little brass button (there are three more on the necklace, I wish I could remember where they are from), an orphaned earring (one of my favorites, darn it) with the lever-back finding cut off (paired with a shell button to keep the cut-off part from scratching me), and a cheap watch face with with another shell button on top:

Steampunk Bracelet

The inspiration for this design came from some awesome zippers I found in a tiny little quilt/fabric store in Carlisle, PA, on my way to visit Beadmom and Fr. Beadbrother. Unlike the dyed plastic zippers of today, these had brass metal teeth and were nice and big. I snapped up the zippers in black, brown, beige, and burgundy and plotted what to do with them.*

The bracelet came together over several months. I first unzipped it and cut off a length from the end to wrap around my wrist, with extra to spare for finishing. I turned the teeth out so the brass would serve as a kind of picot edging. I tea-dyed some white lace and sewed it between the two strips, and then I sewed on various watch parts, using crystals to hold them in place.

The last step was to make a loop on one end from gold-painted size 6 seed beads (I hope the finish does not wear off, but if it does I can replace the loop) and attach a gold-plated button on the other. The button is quite plain, but it was the best fit for the bracelet. If I ever find a suitable charm, gear, or watch part I'll glue it on to the top.

Unfortunately it's winter, which is long-sleeve weather, which on me means sleeves to my knuckles. So I can't really show the bracelet off yet.

*While I was in the store, the proprietor and another customer, both in their 50s-60s, spent the entire time complaining about how young women today don't know how to sew a button and have no interest in sewing. Apparently they are unaware of the growing popularity of needlearts among all sorts of people -- crafty types, hipsters, green/eco types, young homemakers, artists, city people, country folks, retro and vintage lovers, people on a budget, and so on. Also, I wonder what they thought of me buying zippers. (I didn't tell them I would be "repurposing" them.) (assuming I still count as a "young woman.")

Steampunk Jewels

After the week I had, I decided to forgo my usual Saturday late-morning nap and instead hang out in the craft room while Mr. Beadgirl took the boys out. Several months ago I bought Steampunk Style Jewelry, and I've been dying to make something steampunk ever since. So I sat down and rooted through boxes and tins of beads, charms, watch parts, keys, and metal doodads I've been hoarding over the years. I created a bunch of charms and pendants, and hung them from a brass yoke-chain. The results:
I used an s-hook clasp to finish it, that way I can shorten the necklace (symmetrically) if I want.

Close-ups of the individual components:
I took a plain brass bottle cap, turned up the edges with pliers, drilled a hole through one edge, and glued on (with Modge Podge) a circle of paper with vintage handwriting. If you look closely, you can see the brush strokes in the gel medium, so I have to be careful with that in the future.

The coin is a British pence, which I drilled a hole through.

This is an old key from who knows where, a copper milagro of some indeterminate shape (I've never seen another like this), and a glass pearl.

The charm on the left is from a pair of brass rose earrings that I adored. Unfortunately, one flower broke off the ear wire years ago, and I've been saving it for something all this time (the other earring seems to have disappeared entirely). I glued the flower onto a brass cabochon disk with two links, and added a glass pearl dangle.

The charm on the right is a brass button (really, a giant rivet) from a pair of jeans. I threaded it onto a head pin, with two pearls to hold it in place.

These are vintage watch parts; some time ago I picked up a little collection of old parts -- gears, watch faces, watch handles, and so on. The one on the left is a large, broken gear. The one on the right is a watch face that I drilled a hole in, and added a small washer for interest.

More watch parts, tiny ones this time. I placed tiny gears and other parts in a large brass cabochon disk, along with a steel circle stamped with the number 3 that I've had for years (I have no idea where it came from). I then filled the disk with Diamond Glaze, which hardens after 24 hours into a glass-like consistency. About half way through, a bunch of tiny little bubbles showed up, which I was not happy about. And there's nothing I can do about it, grrr.

The centerpiece, a big old-fashioned key with a glass pearl dangle.

The charm on the left is a fabric and copper link, made by wrapping a strip of velvet around a copper wire, and wrapping a thinner wire on top of the fabric. (On the other side of the necklace I have another link like this.) The technique is Deryn Mentock's, and originally appeared in Belle Armoire Jewelry. She's now selling a tutorial in her etsy store. (Well, she was, as of yesterday.)

The charm on the right is made from a little glass bottle I filled with more teeny watch parts. I then cut up a wine cork to get a chunk to cram into the top, and wrapped copper wire around it to make a loop for hanging.

Another British coin (20 pence) I drilled through, and a brass scarab charm (very Victorian).

The last charm. The brass plate is apparently from an old men's accessory company, and I have no idea where I got it. I glued on top a broken fleur-de-lis I've had for many years (in fact, I think it originally belonged to my mom, since I've had it since high school).

I'm quite pleased with this necklace; it even impressed Mr. Beadgirl, notoriously oblivious to jewelry, who immediately identified it as steampunk.

Finally, while waiting for different components to dry, I even started putting together another necklace, this one more Victorian in style:
Once I find some seed beads to match the larger beads, I will weave the seed beads in and out of the filigree flower, and finish the rest of the necklace.