In the meantime, I'd like to recommend a couple of very good wire jewelry books that I just checked out from the good ol' public library. Both are penned by the same author, Linda Jones, whom I must say certainly seems to know her way around a spool of wire. The introduction sections of both books demonstrated a vast knowledge of wire-craft and I found them very helpful, informative, and easy to read. So without further ado... here are "Creating Wire and Beaded Jewelry" and it's culture-specific counterpart, "Wire and Bead Celtic Jewelry."
"Creating Wire and Beaded Jewelry" has more to do with, but is by no means limited to, making gorgeous chains one beautiful link at a time. The images on the cover actually give a very good representation of its content. However, it doesn't take much imagination to realize that any of these lovely chain links can easily be adapted to an earring design or possibly even a hairstick embellishment. (Why, oh why, is my steel bench block not here yet?! Sigh...)
"Wire and Bead Celtic Jewelry" offers a wider variety of projects, such as shawl pins, rings, and even a very cool twisted wire torque pattern. While I'll admit that most of the designs in the book didn't smack of being terribly Celtic-themed to me, the ones that did really delivered. Also, there are some fabulous jig pattern templates in the back of the book in case you happen to have one of these babies:
It's a deluxe wire jig set. You can get one at most craft stores. I bought mine at the local Jo-Ann Fabrics for only twenty bucks... well, $13.50 with my coupon. ;) It's a Darice brand jig and I think we're going to get along just fine. It seems quite simple and easy to use, though I'll admit that I haven't had a chance to actually use it yet. (Is that steel block here yet? No? Oh, well...)
Well, it's way past my bedtime. Later, folks!
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