Wedding Bells are Ringing

No, not mine. Two of my friends got married this weekend and I was flattered when they contacted me to make matching necklaces for the bridesmaids.

I should start earlier. Mateo, the groom, got ahold of me around 6 months ago with an idea. We were in IRC and he was looking for a good place to buy a silver chain for a charm he bought. We talked, he sent me a pic of the charm, and came up with a plan. The result was a sterling engagement necklace, and soon after he announced his engagement to the beautiful bride to be.



That is by far the most sentimental thing I've done in my four years of mailling, and I was SO happy I could be a part of such a happy thing. Then Jenn, the bride to be, emailed me about ideas for the wedding. We finally settled on matching necklaces for the bridesmaids. They're helm chain, in bright aluminum.



This was my first time working with helm chain, and I ran across a problem almost immediately. After seeking advice on a mailling forum and ordering the rings, I soon found out that the AR's of the smaller and larger rings didn't quite fit right. Well, I wasn't going to let that stop me! So each of the smaller rings has been lightly pinched into an oval shape. I loved the weave so much (despite the challenge) after finishing the necklaces, I plan to make another one for myself. Maybe a matching bracelet. When/if I get a bit more spare time I might tinker with making something with a helm sheet.

TL;DR - My maille made a significant appearance in a friend's marriage, and I'm so happy for their new life together.

Photo sources:
The Non Sucky Wedding
GSpeezy's Flickr Set

You take the high road

I was commissioned a while back to help a friend out with his sporran, and just recently got the chance and materials to complete it. The belt he has for it is nothing special - a simple chain attached to belt leather with a buckle in the back, and two clasps attaching to the pouch. Understandably, he wanted something with a little more personality.

I honestly do not remember the stats on these rings, so I am going to take a guess with BA 18ga 5/32" ID. The two clasps are taken from the old belt, and the weave is box chain with a few byzantine flourishes.

Re-Introduction

This blog used to be something different entirely. It had no direction, organization, or anything of interest really. Now I'd like to try something different.

Chain maille is one of my most favorite hobbies (I have a lot of hobbies!), and I'd like to share it with you. I will post my own creations as well as other maille-related stuff I happen across on the internet.

So, a little about myself.
I've been mailling since 2004. I was in college and needed a hobby to fill my limited free time and help me keep my sanity between classes. There was someone else in that town who mailled, and I was fascinated as I watched him do it one evening during a game night. I bought a bracelet from him, and a few pair of pliers from a local art store. Took it apart, put it together, took it apart, put it together, took it apart... looked up some different weaves online and tried those until the rings started breaking. Yeah, I stressed the aluminum rings to the point of breaking because I played with them so much. I also realized that I couldn't do all the weave patterns I wanted with a small batch of 14g 3/8" rings, so I made my first order to theringlord.com. I don't have that first bracelet anymore. I think it got recycled into 5 smaller pieces.

A month later my roommate caught on to the same obsession, and we became a 'business.' We called ourselves the Mischief Makers (inspired entirely by the shenanigans of Rowling's crafty duo Fred and George Weasley), made and sold jewelry to friends, showed off our talents on deviantArt, and got a booth at the school's annual holiday craft faire. It helped us pay for college and gave us something to do. This year, I graduated and moved to Seattle. She's moving to California. Our days as the Mischief Makers ended.

Now I am calling my art Knitted Steel and going solo. I still love making maille and couldn't possibly give it up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Enough of that. Here's something simple as my first post: A commission for a friend.


16ga 1/4"ID Bright Aluminum, Copper-clad Aluminum, and black neoprene.