Small Paths: Free Form Jewellery

I taught myself to make jewellery - mostly with wires & beads - in 2009. I had recently returned to Co. Donegal in Ireland, where winters are exceedingly grey and grim. It rains non-stop and can get you feeling rather blue...so it is imperative to distract yourself until Spring with something shiny and cheery!

I had some basic materials to play with and got to grips with it fairly quickly. Really - the best way to learn is to get it wrong. Over and over ;)

So, here are a few examples of some crocheted wire & beaded jewellery I made...

This was made with assorted Red/Purple/Pink Glass Seed Beads & Silver Plate Wire

Earrings - Made with Sterling Silver Earwire Findings

Spring has definitely sprung in my shady little city garden here in Brighton :)

My Cabbages from last year held on in there!

Some of these beads were found on my travels through Thailand in 2009...It was fun playing with different sized/weighted beads - this "sits" quite nicely when worn... (cue some blurry late-night & hastily posed shots..!)

The gorgeous Bird Garland in the background was a present from my English Mummy from the treasure trove - The Golden Goose in Frome, Somerset :)

I really enjoy the tactile element of crocheting with wire. These are made with simple Chain Stitches, then re-crocheted together - you thread on your selected beads at the beginning, so it's nice to arrange them in different ways. Of course, I do these in a rather free-flow (some might say "sloppily" ...ahem...) fashion, so they never really come out symmetrical. I think this gives the pieces quite an organic, natural appearance... at the risk of sounding like a t*t.