How to make a Flat Box chain

Several people have asked me how to make the Flat Box chain I featured in yesterdays post. I got the idea from Becky Goga's book, Chains by Becky, available here. (Scroll down)

I usually don't write tutorials, just "instructions" that go with the classes I teach. Being there in person allows me to correct anything I say and physically show people what I mean. However, I thought I'd give it a try. Let me know if this makes sense.

Start by closing 10-12 18 gauge / 5 mm jump rings. Open an equal number of 18 gauge / 4 mm jump rings. (You will need to open and close more as you go along.)

Make a small chain of 2 - 5 mm, 2 - 4 mm, 2 - 5 mm. Place a twist tie on the last 2 rings as a handle for starting the chain.

Fold each of the last two 5 mm rings back, exposing the middle two 4 mm rings.

Spread the two 4 mm rings apart so you can see the bottom 5 mm rings.

Take an open 4 mm ring and thread it through the two bottom 5 mm rings.
Before you close the ring add two closed 5 mm rings. Close the ring.
Then add one more 4 mm ring following the path of the last 4 mm ring. Close the ring.

Basically that is it.
Start again by folding the last 5 mm rings just added and go back to the beginning.

Continue until you have the desired length. Add your favorite clasp. Wear your creation and be prepared for complements.

B

www.bevsjewelry.com and www.bevsjewelry.1000markets.com

Flat Box Chain Maille Weave

I'm back! Here is the first chain I've made since my "nuisance" wrist fracture. I decided to only do a bit at first to see how things would go. They went well. Actually, I ran out of rings.

The regular Box chain weave has never looked right to me. I've tried 18 gauge 5mm, 4.5mm and several others. The weave is OK but does not fall correctly with out some maneuvering only to need more maneuvering to keep it right. Well, that is my opinion but I have several bracelets made with sizes that were recommended and I still had the problem.


Then I found a book by Becky Goga called Chains by Becky. She had the answer for me. A pattern she calls Flat Box chain. It calls for 2 different sizes of rings. 18 gauge / 5mm and 18 gauge / 4mm. I really like the results.

It is my intention to add some lampwork beads in the center so it will match a necklace I have already made in the Flat Box weave.




Aren't those beads pretty? They are made by Sherry Ploof. I met Sherry several years ago at a bead show in Mansfield, MA. I saw her again this spring. I've ordered some beads to match the necklace.

I'll post the finished bracelet when I get the rings and beads. It feels good to be back jewelry designing again.


B

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New Chain Maille Pendant finished!

My wrist is making progress on getting stronger. The first day after the brace/splint was removed seemed discouraging as I was not back to normal yet. I always expect more than is possible. It was very sore at night. In each day since, things are better and today I worked with some jump rings. I have a 16 inch chain that is too small for me. So I made a small extender chain for it and now I can wear it with the "New Chain Maille Pendant" I posted about on 5/19/09. You can see it here. I was able to open and close about 10-15 rings with out any pain. I decided that would be it for the day. I have a bracelet I need to make for an order by the end of the month and don't want to have any problems with that.

So, here is my first finished project. Not a great accomplishment but a start. Oh, yes I also repaired a broken necklace for a friend. It just needed a new clasp.

Hopefully, I soon will have something more complex to show. Little steps. I'm getting more patient.

Other good news this week was another good check up with my Oncologist. This is the 9th good annual report. Yay!

B

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Back to being two handed.

On Monday I had my appointment with the Doctor about my wrist. After a new X-ray, he pronounced that my "nuisance" fracture was indeed healed. However, my thumb is a bit swollen and I can't bend it like I could before. Same with the wrist area.

"Well, you do have arthritis in your thumb and many of your fingers" Hmm... so, after being given some exercises to help that, I'm as good as can be - for now. Touching your thumb to each of your fingers is one exercise, squeezing a Nurf ball and trying to pull out a piece of paper held between your thumb and finger was the third.

I'm supposed to still use the brace at night. I can now do things I couldn't recently. For example, I can now type with both hands. Still make mistakes typing so it wasn't just because I was using only one hand to type. (I think I really knew that already) I was able to put on a necklace and bracelet this morning. (Still have one dressing item that I can't do. Check out my blogging buddy's post for a hint on her blog, A Bead a Day) And tying my shoes is still a problem. But I'm making progress.

Funny thing when I thought, "Now I can make some jewelry" I didn't know where to start. So I'll have to get organized again.

Off to do some hand exercises and get organized again.

B

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Red Sox vs the Washington Nationals 6/23/09

Last Tuesday was my husband's birthday. Our son-in-law had obtained two tickets for that night for the Boston Red Sox vs the Washington Nationals. They asked if we would like to go as a birthday present for him. I could go along too.

So, as I told about yesterday, we took the train to DC so we could see the game Tuesday.

If you read the post you know about the Metro accident in DC. (Actually, you need to be hiding under a rock if you live in the US to not know about that whether you read my post or not) My daughter lives about 30 minutes (according to Google maps) from National Park. Hmm... try 1 and 1/2 hours! We missed the first two innings. The score was 1-1 when we got there. So she dropped us off and went back home. (only to have to come back at the end of the game) We have a great daughter! Fortunately, neither her ride back home nor picking us up and returning again were that bad. The lack of Red line service sure did mess up traffic. We were, however, able to do some sightseeing as we crawled along. We saw the back of the White House, the Capital, Washington Monument and lots of other famous buildings.

It is common for the Red Sox to draw lots of fans on the road. I would guess it was about 50-50. Certainly by the noise maybe more or maybe Red Sox fans are just louder. Up to the 7th inning the score was very close. Then the Sox got to former Sox pitcher, Julian Tavares. Tavares is one of my favorite former pitchers. A really likable character. The final score was 11-3.

The attendance was a record for the Nationals (only to be broken in each of the next two games in the series)



We had great seats in the President's Club. Between home plate and the Red Sox dugout. And right below us was Massachusetts Senator John Kerry. White shirt and full head of gray hair. We watched as he talked with many people who came by to say hello.




The National's Park is really nice. There are lots of things going on. So much so, it is sometimes hard to watch the game. The score board is huge and it takes several innings to find all the information available.



I guess you can tell that we had a good time. The Sox won the game on Wednesday before another record crowd. They lost on Thursday, again to another record crowd. The National's owners really like to have the Red Sox and other good teams come to town, except for the fact that they are having a loosing season.

When we were leaving the park, being on the third level, all down elevators were full coming down. One of the employees directed us to get on when the elevator stopped going up and come back down. So we pushed to the back and went up. More got on at each level until we reached the top. Then two more squeezed on. We recognized them, Don Orsillo and Dave Roberts. They were doing the play by play for NESN (New England Sports Network) The Boston broadcasters.
Fun to see them in person. They often talk about how they quickly get out of the ball parks to head home after the games. Dave Roberts made "The Steal" in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. The Sox went on to win the ALCS and the World Series. First since 1918. They made their quick exit before we could see any more of them.

So, off we went to meet our daughter and go home (local home) after another great day.

B


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Amtrak trip from Boston to DC

Monday, we took my grandson off to his last day of school. Then my daughter dropped us off at the railroad station and we were off to visit our oldest daughter near Washington, DC. The trip was very relaxing and seemed to go by quickly even though we were a half hour late. The ride along the NE corridor from Boston, MA to DC is fun to watch. The shore line in CT is full of moored sail boats, marshes, bridges and other picturesque views.

As you get close to NY City the landscape changes to buildings both industrial and residential. You do no get to see the skyline of the city as you go under it mostly. I took lots of pictures along the way.

Next big city was Philadelphia. We used to live in Downingtown, PA. Way back in the late 60's we went into Philadelphia on the 4th oh July. At that time, on the 4th, they opened the elevator so you could go up in Wm Penn's statue on top of City Hall. At that time, they did not allow any buildings to be taller than Wm Penn's statue. Boy has that changed! I wanted to get a picture of the statue because it certainly has been dwarfed! Taking a picture from a moving train is fun at best and this was a challenge. Trees got in the way, buildings got in the way of our view of the Philadelphia skyline. So I took lots of pictures. I think I got at least one of Wm Penn, small though he may be now.

If you look very closely, you can see City Hall with the statue of Wm Penn on the top on the very left of all the buildings.

The second part of this story is that soon after we went up, they no longer allowed anyone to go up in the tower. Probably because they had to take several "runs" to get all the way up to the top floor. It included asking several people to get off. My husband was one who climbed up to the floor above to allow the elevator to come up all the way. The view was great, however! But we were not surprised when they stopped.

Next came Baltimore and the next contestants for the Super Nanny show boarded. Enough said, you can fill in the blanks for yourself.

My daughter was waiting for us as we entered the main part of the station in DC. Then we had to find her car. Up one set of escalators, then another set that looked like it was going up to the sky. That was not the case as there was another set of equal height. Yep, we were on the top floor.

It was then that we found out that one Red Line Metro train had rear ended another train several hours before. The result was an extra mess in normal rush hour traffic. Many people were walking. Long story short, it took us a long time to get to our daughter's house. We eventually found out that 9 people were killed in the accident and has messed up DC's traffic for several days while the NTSB investigates the accident.

We then had a nice dinner, talked and caught up on the family news and off to bed.

B

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One hander jokes and other funnies.

Every family has their favorite jokes. Many in our family involve Mom.
"She can pick up soap with her toes", cutting the cake story, Reader's Digest - Page 35, ha ha etc.

Well, I've been gathering a chapter with one handed funnies. Not really jokes but funny things (at least I think they are funny)

I was eating my breakfast this morning and thinking about my shower I just had. That is an experience! For some reason I remembered the joke about two miners who came out of the mine, one with a dirty face. The question is "Which one goes and washes his face?" Answer the one with the clean face.

That made me wonder, if you can only use your right hand, which arm isn't very clean? Got the answer?

Why are my eye glasses so dirty? It is as hard as washing your hands.

How many "odd" features have you found on your computer by typing one handed? I have lots because I typed incorrectly and didn't have the foggiest idea what you really typed. Now if I knew what I typed, I might have learned something.

Why did the one handed person cross the road? To get to the second hand shop.

How do you get a one handed blonde out of a tree? Wave.

However, this morning my grandson offered the best one. Actually, he cracked himself up. My daughter came inside laughing too. She explained she told him to come inside and ask Grandma and Grandpa if we would like to go to Ikea for lunch. That is one of their favorite places. They have a fun place to play with an area full of balls where you can run and jump in the middle of all the balls. One of the best things about Ikea.

Well, what cracked him up: "Can Grandma play in the balls with her splint?" Apparently the mental picture was very funny to him. Actually, I started to laugh too.

I admit, this is one of those "you have to be there" jokes. However, it made my day!

Now we are off to DC on the train so we can see the Red Sox play the Nationals on my husband's birthday. Go Sox!

B


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Adjustable necklace

We are going to visit my daughter in MD next week. It is a combined visit and chance to see the Red Sox play the Nationals on my husband's birthday. Nice present, huh? Fortunately, I can go too. We are figuring Wakefield will be the pitcher. That would be great. He is doing very well this year.

Anyhow, I'm starting to think about things to wear there. One of my one-handed problems is putting on my jewelry. Necklaces and bracelets especially. Then I remembered the adjustable necklaces I made last fall. Problem solved!

Here is one of my favorites. I call it Cappachino. I love the swirls.




Now, I'll have to work on some bracelets. I've stayed away from magnet clasps on bracelets since I found one I had lost in the freezer.

B


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Key Holder

I would have included a picture of Dora the Explorer saying "I did it!" if I wasn't worried about copyright problems.

While watching the procedure wasn't pretty, I made some jewelry today. Well, nothing intricate. In fact I only opened and closed one jump ring. The jump ring isn't even closed well but it is closed. I don't think I would do more than one this way. The result is pretty.

Auntie's Beads newsletter had a cute idea this week. They showed pieces for making a key holder that keeps your keys from getting lost at the bottom of your purse. Inspirational. I think I would have liked it even if it wasn't so simple to make that you can almost make it with one hand. The heart pendant hangs outside your purse and the keys stay safely in the inside of the purse.

Oh, yes, my husband had to put the keys on the ring.

B


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Saturday, seven of the South Shore Beaders gathered to have a demo on making some copper earrings. Of course the techniques apply to many other ideas. That's part of the fun. Ann, our teacher, as with all of our gatherings had a hard time getting our attention. But she persevered and we behaved. We watched as she punched out a circle from a copper sheet with a metal punch. (We quickly learned that this technique required many tools and new equipment.)

Then she made small holes in the circle for attaching jump rings and other adornments.

Next came using a steel dapping block and a dapping punch set to transform the copper circle into a dome shaped circle. Of course, a hammer was involved. Ann instructed us in the fine art of forming the dome with out ruining the copper.

Then came the fun and somewhat scary for first timers, using a torch. We talked a bit about safety and different types of torches plus how to turn it on and off. (An important part of the instruction.)

Ann then pulled out her other fun pieces of equipment. Steel Bench Block, Annealing Pans with Pumice, high heat block and cross-locking tweezers. We frantically started writing a wish list and thought about up coming birthdays etc.

With the torch, Ann transformed the copper color into a salmon, orange, pink, black mix of colors. She told us how much heat to use and all that important stuff. The transformation was fun to watch. She then quenched the hot disk. Then the oo's and ah's and planning in our minds of the next steps.

All in all it was another fun gathering of our group complete with plans and ideas for more.

B


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