What's on the Desk 05/16/11

Got in a chain metal mood yesterday, taking a break from commissions.. which I'll work on again hopefully Wednesday.

I find chain mail very soothing to do. This pattern is sometimes called the queens link. It's modified Byzantine. It's like doing the first 3-4 steps of Byzantine over and over.. and makes this lovely snake chain feel. Right now the one I'm working on is brown and silver ( all done in Aluminum rings) but I have the desire to make a rainbow one, except I lack green rings. Next order I place I need to buy green rings!!

I love doing chain mail but it is time consuming and if I do it for too many hours my hands start hurting. Most of the jewelry I make doesn't hurt, but the constant opening and closing of the rings stresses out my hands. Maybe it's just as well I rarely get to sit for more than a couple of hours up the the studio after all eh?? Course it could be that with chain mail you can really get into a zone and realize you needed to go pee 3 hours ago!!! It's a good idea to take frequent breaks when making any jewelry. You can really harm yourself, which is true of any repetitive tasks, such as working on the computer. It's good to get up and stretch and walk around.
I have a timer on my desk and when I remember I set it for 20-30 minutes to remind me to get up and stretch. Course I don't always remember.. and then it goes off and I tell myself just one more stitch, or I have to finish texturing this last bit or I need to get to a good stopping place... and next thing I know it's 2 hours later.

I'm hoping I find time to spend in the studio this week.. I need to finish the last couple of commissions, I really want to finish this bracelet I'm working on, and I need to get a few more items done before my show this weekend at West Glen Farmer's Market.

So another busy, if fun week ahead!