Week 43 - Harvest Time

This is my submission for week 43 of the 'Year of Jewelry' - Harvest Time. I have wanted to try Viking Knit for a while and decided this would be the time to try it. After reading all I could find on 'how to', and after having found an online tutorial complete with pictures (http://www.fineartbyrocio.com/vikingknitdirections.html), I sat down one morning and tried it. After using yards and yards of copper wire (in this case 24 gauge, although I see 24, 26 and 28 are the most recommended wire to use)the weaving part was done. From there, the piece has to be pulled through a drawplate (which I didn't have, of course - and a SPECIAL thanks to my dear SO who - after laughing at my attempt to create one from a piece of pine - made one for me out of teflon) of successively smaller holes which compacts the weave and lengthens the necklace. This was the most difficult part for me. Through trial and error, I found that the pulling has to be consistent so that bumps and bulges do not occur. Once the necklace was finished I sat down to try to create a grape leaf out of copper. I sketched a grape leaf and then traced around the sketch with 18gauge copper wire to create the armature. I then used 26 gauge copper to weave the wire and sew on the garnets (which represent grapes......not nearly enough of them I see - ah hindsight!) - and once the leaf was done, I sewed it onto the necklace, again using the 26 gauge copper wire. I didn't want the leaf to be a free moving pendant, so I positioned it to the left of center so that it sits asymmetrically, which I think makes it look like it's still on the vine and ready to be picked.