Murphy 10, Lauria 0

So, in my last post, I mentioned I joined YOJ 2011.  For my second week I planed to make a bar chain (How to video here.).  It's a new technique for me and looked interesting.  Which, if you've known me for any amount of time, you'll know that new technique and interesting are what I live for.

Well, first I had to get over my fear of the dremel.  It took a while, but after setting there with it running I started to feel sorta silly doing nothing and stuck my wire end to the grinding bit.  One wire piece smoothed  and I lived to tell the tale, YEA ME!  Then I rolled my wire to make it nice and straight and tried to flatten it.  Didn't happen!  I don't know if I'm a wimp, or my wire was to thick, or it wasn't the right softness, or what, but I pounded and pounded and pounded and it didn't flatten a bit.  Phooey on trying to flatten it with a bench block, I'm going after the hammer. 

Um, I do have a hammer around here somewhere...I think.  At least I did...  At one time...

Oh well, who wants to make a bar chain anyway?  Not me!

So then I decided to make some wooden bead out of blood wood, purple heart and wenge.  Apparently there is a secret to sawing a straight line in wood.  I don't know what it is.  Sure I could follow a line in the front, but the back went all sideways and ended up twice as thick as the front.  I haven't' a clue why.  I tried busting a blank along the grain line and ended up with some very interesting wenge kindling.  Two days latter, I've reduced four pen blanks to sawdust and splinters and irritated every single trigger point in my neck. 

Ho, hum!

Friday morning has downed and I'm desperate, not to mention dizzy!    Every time I turn my head to the right the world does an interesting bump and grind, followed by a swoop and swirl that threatens to knock me out cold.  I've had it with wood, I think I'll play with bugle beads instead.   Or maybe not.  Out of 20 beads I had 20 different lengths and my fire line was too large to fit through the beads enough times, and the beads broke, and bugles are stupid, ugly things anyway! 

My attempts to wrap a briolette didn't go any better.  Running bead packages through my fingers didn't get me anywhere.  My muse has apparently run off in great disgust at my incompetence.  Which is fine with me.  I don't like her all to much either.  She is obviously in cahoots with Murphy!