As of today, May 24th, we are officially open for the season. We still have a very good selection of hand dyed yarn and many new treasures including an entirely new 217 Collection. Here's a brief preview of new pieces we will describe in a later post.
These are even nicer in person so if your travels take you to Digby Neck, make time to stop by and say hi and pick up your free gift! And don't forget our sale!
See you soon.
Slowly but steadily The Neck slips into winter. A few days ago we had our first "sundog". This is how it looked from our morning coffee spot.
But the views from the deck were a lot better.
And today we are in the middle of our first big winter storm. So now the scene of activity shifts to production. Recently I finished a project to produce some new guitar picks.
They turned out great with only a few "disasters" which are bound to happen when you take crazy lace and moss agate down to 2 mm.!
We've made a few statement pieces like this gorgeous rhodochrosite stone set in sterling silver and hung on a hand made sterling Viking Knit chain.
And we have at least one more show stopper in the works.
Some of you may know that I had a major operation in October and we had to close the shop early but things are looking pretty good and our plan is to be open as usual in the spring with exciting new items.
We still have a good selection of hand dyed yarn at a fabulous price so make plans to visit beautiful Digby Neck and stop by my rock shop- The Lap of Lapidary -and see our studio and gift shop. Everybody gets a free piece of Digby Neck!
Have a happy and healthy winter!
PS: I am about to reach 200,000 page views on this blog so thank you for all who enjoy it.
A few years back my Norwegian wife taught me how to weave this beautiful Viking Knit Chain and I use it regularly to create awesome pendants with my agate cabochons.
Normally I use 24G copper wire but when I want a challenge, I'll use 22G. The wire is "woven" around a wood or metal dowel.
As you can see, at this stage it's pretty irregular and doesn't look like much. After I have a length of about 8 inches, I'll take it off the dowel. By this time I will have used over 50 feet of wire. The diameter is the same as the dowel.
I have made myself a draw plate out of oak and this is what I use to "stretch" the chain.
Starting with the largest diameter, I draw the chain through successive holes until I get to a diameter of 7/32 inch. Now the chain will look like this.
As you can see, the weave has become much tighter and the chain has a little more than doubled in length. To make sure it doesn't unravel and to enable the addition of a clasp, I have to make end caps. These can be bought but I prefer to make my own out of 16G copper wire.
I then attach sliding copper bails to the stone so it can be hung on the chain. Some I make but the filigree ones are commercial.
Then the piece is completed with a hand made copper clasp.
The chain can also be used to make bracelets.
Every once in a while I make the chain out of sterling silver wire and then I use a spectacular sterling silver sliding bail.
It takes me about 4 hours to weave the chain and another 1.5 hours to do the finishing but it's a lot of fun and the finished product is well worth it.
While cleaning out the "Lap of Lapidary, I came across a piece of copper chimney flashing that had been saved from a derelict 100+ year home. So this copper is definitely "vintage". I knew I had to make something with it and decided to make bangle bracelets.
Here's how it looked after I cut the rough forms.
It looks grungy, beat up and ugly or in my eyes, perfect!
After a lot of grinding, filing and sanding and using the metal roller to add some texture, here's how it looked.
The next step was to shape it around my form. To do this, I heated it up and slowly wrapped it around the form. Then, when that was done, I had to work harden it by hitting it with a rubber mallet. Here's how the first one turned out.
Well, the weather certainly has changed. No more lounging on the deck and no more work in the "Lap of Lapidary" because all the work has to be done in water and that water is now COLD!
Fall brings with it new birds (the Jays are back) and animals.
This guy is now a regular customer at the salad bar that grows in the French drain at the back. And some of the existing animals have started seeking warmth and comfort.
We still get spectacular sunrises but it now comes up in a different spot.
And since the pace is a little slower, there are family get togethers. Here we are with grandgirl Sydney and daughters Lisa (from the Bahamas) and Sandra at a great Indian restaurant called Dhaba in Halifax.
If you like Indian food, this is the place for you!
But mostly, fall is when I move from working on stones to making jewelry and guitar picks with them. The first order of business is to choose the stones I want to work with for pendants and ear rings and, where necessary, drill them. This has been done with only a few disasters. Next, I have to make more Viking chain. I'm starting with a few in 24 gauge copper but will eventually switch to 22 gauge copper and 24 gauge sterling silver. Here's how they look unfinished.
This chain was only about 8 inches long when I wove it from about 50 feet of wire but after drawing it through my oak draw plate it is now thinner, tighter and about 18 inches long. By the time I add the clasp it will be 20 inches- perfect pendant length. I'll also be making bracelets from the chain.
I have some absolutely beautiful stones to work with this winter so check back and see how this one turns out and what other pieces come off the bench.
And if you are looking for holiday gifts or yarn, just call the number on the blog and we'll open for you.
We have been very busy of late and while it's nice to see your work being appreciated and leaving with a happy customer, it means I have to get back to work.
Right now I'm working on cabochons I made, creating upcycled copper bails in a manner so they can be interchanged to suit the customer. I have an amazing stock of Mexican Crazy Lace Jasper and here are a few finished pieces.
But we have beautiful local rock as well. We have a rock called Stilbite that can be very colourful and exhibit amazing patterning. Here's a great example:
And of course we have amazing agate and jasper.
These can be purchased in our shop or online. Hope to see you soon!
For the last 10 years, we have sold our premium Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn from our little shop in Digby Nova Scotia and shipped it to satisfied customers all over the world.
However, since we are getting up in years, we may not be able to keep the shop open past this summer. We have an inventory of over 600 skeins of beautiful hand dyed yarn in different weights and have decided to sell it at 50% off- that's just $15 a skein! Knitting accessories and finished pieces are also available.We are closing the web site so the yarn will only be available from the store although if you want a particular colour, we could send pictures but shipping is very expensive now.
Additionally, most other items in the shop will be discounted so get a group together and come on by early for the best selection. We will open on April 22.
Don't drop your purls and we hope to see you soon!
With the weather getting steadily better we are planning on opening on Monday, April 22.
This is shaping up to be a very special year. First off, we have a ton of new items, many featuring jewelry made from local stones shaped in my lapidary shop- The Lap of Lapidary.
Here's a pendant made from an amazing piece of local jasper, with a unique copper setting and a premium leather cord.
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Another great pendant made from local agate with a sparkly quartz core.
We also ship so if you see anything you like or have a particular gift in mind, just let us know.
Soon the machines in the lapidary shop will be humming so if you have ever wondered how rock is cut and shaped and find yourself on Digby Neck, come on by.
And now for the really exciting part. Because we are getting up in years (way up!) we realize the shop can't keep going for ever. So if you visit, you will note that most items are discounted!
We look forward to seeing you if your travels take you to the unique part of Nova Scotia known simply as "The Neck"
Have a great summer!
We'll probably be putting our sign back up and opening the shop soon so we've been really busy creating pieces to fill the empty spaces and I thought I'd catch you up on a few.
I made this set from a large piece of red jasper that a customer sent so the Real Artist could use it for paint pigment. It turned out beautifully- a little too perfectly as it turned out as it sold as soon as I posted it on Instagram!
I wanted to create earrings using a copper filigree bead cap I have and this was the first pair. They also sold as soon as I posted them so I've been making more (pics will follow in the next post). The stone is a beautiful piece of local agate/jasper and I hung it on a very special sterling silver chain. It's still available.
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This is another local agate that I set using a perimeter groove so as not to disturb the gorgeous patterning. I used German silver (non-tarnish) wire and hung it on a really nice sterling silver chain.
This (local) piece of plume agate is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever worked with. It seemed to call for brass wire to compliment the colour of the stone so that meant that I had to make a set of brass findings and a neck clasp. Whatever it takes I say.
The patterning and colours are outstanding but again I made the mistake of posting it on Instagram and it also sold!
Next time I'll post a few more including the Boho Earring line I've finished.
Hope to see you at the shop but if you see something you like, we ship!
