BlueBuddha

I usually go late in the season, but I don't know if I'll make it out this year, as I'll be out of town for a few weeks. But yes, it would be cool to meet other local maillers.

Monday the 14th works for us. (We're also very close to a train station, if you want to take the "scenic route." It *is* scenic, it's one of the elevated lines, so you're not stuck in a tunnel the whole way!) I've put it on our calendar and will also check with some of the other Chi-town people to see if I can round up a bit of a crew. Will be nice to meet other forum folk!

Will you have enough time for a mini-gathering during your conference? I'd be happy to host something at the studio. Hope to see some of you other Chicago-folk soon. It was fun meeting you today, Chaosity!

For 18g stainless, I almost always use Ultra Ergo pliers by Eurotool. I usually coat them in Tool Magic, though. It allows me to work faster as I weave (and to be sure I don't slip!), but stainless rips the TM down quickly, so I need to have a few sets of pliers coated and ready to go. Some of my students like to use the Wubbers (with no Tool Magic) on stainless. You mention that you want spring pliers, which is also my preference. But be aware that non-spring pliers are far more durable when working with really tough metals like stainless.

Ball ... is ... awesome. It does look like a pain in the butt. Man, though, the end result is really spectacular!

My gosh, you've been busy! I think I like the second one best (the gold-colored japanese one). The byz on a bias one is also gorgeous. Nice job!

Clever. kqaos - Welcome to the addiction of maille! Can't wait to see some of your pieces. And yes, I agree with many of you that the necklace looks a lot heavier than it is. I went with titanium from the get-go not only because I knew I wanted color, but also because of the weight factor. To be honest, I originally was thinking this piece would be something like 11 or 13 strands. (It is 9, which is just fine by me!)

Oh, duh. I thought that was the ring count: 24,116. (Then I was really confused, wondering why you said there were 24,050 rings in the inlay, and wondering where those other 50 or so odd rings went) Got it now. Again, fabulous piece!

Sweet! That is really beautiful, and those titanium colors are so vivid. I can tell it's tiny (and I like tiny rings!) ... what size exactly are they?

Yes, 3.7 ounces. Me saying "um...that would be..." was me clicking over to an online converter. I use a different one than fng2maille, but his calculator yielded the same results, so I'm pretty confident they are on target! It is for a contest. I will definitely let you guys know if I win or not. The piece is not for sale, though I would allow folks to rent it (you know, actors on the red carpet and the like. ) I would have to retail this piece at something like $6-$7K in order to make about $12-$18/hr after COGS, overhead and taxes, assuming a gallery and agent would wind up with 50%-65% of retail price. So, yeah, I'm probably hanging on to this one myself. Especially since I am not certain how long the color on the titanium will last.

The photographer I'm sending to specializes in juried slides, not models. But I'm sure somewhere along the line I'll take a modeled shot of it. I did wear the piece for a few days, and found it to be quite comfortable. It is surprisingly lightweight for how big it is. Gotta love titanium! Yeah, sure, Judy, I'll let you think your guess was right. Thanks, Whitesmoke, for the high compliment.

I'm so glad, since that was precisely the feeling I wanted to evoke. Cool! Thank you everyone, for your kind words, and for your well-wishes. I always feel good when folks like my work, but it definitely means more coming from fellow maillers. And it feels good to have a couple of you say that you were inspired to start working on your chainmaille again. Yay! They cycle of chainmaille continues.

I love the earrings! They are so cute. The AR looks high enough that they weren't a total PITA to close. Or were they...? Good to see you post new pics!

Yummy! That looks great. Please post more pics when it's done, and some close-ups, too, please. What are the dimensions on it (either now, or anticipated finished dimensions)?