WIP Wednesday: My Journey Back to Wire Work

Hey, friends!

I wanted to share a little triumph with you all. As you know from last Wednesday’s post, I’ve challenged myself to do something A&S every week. This week, I decided to revisit an old skill—wirework. This picture shows my accomplishment. It does not look like a big win, but let me tell you why it is.

First off, I haven’t worked with wire in years. I used to be pretty good, but I’d forgotten what it took to make a fibula (safety pin). So, I turned to trusty YouTube for a few how-to videos and got a refresher on the tools and supplies I’d need.

The next day, I dug through my jewelry-making stash. I had the 16 and 24 gauge copper wire but was missing the white clay beads I’d planned to use. No worries—I found a substitute in my hoard.

On day three, I gathered all my materials and made several attempts at crafting the fibula. The first piece of wire was too curvy from the way it was coiled, and I couldn’t straighten it out. The second piece was too short to make the catch at the end.

But yesterday, on my fourth attempt, I succeeded! I now know that I need 6 inches of 16-gauge straight wire to make a fibula the size Baroness Kathleen asked me to copy. The only hiccup? The white bead I used was bigger than the black and red beads. So I want to arrange the beads in a different order.

I don’t have a completed fibula to my liking yet, but I’m feeling confident. By next week’s Work In Progress Wednesday, I should have one or even two finished pieces. Baby steps!

Thanks for followiing along on my journey. What have you crafted in the last week? I bet it was cool. I’d love to learn about it. So please share.