Chain Maille Tips & Tricks: The Death Grip

You're sitting, hunched over, pliers grasped, struggling to close your jump rings when you realize that your back hurts, you're getting bleary eyed, your wrists and hands are killing you and your lovely rings are completely marred up. What the Hell is going on?

Beware The Death Grip!!

When you're first getting started making chain maille, there is the tendency to hold onto your pliers for dear life for fear your rings will go flying across the room. It happens, trust me: been there, done that.

The first thing you have to do is relax.

Find a pair of pliers that are comfortable in your hands and that you feel comfortable with. I highly recommend using a pair with a box joint or spring - this will help you easily and effortlessly work with your tools.

Know that every metal you work with will be different and it might take you some time to get used to each of them. As a beginner, work in bright aluminum or copper. They aren't terribly expensive metals, so if you mark them up as you're getting used to mailling and your pliers, it's not much of a waste. They are also very malleable metals, so you won't have to work as hard to get them closed. Keep in mind that because they are malleable (soft) that means they will mar easily in comparison to, say, stainless steel. This, however, will help teach you just how strong (or light) a grip you really need.

Sit in a comfortable position where you can easily see your work with good lighting and relax your hands. You want your grip only to be firm enough to keep the ring in your pliers. Let your tools do the work - you will exert less energy, not get tired as fast, and be able to work longer.

It will take some practice to get used to how much pressure you really need, so be patient and feel it out. You'll get it.

Getting to Know You: A Faire Survey

I was browsing around the Faire News blog and came across this Faire News Readers page and thought it would be fun to play along. Here's Escarlata's introduction to the section:

"There’s a survey circulating among my friends on MySpace especially designed for those of us who frequent Renaissance, Medieval, Fantasy, Pirate, and Faerie Festivals and Faires.

Thought I’d share it here as a way to get to know my readers. I’m going to post the questions, then I’ll start it off by posting my answers as the first comment. I’d love to hear from you. And my thanks to my friend Tremayne for the thoroughly novel concept of just deleting the questions that didn’t make sense. Instead of deleting, though, I modified the wording on a few."

1. Tankard, Goblet, or Plastic Cup and with or without a cover? So far, none of the above, but I suspect it will be a tankard (all the more room for the ale!).

2. Did you wear garb your first time at Faire? Nope.

3. What was the last thing you bought - other than food and drink? It was a pirate coin necklace on a leather cord at the Florida Pirate Festival (wearing it in the above pic).

4. What does your favorite pin say? I don't have any pins yet.

5. Do you go for historical accuracy in your garb? I only just started putting my garb together, so I've been thinking about this. I'm trying to stay relatively historically correct, but within reason: the styles will be period, but modern made.

6. Where was your last out-of-state Faire? Haven't been to one out of state yet.

7. How many different costumes do you own? lol. I'm still working on putting together my first one. Right now, I have a leather coat, leggings, a shirt, an epee, and will hopefully have my boots soon. I'm planning on borrowing Scott's accessories (belts, pouches, etc.) for now.

8. Do you carry a blade? Of course! I currently have an epee, but hope to acquire a dagger and perhaps a main-gauche.

9. Have you been flogged? Nope. I don't think I'd stand for that.

10. When was your virgin year? Fairly recently, in fact: I believe it was 2006.

11. Who originally introduced you to Faire? Scott brought me to my first one.

12. Had your hair braided? No, but it would be fun.

13. Had a henna tattoo? At faire, I had an arm band done. Outside of faire, my favorite henna tattoo was on my whole lower arm (all the way around) done in traditional henna designs. It almost looked like a fancy gauntlet.

14. Do you have pockets? Nope.

15. Do you carry a cell phone where it can be seen? That wouldn't be cool. It will be in a pouch.

16. Will you shed part of your costume if it’s hot? Only if I have to. My leather coat pretty much makes the outfit, so I really wouldn't want to lose it but I'm also not going to be stupid about it.

17. What part of someone else’s costume do you wish you had? I love what I've got so far, I just want to complete the ensemble.

18. Ever had a run-in with security? Not yet.

19. Do you bother with Faire-speak? I keep trying: I understand Shakespeare, I've studied speech techniques in school, I repeat actors in period movies. . . But it doesn't really sound that great. lol.

20. What do you carry on you, that most other people probably do not? I don't know. I'm kind of a Girl Scout though, and feel like I'm pretty prepared for most situations.

21. Is sunscreen a normal part of your costume? It will be. I'm pretty anal about not wanting to get burned.

22. What color is/are your blouse(s)/shirt(s)? So far, I just have the one in cream. If I ever figure out my sewing machine, I'll try and make some more.

23. What faires have you been too? Bay Area Renaissance Festival and Florida Pirate Festival. I think this year, I'm going to try and get to a few more that are in my area.

24. Would you date someone at faire? My partner's name is Scott. He brought me to my first faire and he's the only one I'll be taking home from a faire.

25. Describe your character? She's still in development, but she is a shield maiden.

26. What is your favorite show at faire? That's tough. I enjoy the Washing Wenches, Johnny Phoenix, Flights of Raptor, the jousting. . .

27. Worked at faire? Not yet.

28. Do you prefer tent or hard sites? I've never been to a hard site, but imagine that it's magical. On the other hand, it takes a bit of creativity and work to transform a tent and I can totally appreciate that.

29. Do you share the pictures you take? I haven't really taken many yet, but the few that I have taken I've shared here and at my flickr account.

30. Do you know all the words to at least one faire song? Not yet, but I suspect that will happen eventually.

31. Have you ever given or received a kilt check? No, but that sounds like fun.

32. Plan on doing any new characters? If yes, describe: I'd like to figure out my first one, first!

33. Most memorable character at faire? Don't have one yet.

34. Favorite moment at faire? Walking in for the first time and realizing how much fun it would be. I love history and have a theatrical background: it was a perfect fit!

35. Do you have a photo that best depicts your persona at faire? Haven't gone in garb yet, but here I am trying on a gorgeous leather corset:

New Blog Format! Squee!

I'm so excited to have upgraded my blog from the standard two column layout to this nifty new three column dealio thanks to the code on the Random Bytes Blog (she's got lots of great templates so be sure to check it out). It would have been quite simple to do if I actually read through all of the information first so I knew to expect that the majority of my widgets would disappear with the upgrade. What actually happened: I did the upgrade, saw that most of my widgets disappeared, tried to upload my back up of the original blog, and then all Hell broke loose. After much fooling around (and more patience than I usually have for something like this), I managed to get the three column layout up again and then have spent a good amount of time today adding in the widgets that I could remember. . . If I had a link to you on the previous incarnation of my blog, but don't now please let me know. I either haven't gotten to adding you back yet or just forgot to since I didn't realize I would have to do that. Sigh. It's very uncharacteristic of me to not read through all of the information first before acting. I still have some more work to do (Where the Hell did I get the flickr widget code from?! How do I get rid of the double lines between widgets on the right? etc. etc.), but in general I'm really happy with the new look.

Oh, and while you're here. . . I've got that Follow This Blog widget over there on the left and it's looking a little sad. Come on and give a girl some love. (puppy dog eyes. . .)

Customer Appreciation: The Green Cat

Once upon a time, I used to travel the country (and then some) as a stage manager for Broadway tours. On one of these tours, I worked with Cat: a fellow stage manager, quilter, environmentalist, and all around awesome woman. I was reading her blog and found out that she opened an Etsy shop (using her sewing talents and in keeping with her environmental ideals):

TheGreenCat ~ Handmade Items from Repurposed Fabrics ~

****Using up every scrap of fabric I can get my paws on!****

Jack had something from her even before I did! When she heard that I had a new family member, she sent him some catnip mice. Jack absolutely loves these little guys. You can pick up your own in her shop.

I had been in the market for some cloth napkins and fell in love with the fabric she used for those featured below. She sent them lovingly packaged and even included some napkin folding instructions (a great touch!) plus an extra little present for me.

She has coasters, wreaths, and the most adorable little birds.

She's having New Year Sale in her shop, so be sure to check it out!!

I'm clearing out some stock so for a limited time you can receive 25% OFF ANYTHING IN THE SHOP! Just put "newyear25" in the notes to seller and wait for your revised invoice before paying.