Off to war . . . kind of.

The pieces in the photo - a  paternoster and Roman-style necklace and earrings - are off to be part of a largesse basket for Lochac at Pennsic.  My Princess asked me to help with this, and while I can't be there, this is the second year in a row that I've done something for the largesse basket coming from Calontir.  It's an honour to be asked to do this.

The details of the pieces are as such: the paternoster is strung on silk, with the aves made with 8mm Swarovski pearls, the gauds made with 10mm red glass, and a tassel hand made with silk.  I am not particularly fond of using imitation pearls, as I feel they're too perfect, however, these Swarovski pearls have a similar weight to the real thing, and at a fraction of the cost, it was worth using them.

The necklace I used sodalite, freshwater pearls, coral, plated spacer beads, and a handmade hook and eye clasp, using 18 ga brass wire.  The matching earrings use sodalite, plated spacer beads, and fancy headpins on shepherd hooks.  If I had a jig, and the right sort of wire, I would have probably made the hooks myself - but that's neither here nor there.

So, this gets mailed off today to the largesse coordinator, as I will not be able to attend Pennsic, but for the second year in a row, my stuff will.