Old Friends are like Buses

You know the old saying  "..... are like buses, you wait forever, and then three show up at once" - well, in my case, the '.....'  at the beginning of this aphorism was old friends. I met people whom I hadn't met for over twenty, and in one case, thirty years last week, and it was really fabulous to see them again.

Friends from the USA were visiting the UK, doing a bit of sightseeing with their children, and had arranged to meet up with us along the way.
Of course this meant that my fingers were flying all week, making little gifts for them, and I didn't make anything else for Caprilicious the whole week.

One of my friends had her hubby and two daughters in tow, and I made little pendants for the three ladies. I was meant to meet them at another friends place, although this didn't work out quite the way we intended, one more was made for the hostess.

The hostess with the mostest

Two days later, another friend came to stay with me overnight - she interrupted a schedule of sightseeing with her son, and took a train all the way from London to Warwickshire to visit with us, and we had a great deal of fun, catching up till 3 am, chatting about all the things that had happened to us in the past years.
Since we hadn't met since she moved to USA in 1974, there was a lot to talk about! I wanted her to have something to remember me by - just in case we didn't meet again for another age - but the world has shrunk since we were kids and chances are it wont be so long before we meet up again.
She received a little pendant as well, and I sent one more to her sister in the US of A who was meant to be with us, but couldn't make it. Mike enjoyed their visit with us too - a Cohiba each and Courvosier to wash the taste down contributed to a conversation with my friend's son till 4 am, setting the world to rights. 

All these were inspired by the wire weaving of Nicole Hanna, and I have been trying to make my pendants smaller and smaller - almost in competition with myself to see how tiny I can get the weave down to.
I am all pendanted out, and my fingers are sore from wire twisting and weaving - next week will have to be a nice simple couple of necklaces (except, I don't know quite know how to do simple, and now people have come to expect a few flourishes from Caprilicious - sweet and simple doesn't cut it!).
It was a nice feeling to be able to give them something that I have made myself - these people already have at least one of everything else and it is difficult to buy gifts for them.

I took delivery of some really pretty silver pendants I ordered a while ago, and will spend the next couple of weeks making little necklaces with them, to nurse my sore fingertips back to the rude health they normally enjoy. Take a look at them - they are really pretty.

Hawkeye - the blue version of Tigereye - look at the stripy chatoyance deep inside that comes up on moving the stone in the light

Fire opals

Druzy and garnets

I have fallen in love with gemstones that have hidden depths - fire opals, hawkeye,
and solar quartz - their beauty is visible when they are moved in the light - a little secret between them and their wearer, my inner child is well pleased by this.

You can see that I have collected plenty of shinies - storing them away like a magpie - but of course, I am well brought up and have this compulsion to share -   that means you can have some too - they will be on these pages one by one, when I get around to parting with them, I promise, sooner, rather than later.
Have a fabulous week won't you, and I'll catch you all next week, same time, same place

xx