Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Viking knit is the oldest method of chain making and I've become fascinated by it.  Once I conquered the single knit, I decided to add beads.  I could have googled or asked how it was done but it seemed like something I could just figure out.  And I've learned a lot as I proceeded first with tumbled turquoise beads and then with pearls.  I thought I'd share a few of the things I've learned.   Iif you want a great tutorial on viking knit technique, Trina Ann at http://blog.trinaann.com/  has written a clear concise easy to understand tutorial.  I highly recommend it.    Tumbled tuquoise beads in viking knit  I used tumbled turquoise beads in the first viking knit chain and I did not really know what I was doing.  But I went right ahead and as it turned out, I liked the end result.  Since the beads were irregular in shape there was a random quality to the finished product. During that process, I began to really understand the technique of viking knit.  Loo

 Just how I felt!  Last week I went to Cosanti, Paolo Soleri’s Gallery in Paradise Valley Arizona.   This is a place I have wanted to go since getting my college design degree.    Ceiling of the Gallery  Soleri is a world-renowned architectural innovator and Cosanti is a place that he designed and built that features experimental earth-formed concrete structures in terraced landscaping.   It is once again gaining in popularity because it was originally built to be ecologically friendly.   More with less!   It is one of Arizona’s historic sites and over the years many architectural students have studied here.   Cosanti   ( http://www.cosanti.com/ ) is a non-profit organization and   produces bronze bells that Soleri is famous for designing.     There is a foundry on site and I was able to watch the process of the pouring of the bells and of course take pictures.   Some bells are polished, some have patina, some are signed by Soleri and the prices range from $79(sale price) t

Remember how it feels when you see something you’ve always known about and all at once you realize you’ve never really looked at it?   That’s what happened when I started taking pictures of early music keyboard instruments.   I realized that I had never really looked at the black and ivory keys on a keyboard.   Peter (my significant other) has an avid interest in early music especially the harpsichord.   He planned a trip to England and Scotland around collections of harpsichords, virginals, forte pianos and other early music instruments.   What an amazing trip and I’ll talk about it in other blogs.   He also planned a trip to the National Museum of Music in Vermillion South Dakota.   Check out their website and you just might want to go too!   http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/     After taking hundreds of pictures of keyboards, I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the variations.   Remember my previous posts about ‘The difference is in the details’?   Here is another example.   This post