It's the letter "L" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “L”.

The pretty blue stone of Larimar is found in one small area of the Dominican Republic making it extremely rare.  Getting to this gem is difficult because of the mountaintop terrain where it is found.  The volcanic nature of the area and its unique mineral composition is the birthplace of this gemstone.  It is mined by hand up to 300 feet underground in one small area of the island and can eventually be washed downstream due to erosion. 

It was discovered back in 1916 and rediscovered in 1974 by a gentleman who named it after his daughter, Larissa, and the Spanish word mar which means “sea” as he discovered it washed up on a remote beach. 

It is a hard stone that has copper in it causing the blueness of its color palette.  It can be a light to dark blue, green-blue or white.  No two Larimar stones are alike because its various patterns and markings from its volcanic creation and colors contribute to each stone’s individuality. 

Larimar pendants that a friend owns

The most common larimar is a light blue with white marbling throughout.  Its attractive color and its hardness, ability to be polished and the shine of this stone make it an excellent material for jewelry.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to back by tomorrow for the gemstone that starts with the letter "M".

Carolyn

Shibori Ribbon Blog Hop Reveal

Tanya Goodwin of "A Work in Progress" blog is sponsoring the Shibori Ribbon Blog Hop whose reveal is today.  Tanya asked readers of her blog to comment on whether they would be interested in doing a Shibori Ribbon blog hop.  I like doing the different challenges that are offered in a blog hop and as I had never worked with the ribbon, I added my comment.

Tanya picked six of us and sent each of us a piece of the ribbon. She also had four others that already had some ribbon join the challenge.  I received a 9-inch piece that was a deep steel blue with highlights of lime, a pinky-lavender, and aqua.

Shibori is a silk ribbon with accordion like folds running down the length of the ribbon.  You can stretch it (width wise) or scrunch it or both.

My design went through several re-designs as it was not working out how I wanted.  I first tried threading it through chain and that did not go too bad.

But I did not like the way it looked when I put it on with the two links of chain showing.

I went looking  for a tutorial I remembered seeing that I thought was for a bracelet using the ribbon in that way.

I found the tutorial and it was not what I thought it was for.  So I changed the design for my project.

I decided to keep it fairly simple.  I wire-wrapped the ribbon ends and added a bead to make a wrapped loop to add chain to.

One of my bowling teammates has just returned from Arizona and brought me back a cactus pendant that I added to the ribbon to make a necklace.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit the other bloghoppers.

Maryanne
Alenka
Monique
Carolyn  you are here
Mary
Catherine
Christine
 Sharyl
Therese
Tanya

Carolyn

The letter "K" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “K”. 

You know there are not many gemstones that start with the letter “K” so I didn’t have a big selection to choose from.  This pictures shows off the beautiful crystals in the gemstone Kyanite.  

Kyanite's name is derived from the Greek word kuanos meaning deep blue.  It is typically a blue silicate mineral found in pegmatites or sedimentary rock.  It can also be gray, white or green in color. 

Kyanite is most notably found in Australia, Brazil, India, Kenya, Myanmar, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, and the United States.  Orange kyanite has recently been discovered in Tanzania with the color coming from small amounts of manganese inclusions in the stones. 

It has a variable hardness depending on whether is cut across or lengthwise on a cleavage plane.  It is rarely found in a faceted form but is usually polished smooth or sold in the rough. 

It is used primarily in refractory and ceramic products including porcelain plumbing fixtures and dishware.  It is also used in electronics, electrical insulators and abrasives. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again Monday when the letter is "L".  I have a very pretty gemstone picked out for that day.

Carolyn

Today is the letter "J" for the Blogging from A-Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “J”. 

It’s a very versatile stone and can be found in many shapes, especially if you are a jewelry designer.  It’s an opaque form of chalcedony, quartz, and opal, usually red, brown, green or yellow in color.  It is one of the traditional birthstones for March.  It is derived from the Old French “jaspre” and Latin “iaspidem” meaning “spotted or speckled stone”.  It is Jasper.

Jasper outcropping Romania

Because of the way it would fracture into a smooth round surface like a scallop shell, it was used as a tool by Stone Age man in the form of arrowheads.  It can be highly polished and used for vases, seals, and snuff boxes.  It has been around since the ancient world where it was carved to produce seals, amulets, and carvings.  It was used as bow drills (an ancient way of starting fires) between the 4^th and 5^th millennium BC. 

In ancient times, jasper was believed to be a transparent stone with a distinct green color where it was compared to emeralds and other green objects.  Stones of that time would probably be considered chalcedony or chrysoprase today.  It has been suggested that red jasper was the first stone of the High Priest’s breastplate and yellow jasper was the tenth stone. 

Jasper has many varieties due to the minerals in the stones, such as, iron and nickel.  Jaspers have many names based on the where the stone was found, a description of the stone’s pattern, or they could have fanciful name such as “Forest Fire” or “Rainbow”.  They can also have descriptive names such as “Autumn”, “Dalmatian”, or “Picture” Jasper. 

 

Dalmatian jasper

Picture jasper

Chrysoprase is one variety of jasper that is a very pretty apple green color but can vary to a dark green.  Fine grade examples without flaws can be very expensive.  I have some beads that have a dark brown inclusion in them.  When I was first looking for this stone, I would call it a “mint chocolate chip” color. 

Chrysoprase found in Poland

Thanks for stopping by.  Please be sure to stop by again tomorrow when the letter of the day is "K".

Carolyn

It's the letter "I" today for the Blogging A-Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “I”. 

A sapphire blue or maybe it’s a blue-violet or even a light blue gemstone is the choice for today.  Iolite is a see through gemstone variant of cordierite. 

Its name comes from the Greek word “ios” which means violet.  It has also been called water sapphire due to a similarity to the blue sapphire. 

Iolite has a strong pleochroism which means that the gem can appear to be different colors depending on the angles that it is being observed at especially with polarized light.  Because of this, Iolite is a difficult stone to cut because it must be cut in a certain direction to take advantage of the best color.  

It is commonly dyed to enhance its appearance.   

It can be found in Australia, Brazil, India, Canada, United States, and Sri Lanka with the largest crystal (24,000 carats) found in Wyoming. 

There is a Norse legend that says that the Vikings used thin slices of iolite as polarizing filters in order to view the sun and navigate when they were away from land.  It is supposed that the Vikings mined iolite in Greenland and Norway.

Iolite was popular in jewelry in the 1700s and is regaining its popularity.  It can be used as an inexpensive substitute for sapphires. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to come back again tomorrow and see what the letter "J" will be.

Carolyn

Information was gathered from Wikepedia and other websites.

It's the letter "H" for the Blogging from A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “H”. 

Hematite (blood ore) from Michigan

Hematite (Iron ore) is a very common mineral.  It is found in the US, Canada, Europe, and Brazil.  It is a silver-grey metallic color but can be found in other colors.  Gray hematite can be found in places that have had standing water or mineral hot springs such as those at Yellowstone National Park.  It can also be the result of volcanic activity.  Hematite has been found in the waste dumps of iron mines and is being extracted through a magnetation process. 

It can also be found as clay which occurs when soil is weathered and along with other iron oxides is responsible for the red color of many tropical weathered soils.  Hematite can also be used as a pigment as the natural color is red.  

It is heavier than most beads but can be brittle.  It is comes in many different bead sizes and shapes.  It was very popular in Victorian times.  There is also a magnetic variety because of it being an iron based ore. 

Cypro-Minoan cylinder seal approximately 14th century BC

It was once the most used stone in the ancient world.  It is a valuable commodity in the industrial world. 

Real hematite is becoming less common in bead form and being replaced by a synthetic substitute called hematine. 

Image from the Mars Exploration Rover Microscopic Imager

It is possibly the only mineral found on another planet.  Several spacecraft in orbit around Mars used infrared spectrometry to view the mineral at two sites.

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again tomorrow when the letter is "I".

Pictures are from Wikepedia.

Carolyn

Today is the letter "G" for the Blogging A - Z Challenge

Today’s topic starts with the letter “G”. 

Goldstone is a manmade “gemstone” which can be a reddish brown color, as pictured, or blue or purple.  I believe there is even a green goldstone. 

The initial production of this “gemstone” was most likely a happy accident back in the 1600s. Legend has it that a monk accidently spilled a tray of copper shavings into a vat of molten glass and liked the result.  The Miotti family of Venice was granted an exclusive license to produce goldstone.  It is made up of silica, copper oxide, and other metal oxides.  It is made in a low-oxygen reducing atmosphere in huge vats.  Depending on the type of ingredients, you can get a blue, purple, or green coloring along with the original reddish brown.  

Even though it is a manufactured “gemstone” it can be mistaken for or misrepresented as a semiprecious stone.  It can be carved into beads or figurines. 

Reddish brown and blue goldstone beads

Goldstone necklace that I made

Blue goldstone necklace that I made

It can also be called Aventurine glass based on the original Italian name avventurina which means adventure or chance. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again tomorrow when I present the letter "H".

Carolyn