Sorting/blending pearls for long convertible rope (mini version of Purrhana's)
- Thread starter enbcfsobe
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Finally done with travel for work and taking a moment to update. Purranha, thanks for the instructions!! These are super helpful! One caveat -- this only works with the largest type of tassels, or a tassel that has separate tie keeping the strands together. The smaller tassels don't have this, and that made it extra challenging to keep the whole thing from disintegrating when removing the hanging loop. I unfortunately learned this the hard way on my first try.
I took a different approach with the other small tassels, using 26-gauge half-hard sterling wire instead of beading wire, and making wrapped loops that extended through the attached pearls. Here are the ones I managed to complete before going on travel.
The one glitch is that I need to attach another small clasp to one of the two smaller tassels so that I can use them "scarf" style. I will probably use a small unsoldered jump ring for this so that it can be removed.
I will follow up with some pics of the larger tassel in action.
Many thanks again to all your ideas and guidance!! I've gotten lots of compliments on my tassel so far and it is just plain fun to wear!
I took a different approach with the other small tassels, using 26-gauge half-hard sterling wire instead of beading wire, and making wrapped loops that extended through the attached pearls. Here are the ones I managed to complete before going on travel.
The one glitch is that I need to attach another small clasp to one of the two smaller tassels so that I can use them "scarf" style. I will probably use a small unsoldered jump ring for this so that it can be removed.
I will follow up with some pics of the larger tassel in action.
Many thanks again to all your ideas and guidance!! I've gotten lots of compliments on my tassel so far and it is just plain fun to wear!
Here is the longer mashup rope doubled with the large grey tassel (it isn't purple, despite the photo above).
And here paired with another favorite necklace, made by a former coworker using PMC.
Here is the shorter mashup rope with tassel.
And for those of you who lasted this long through my thread, while my photography doesn't rival madsciencechic's I will share a few photos from my rail journey across Pennsylvania since it isn't something most people do. These are iphone photos taken thru the train window, but they give a sense of some of the more interesting scenery.
Crossing the longest stone-arch bridge in the world over the Susquehanna river outside of Harrisburg. You can see the PA Turnpike bridge in the background, and I believe the plumes of smoke are from the nuke plant at Three Mile Island.
The westbound approach to Horseshoe Curve, with a dusting of snow. You can see a freight train on the other side of the curve, giving you an idea of how sharp the turn is. This is an incredible feat of labor and engineering that was designed using slide rules and hand-drafting and, from what I understand, was executed with mainly human- and animal-powered labor.
Another view from the apex (not sure if that's the right term) of the curve, looking out over a resevoir and across the valley.
Enjoy!
And here paired with another favorite necklace, made by a former coworker using PMC.
Here is the shorter mashup rope with tassel.
And for those of you who lasted this long through my thread, while my photography doesn't rival madsciencechic's I will share a few photos from my rail journey across Pennsylvania since it isn't something most people do. These are iphone photos taken thru the train window, but they give a sense of some of the more interesting scenery.
Crossing the longest stone-arch bridge in the world over the Susquehanna river outside of Harrisburg. You can see the PA Turnpike bridge in the background, and I believe the plumes of smoke are from the nuke plant at Three Mile Island.
The westbound approach to Horseshoe Curve, with a dusting of snow. You can see a freight train on the other side of the curve, giving you an idea of how sharp the turn is. This is an incredible feat of labor and engineering that was designed using slide rules and hand-drafting and, from what I understand, was executed with mainly human- and animal-powered labor.
Another view from the apex (not sure if that's the right term) of the curve, looking out over a resevoir and across the valley.
Enjoy!
CathyKeshi
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Oh, Wow Wow Wow Enbcfsobe ... photos from PA, my home! Not so dramatic as cougars and egrets, but interesting. You got great photos considering they're through a train window! We cross that Turnpike Bridge frequently traveling from our home in eastern PA to our daughter in central PA. It's a great railway journey to take; I've traveled by train from eastern PA to New Mexico and back. and Horseshoe Curve is a highlight of the journey; a unique feat of engineering. If one visits Horseshoe Curve by car, the road slowly climbs the mountain, alongside the resevoir, till you get to the spot shown on the second "curve" photo. If you look very closely there is a dark building mostly hidden in the trees, with a diagonal line going up the hillside, ending at the red & yellow small buildings. The bigger building at the bottom is a small museum/gift shop (of course 
, a nice picnic area, and then entrance to the Incline Railway, which is the diagonal line leading up the hill. You can ride the gravity incline trolley car up to the red & yellow building at the top, and arrive at another park area with benches, tables and green grass in summer. Train afficionados from all over the world go up there with camera equipment, radios etc., and watch and wait to photograph the long freight trains, which often cross and pass each other in the center of the curve. For those of us without radios, there is a speaker system that broadcasts engineers' live radio posts as the trains approach. There are also train schedules posted at the bottom. From one side the trains come out of a tunnel, go around the curve and then around the opposite side of the mountain.
Many of the long freight trains are over a mile in length, and require the addition of extra locomotives to pull and push them up the steep mountain and around the curve. So there are depots on either side of the curve at the bottom, where the extra locomotives can attach and uncouple, and return alone to the beginning. Occasionally, a passenger train! Despite the fact that most people believe trains are "dead" in this country, there is a train at least every 15 minutes or so, and double freight trains passing each other is regular here, along with all the single engines moving back and forth. Last time we drove up to Horseshoe Curve, we took lunch and the grandson ... 6 hours later it took bribes and $ in that little gift shop to get him to leave the top of the hill LOL. There's a great Industrial Railroad Museum in nearby Altoona as a companion visit if one has time, fascinating history of the life of the railroad employees etc. Yep, I really LOVE trains
, a nice picnic area, and then entrance to the Incline Railway, which is the diagonal line leading up the hill. You can ride the gravity incline trolley car up to the red & yellow building at the top, and arrive at another park area with benches, tables and green grass in summer. Train afficionados from all over the world go up there with camera equipment, radios etc., and watch and wait to photograph the long freight trains, which often cross and pass each other in the center of the curve. For those of us without radios, there is a speaker system that broadcasts engineers' live radio posts as the trains approach. There are also train schedules posted at the bottom. From one side the trains come out of a tunnel, go around the curve and then around the opposite side of the mountain. Many of the long freight trains are over a mile in length, and require the addition of extra locomotives to pull and push them up the steep mountain and around the curve. So there are depots on either side of the curve at the bottom, where the extra locomotives can attach and uncouple, and return alone to the beginning. Occasionally, a passenger train! Despite the fact that most people believe trains are "dead" in this country, there is a train at least every 15 minutes or so, and double freight trains passing each other is regular here, along with all the single engines moving back and forth. Last time we drove up to Horseshoe Curve, we took lunch and the grandson ... 6 hours later it took bribes and $ in that little gift shop to get him to leave the top of the hill LOL. There's a great Industrial Railroad Museum in nearby Altoona as a companion visit if one has time, fascinating history of the life of the railroad employees etc. Yep, I really LOVE trains
Cathy, so glad you enjoyed the photos! I love trains too, but feel a little abashed given that so many of the posters here are such jet-setters! This ride is one of my favorites -- I have made the trip from Philly to Pittsburgh and back numerous times, starting in college. I usually ride in the winter just to avoid driving the turnpike, but it is even prettier in the fall! I haven't ever driven up to Horseshoe Curve, though sounds like we might have to do that at some point. I have been to the museum in Altoona, though it was many years ago. My son fell in love with the museum in Strasburg, and we may do Steamtown up in Scranton this summer. We have taken several overnight train rides with him, and he gets so excited! I take pictures on my work trips mostly to share with him back home (lots of photos in the Enola yards of the freight trains and the container-lifting equipment). So nice to know someone else is a bit of a train geek here!
JerseyPearl
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Love the tassels and the photos! Great job on both.
CathyKeshi
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Enbcfsobe, LOL, I forgot to say how much I like your tassels!
Ah, yes, the Philadelphia to Pittsburgh route, I know it well. We live 2 hours north of Philly, but hubby grew up there, and we used to live there, the Flower Show this weekend ... Our daughter went to graduate school in PIttsburgh, so we made that trip by car over and over and over and over again, and that drive can be BRUTAL!!! You are smart to do the train when you can, especially in winter. I've done the train to New Mexico and back; what a treat to not only have dinner parked in the Enola yards while switching engines, to Horseshoe Curve in falling snow to the desert drama of Apache Canyon ... incredible. Our grandson LOVES train rides too; we hit Strasburg often ... especially if Thomas is coming out to play, and now there's a second engine, I forget which ... Percy or James I think. He's also done Florida and back several times ... the first time, he sat upright at 5:30am, looked at me and announced loudly "I'm SLEEPING on a TRAIN!" The whole (formerly sleeping) coach car burst into hysterical laughter after someone commented "not anymore we're not" Five minutes later, we were all wide awake, and he was sound asleep again. Your son would love a day at Horseshoe Curve, and the museum has a brand new building; highly recommend both. Pack a picnic and a camera for the Curve, and be prepared to have to bribe him to leave both! I suspect we're all geeks here
Ah, yes, the Philadelphia to Pittsburgh route, I know it well. We live 2 hours north of Philly, but hubby grew up there, and we used to live there, the Flower Show this weekend ... Our daughter went to graduate school in PIttsburgh, so we made that trip by car over and over and over and over again, and that drive can be BRUTAL!!! You are smart to do the train when you can, especially in winter. I've done the train to New Mexico and back; what a treat to not only have dinner parked in the Enola yards while switching engines, to Horseshoe Curve in falling snow to the desert drama of Apache Canyon ... incredible. Our grandson LOVES train rides too; we hit Strasburg often ... especially if Thomas is coming out to play, and now there's a second engine, I forget which ... Percy or James I think. He's also done Florida and back several times ... the first time, he sat upright at 5:30am, looked at me and announced loudly "I'm SLEEPING on a TRAIN!" The whole (formerly sleeping) coach car burst into hysterical laughter after someone commented "not anymore we're not"
Five minutes later, we were all wide awake, and he was sound asleep again. Your son would love a day at Horseshoe Curve, and the museum has a brand new building; highly recommend both. Pack a picnic and a camera for the Curve, and be prepared to have to bribe him to leave both! I suspect we're all geeks here 
thanks all for checking back in on my project i will continue to update as i finish off the tassels. maybe i will manage to make a set of instructions for how I did the smaller tassels without having them unravel. i think the one that was beyond repair was made worse by the fact that it isn't silk, so the threads were slipperier and more easily snagged. i don't think I'll order another synthetic tassel. the silk ones are lovely, though, and much easier to work with.
Glad to hear there are other train enthusiasts on P-G. All this talk of jetting to Fiji and such makes me feel a bit sheepish about what I consider "travel." For work, though, I travel mostly in PA, MD, and WV. In the winter, the driving is miserable (I learned that WV apparently doesn't use salt???), and many places I couldn't fly to even if I wanted to (not in less than it would take to drive, anyway), so I take the train if I can.
Cathy, the trip to New Mexico sounds amazing! I have trained as far as Denver, but that means I missed out on the most dramatic scenery. We have done Florida pre-kiddo (and I did it in coach many times as a child). As a family we have done Chicago via two different routes (Cardinal and Capitol Limited) as well as New Orleans on the Crescent. We earn lots of Amtrak points so that we can take sleeping cars, and my son now plays "sleeping car" in his bed with his animals. He gets excited even for a short subway ride (we don't have a car), and asks all the time to go to the "train museum" (Strasburg). We haven't done Thomas days -- he is content to shovel foam "coal" in the back of the museum for 45 minutes at a go! If we do central PA this summer maybe we will make it to Altoona, if not we will definitely put it on the list! I also want to go back to Canada -- VIA Rail was amazing even just between Toronto and Quebec City. If Amtrak could manage to provide that level of service in first class (hot towels! red or white wine! a hot meal even on a 3-hour trip!) I think more people would choose train travel! I respect and appreciate everything they do offer, but our VIA Rail experience was a peek into what it could be if we invested a bit more in intercity rail travel.
i will continue to update as i finish off the tassels. maybe i will manage to make a set of instructions for how I did the smaller tassels without having them unravel. i think the one that was beyond repair was made worse by the fact that it isn't silk, so the threads were slipperier and more easily snagged. i don't think I'll order another synthetic tassel. the silk ones are lovely, though, and much easier to work with.Glad to hear there are other train enthusiasts on P-G. All this talk of jetting to Fiji and such makes me feel a bit sheepish about what I consider "travel." For work, though, I travel mostly in PA, MD, and WV. In the winter, the driving is miserable (I learned that WV apparently doesn't use salt???), and many places I couldn't fly to even if I wanted to (not in less than it would take to drive, anyway), so I take the train if I can.
Cathy, the trip to New Mexico sounds amazing! I have trained as far as Denver, but that means I missed out on the most dramatic scenery. We have done Florida pre-kiddo (and I did it in coach many times as a child). As a family we have done Chicago via two different routes (Cardinal and Capitol Limited) as well as New Orleans on the Crescent. We earn lots of Amtrak points so that we can take sleeping cars, and my son now plays "sleeping car" in his bed with his animals. He gets excited even for a short subway ride (we don't have a car), and asks all the time to go to the "train museum" (Strasburg). We haven't done Thomas days -- he is content to shovel foam "coal" in the back of the museum for 45 minutes at a go! If we do central PA this summer maybe we will make it to Altoona, if not we will definitely put it on the list! I also want to go back to Canada -- VIA Rail was amazing even just between Toronto and Quebec City. If Amtrak could manage to provide that level of service in first class (hot towels! red or white wine! a hot meal even on a 3-hour trip!) I think more people would choose train travel! I respect and appreciate everything they do offer, but our VIA Rail experience was a peek into what it could be if we invested a bit more in intercity rail travel.
Happy Huku
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Me too, although perhaps the trains a little less!
CathyKeshi
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I might consider hiring a bat wrangler, Andrea LOL ...
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