Guessing gems

Here's a bit of a guessing game. A few days ago I was fortunate enough to be given a kind of lucky-dip selection of gemstones, chunky ones with holes drilled through, to use as beads.

Quite a few I can identify but some have got me stumped. So if anyone has any ideas, then please feel free to share and discuss! I'd love to be able to definitely put names to the gems.

Picture one.
1. Top left: Fluorite
2. Bottom left: Carnelian
3. Top right: Blue Lace Agate
4. Bottom right: Sodalite

Picture two.
5. Top left: Amethyst
6. Bottom left: Green Moss Agate
7. Top right: Smokey Quartz
8. Bottom right: Carnelian

Picture three.
9. Top left: Moonstone
10. Bottom left: Moonstone
11. Top middle: Moonstone
12. Bottom middle: Amazonite?
13. Top right: Fluorite
14. Bottom right: Citrine

Actually, having listed everything I seem to have been able to identify much less than I'd initially thought I could! All help, even guesses, gratefully received!

Added note - I shall add suggestions of stone names to their numbers as they come in but please feel free to disagree with them, especially my ones!

Another added note - Everything has got a name now. I hope they're the right ones! If you disagree with any, please let me know.

If I had . . .

I didn't expect tools would mean much to me, once being merely a means to an end that lived in someone else's garage. But now, well, I have been known to retire to bed of an evening with a tool catalogue to flick through.

Over the weekend I began a sort through of my smithing/jewellery making drawers and sections. I find it necessary to do this periodically as things get put away in the wrong place, anywhere room can be found, or, even, naughtily, not at all. The latter is the case for some lost items which the clear-out, prompted by their loss, has failed to materialise so far. Oh dear.

But I did find a few things I'd forgotten I do have, including a couple of old hammers with fantastic bruised heads, full of texture to be imparted with one swift blow to some receptive (and annealed!) silver.



I'd be fascinated to know about other people's tools, which are the most important, which have sentimental value, which always get lost . . . do share!

Blue skies, buds, flowers

It felt a lot like spring today. I dug down into the soil to move some daffodils and found the earth soft and rich and full of worm-life! I didn't take a photo of that but I did of some honeysuckle, against the blue sky and suitably fluffy clouds



Unfortunately, what you don't get with that photo is the sweet scent that was being gently released around me.

Some old hydrangea heads lurking in the shade looked a little like lace to me . . .



But my eyes were drawn back to the blue sky



Now to try and translate spring into silver . . .

Hootiful . . .

I know. A bad pun as a title is never a good idea. But these little felt owl brooches from Fibrespace really are beautiful, delicate and sturdy all at once . . .



And they come on a lovely card, just right for giving as a birthday gift/greeting card all in one . . .



Unfortunately, I haven't got a birthday coming up but I know someone who has and this, having been bought on Friday and arrived on Saturday - how's that for fast!, shall be winging (ho ho) its way to her shortly.