But what’s impressed me about Folksy is just how gorgeous many of the other sellers’ work is. I thought I’d present a selection of my current favourites to give you a flavour of what’s available.

The beautiful silver, red agate and pearl crocheted bracelet is one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve seen. Made by Ali Bali Jewellery, who does some wonderful work, I’ve been coveting it since I first saw it.

I love the rich green of this lampwork heart necklace by Leeski. For those of you not familiar with lampwork, it’s a technique using a gas torch (originally an oil lamp) to melt and work glass rods and tubes.

Of course, there’s a lot more to Folksy than jewellery! There’s lots of knitting, crochet, felt work, art and photography, and lots more. I’ve bought a couple of things - a notebook and a photo print, both of which came really promptly and were just lovely. I’ve spent a lot of time looking through the site, watching what new members put up for sale, and wishing that I had more money. If you’ve a little Christmas cash still to spend, you could do no better than visiting Folsky and supporting British crafters.

Christmas is coming - a fact confirmed by the fact that I’ve already eaten one huge turkey (Thanksgiving!), there’s about 18 inches of snow on the ground here in northern Illinois, and there are more Christmas lights up than you can shake a stick at.

I’ve just joined Folksy, a UK-based crafts site, and put up four of my necklaces for sale there just in time for the Christmas rush (I hope!). I already have them up here on Lost Yod but obviously this is a bit of a backwater so not exactly getting lots of traffic.

Lots of people have suggested that I put stuff on Etsy, but they only work in US dollars and the exchange rate isn’t kind to British crafters. I also haven’t heard great things about Etsy, and my own experiences of the site have not been enjoyable or profitable.

eBay’s also out because most of the jewellery there is either tat or so obscenely cheap that I wonder if it hasn’t fallen off the back of a lorry. I also dislike auctions for the sort of thing I am selling - I would rather just set a price and if someone wants it, then they can buy it there and then, without having to worry about bidding and deadlines.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on Folksy today, and the vibe seems pretty good. The forums are friendly and the quality of stuff that others are selling there is very high indeed. The site is new, so it’s still bedding in and gaining visitors, but there’s so much good stuff there that if you’re buying Christmas presents I’d strongly recommend that you visit very soon.

And of course, if you like my necklaces, you can either visit my small shop on Folksy, or buy direct from me here on Lost Yod. I’ll send stuff out as soon as I get home, (i.e. Monday).

There are 37 available right now, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to sell all of them before Christmas. I have a few beads left, so if you see something you like and want a bespoke piece let me know. I think I’ve figured out how to make something without aggravating my wrists, but if you order bespoke it might take a while for me to get it together, so bear with me!

So what are you waiting for? Go do your Chrimbo shopping!

Indeed, the Skill at Arms stuff, which is basically people doing impressive things on horseback, such as skewering a small bit of cardboard sticking out of the ground or slicing a hanging orange in half with a sword whilst at full gallop, was really impressive. I didn’t get to see much jousting, nor did I see the siege, but the big staged battle was fun.

There were lots and lots of stalls, and I managed to get a nice belt pouch to go with my costume, and I lusted after a lot of other things - including a nice cloak - but restrained myself! Unfortunately, I think everyone else was being equally as restrained, as I hardly sold any necklaces at all. That means that I have about 40 pieces which will be going up online here for your delight, delectation, and purchase!

Please bear with me as I expand this site. It’s kind of hard to find the time to spend on it at the moment, but I’ll get lots more info up as soon as I can.

Meantime, I’m very interested in your opinions on things like colour, whether you like matching sets, etc. so that I know where to focus my efforts. I have put together a short survey of eight questions, and I would be very grateful if those of you who buy jewellery could spend just a few short moments filling it in. Just pop along to PollDaddy and get cracking.

If you’re curious, these are the questions:

Q.1 When buying jewellery, how important is it that you can buy matching set of earrings, necklace and bracelet?
Q.2 If you like matching sets, what is most important to you?
Q.3 When buying a period bracelet, do you have a preference for a clasp type?
Q.4 Your favourite colour for pearl jewellery is:
Q.5 What other colour pearl jewellery would you like to see me make?
Q.6 Your favourite colour for jewellery ‘fixings’ (the clasp, etc) is:
Q.7 When you buy stuff online you prefer [to buy from]:
Q.8 If you just answered “Another option”, what other option?

See! Really very easy.

All necklaces are made of glass pearls - real ones are way too expensive - and sometimes with Swarovski crystals. Metalwork can be silver- or gold-plate. Please forgive crappy photos - will try to get some better ones, perhaps of me wearing them so you can see how they fall.

Plain choker
Very boring, easy to make, and thus cheap for those on a budget or whose costume is that of a less well off Elizabethan/Tudor. Currently in black and grey.

Four foot string of beads
They were really into long strings that they could wrap twice around their neck, tucking the surplus into the top of their dresses. Comes in various sizes and colours.

Four foot string with pearls and metal beads
Does what it says on the tin.

Maria de Medici
From a 1551 portrait, this is a simple choker with lots of pendant beads. Various bead sizes and colours.

Memling
From a portrait by Hans Memling from 1463, these have Y-shaped pendants. Again, various colours and bead sizes.

Isabel of Portugal
From the mid-1400s, I couldn’t quite figure out how to link the pendant chain in the first one I did, and in the others I went for simplicity instead of authenticity as i think the original must have a three-way drilled pearl, which I don’t have.

Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia
From 1603, I did two versions of this - one as a tight choker and the other a slightly looser version to sit upon the collarbone. Neither really sit well on anything other than someone’s neck. Couldn’t get a teardrop pendant to hang centrally, so it has to live with out one. Also offset the red crystals for effect.

Queen Anne of Denmark
c1600, and again, it sits better when you actually wear it. I suspect that I’d have to make these to measure - one bead too long or short and it just won’t sit properly.

Elizabeth Brydges
From 1589, a real bugger to make, but very impressive when it’s on.

Diamond choker
Of my own design, although clearly diamond in shape, and not in stone! Can’t be affording to play with making jewellery out of those beauties. Silver or gold.

So, which ones do you like?
Please take a second to fill in my poll - I’d really like to know which ones you like, and if you’re a girl into Renaissance jewellery, which one would you like to wear?

[polldaddy|624309]