. . . I realized that the edges weren't going to meet. I really should have figured it out earlier, since I'd been stretching the "leather" to get it to sit right on the spool. So I decided that wasn't going to work and tried glue. Which didn't work either. At this point I was frustrated and discouraged, and I knew I had at most two hours left to work before my dad came home and wanted to watch Buffy with me. So rather than messing about with different types of glue I decided to make something else entirely.
Factors working for me: Right then, my mom called, and we discussed ideas for quick Steampunk Things while I dug though my crafting kit. We agreed jewelry was fastest and easiest (she suggested more cookies, but I never bought replacement ingredients, so that would have been an adventure in improvisation and inedibility). I wanted to do something a little different than what I'd made before, and while considering my options (earrings, necklace, pin. . . not a ring because I didn't have my ring blanks) I came across some chains and remembered a discussion we had at one of the Sacramento Steampunk Society meetings about necklaces with antique keys for pendants.Results: I knew I wanted to do something chain-heavy, and I didn't want to bite the style of the person who gave me the idea. As I was choosing chains I considered that most of the multi-chain necklaces I've seen have a similar look to them. In order to avoid that I decided to make a choker. Then I attached the key asymmetrically. It still needed something, so I used the leftover bits of chain to attach some pieces from a clock I took apart, and the very last of the chain I used to support the key at its original angle, despite the rest of the stuff weighing it down.
I've worn it almost constantly since its completion, so I think this is one I'm going to keep.
