Brown Wooden Rosary

 

I finished a new rosary on Saturday. Its wooden beads are stained a warm brown color, and its metal parts are brass and gilt. The circlet is about 30.75 inches in circumference. The drop is 6.125 inches long from the top of the centerpiece to the bottom of the crucifix. The rosary is 21.25 inches long from the middle of the third decade to the bottom of the crucifix.

This is a simple and unpretentious rosary. Because the beads are wooden, it feels relatively light and has a pleasant texture as the beads move through the hand.

The Ave beads are wooden ovals about 7mm x 4mm, stained a dark brown. I got them from Ave Maria's Circle [AMC 521].

The crucifix is a style sometimes called "papal" or "JP2," and is about 38mm long (1.5 inches) 35mm without the eyelet at the top, and about 23mm wide. It also comes from Ave Maria's Circle [AMC 344] the rough bark-like texture goes all around the crucifix. This crucifix could not be engraved. On the back of the crucifix, and the bottom of the upright is the word, "ITALY."

The centerpiece is about 16mm in diameter, just a little smaller than a dime. Including the eyelets, it is about 19 mm wide at the widest, and 21 mm long. The front of the centerpiece is an image of Mary based on the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but also includes a representation of her immaculate heart. The reverse shows the mystical rose. It comes from TierraCast, and I bought it at the JSM Bead Coop.

The Pater beads are rectangles 7mm x 4mm. I got them from Ave Maria's Circle, but they are no longer up on the site. The rosary is wired with 22-gauge brass wire. I bought the wire at JSM Bead Coop. All loops are wrapped, but for the beads, the wrap is tucked inside the bead. While this adds strength to the wraps, I also did it to simplify the look, to keep the rosary from getting too long, and to let the beads, rather then the wire, dominate the appearance of the finished rosary. the paters are connected to the decades of aves and the centerpiece and crucifix by wrapped-wire bows. I make my bows with two layers of wire because when I started wire-wrapping rosaries, I didn't think I had the precision needed to make them in the way I saw them made by others. I have since found that the way I developed to do it was already in use, and these kind of bows are called "Sailors' Knots." There are 14 of them in the rosary.

Priest's rosary 3: as seen from the back.

     Ordinarily such a large crucifix would provide a lot of space on the back for an engraved message, but that is not the case here because of the slump in the center of the cross. The slump is formed as the molten metal hardens and contracts as it cools in the mold.

     The back of the centerpiece shows a descending dove and a sunburst of seven rays, showing the descent of the Holy Spirit and his seven-fold gifts (Isaiah 11:2-3). The Latin words around the top of the medallion are "Veni Creator Spiritus" (Come Creator Spirit). Together with the image on the front of the Father reconciling His prodigal son to Himself, this image of the Holy Spirit recalls Christ's words to the apostles, "When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (John 20:22-23).

Priest's rosary 2: with Paters and links aligned

All the beads are strung on lengths of heavy (18 gauge) craft wire, and the loops which link each bead to the next are closed with wire wraps. On either side of each howlite bead is a wrapped wire bow which links it to the rest of the rosary and helps define it as an Our-Father bead. The way the howlite Our-Fathers contrast with the black onyx Hail-Marys reminds me of how the white Roman collar contrasting with the black clerical suit identifies priests. On either side of each howlite bead, is a wrapped wire bow which links it, but also provides distance and definition. All the wire is 18 gauge, all links use wrapped wire loops, and wrapped wire bows connect the crucifix and centerpiece and separate the Our-Fathers from the decades of Hail-Marys, providing for a very sturdy and durable rosary.

a rosary for the Year of the Priest

This rosary started with a large crucifix SCX330 from Catholic Prayer Cards showing Christ our High Priest offering Himself on the Cross to His Father for our sakes (Hebrews 3:1). The cross is 2.75 inches tall. The centerpiece, from Our Lady's Rosary Makers (OLRM #595) is seven eighths of an inch (0.875") long and half an inch wide. The centerpiece is based on a detail from "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Rembrandt showing the Father welcoming back His wayward son (Luke 15:11-42). The crucifix and centerpiece are made of white base metal, probably nickel-silver, and heavy (18 gauge) nickel-silver craft wire is used throughout. The Hail-Mary beads are 8mm rounds of black onyx and the Our Father beads are 10mm howlite rounds. I got the craft wire, onyx and howlite at JSM Bead Coop.

This is a large rosary. The circlet is 42 inches around; the drop is about 9.5 inches from the top of the centerpiece to the bottom of the crucifix. From the middle of the third decade to the bottom of the crucifix, the rosary is 30.5 inches long. It has a heavy and substantial feel.

amethyst dyed Mexican onyx - after

The original beads had a large center hole, and were shaped somewhat like donuts. I found some similarly colored pressed glass beads that were "flying saucer" shaped, close enough in shape, though not a perfect match. They were as big, or slightly bigger than the largest of the remaining original beads. I would call the color of the new beads "vanilla/raspberry-swirl." I chose some cathedral beads in the same white/purple glass for the Our-Father beads.

I had almost enough original beads for all the Hail-Mary beads on the circlet, so I put 3 of the new Hail-Mary beads on the drop and then sorted the original beads by width, graduating the beads from the largest, near the centerpiece, to the smallest, on the opposite side of the circlet. The only new Hail-Mary bead on circlet could then be placed just on the other side of the centerpiece from the largest original bead, where it blends in very well.

I strung each of the original beads on top of 4 #15 silver-lined crystal seed beads. This was to fill the large hole in the donut-shaped beads, keeping the bead centered on the beading cable, and limiting the amount of wobble, to which the bead is subject. I added the centerpiece. I don't think the original ever had one. I used a nickel-silver Fatima centerpiece from Our Lady's Rosary Makers. I made a wrapped-wire bail for the cross from 18 gauge nickel-silver craft wire.

Stabat Mater dolorosa

I bought these beads at JSM Bead Coop. They are a dark purple fiber-optic (cat's-eye) bead. These are the same color and kind of bead as were in a rosary I re-worked for the owner some time ago. I was so pleased with how that one came out that I thought I would try to replicate it from scratch (except that the original used bead-caps on all the beads, and I thought it would look better without them). I re-worked the original rosary using 21 and 18 gauge sterling silver wire. I started to use the same wire on the replica I was trying to make, but I began making mistakes, and wasting expensive wire. I had let too much time go by without practicing my wire skills. I decided to use base metal for this rosary and to use it as a opportunity to practice those wire skills. I used 20-gauge nickel-silver wire for the Hail-Mary beads, but I didn't have 18-gauge nickel-silver wire for Our-Father beads and bows, but I did have non-tarnishing brass wire in that gauge. I thought that since this is "just a practice" rosary, I wouldn't buy a new spool for it, but just use up the wire I had. It turns out that the contrasting colors adds something special to the appearance of this rosary.

Despite being brand new, this rosary gives a sense of age, as if it might have been handed down from someone's great-grandparents, perhaps because of its dark cast, substantial weight and sturdy construction. The construction is, in fact, very sturdy. It may not have come from someone's great-grandparents, but it may be handed down to someone's great grandchildren.

The wire and beads come from the Bead Coop, the centerpiece is from Ave Maria's Circle, and the crucifix from Our Lady's Rosary Makers.

brown Saint Joseph rosary

I made this to be like the black Saint Joseph rosary below, except I wanted to use brown wooden beads and crucifix. The copper wire for the Hail-Mary beads is 22 gauge and for the Our-Father beads and the wrapped wire bows, 20 gauge, both from the JSM Bead Coop. The crucifix is a 55mm (2 3/16 inch) long wooden crucifix stained golden brown (or "honey oak") with the corpus and titulus in nickel silver [AMC #350] from Ave Maria Circle. The Hail-Mary beads are 9x6mm oval, wooden beads stained a rosy brown from Our Lady's Rosary Makers [OLRM #761]. The Our-Father beads are 10.5x7mm, oval ridged wooden beads stained a light reddish brown (light brown) --[AMC #544] None of these colors match. The St. Joseph centerpiece is 25mm (1 inch) including the lower bail [AMC #242]. Wrapped wire bows are used to attach the crucifix and center, and to separate the Our-Father beads from the Hail-Marys.

Saint Benedict Rosary 2

Each bead is strung on silver colored craft wire. The Our-Father and Hail-Mary beads are strung on 20 gauge and 22 gauge wire respectively. The wire bows connecting the centerpiece, crucifix and Our-Father beads are made with 20 gauge wire. All loops are wrapped.

Saint Benedict Rosary

This rosary features a St Benedict medal centerpiece and a St Benedict crucifix. The crucifix (#502A at OLRM) including the bail, is 55 mm long (two and one eighth inches ) and the centerpiece (#597 at OLRM) is 16 mm in diameter (roughly dime-sized). The Hail-Mary beads are black wooden ovals, 9mm by 5mm (#508 at AMC) and the Our-Father beads are 10.5mm by 7mm grooved wooden ovals (#543 at AMC).

remaking a broken habit

This is a remake of a broken habit rosary I got at St Vincent de Paul thrift shop in Sheboygan, WI. It was missing 2 beads and the crucifix. I replaced the Our-Father beads with dramatic black and white swirled glass "tablets" (by which I mean a sort of rectangular prism with rounded corners and edges) 20mm x 11mm x 7mm, from JSM Bead Coop. I added a metal-bound black wooden crucifix, 57mm x 31mm [OLRM 549] from Our Lady's Rosary Makers. The Hail-Mary beads are 14mm x 9mm black wooden ovals. They were originally strung on tough stainless steel eye-pins, which I retained as much as possible, but I used 20-gauge nickel-silver craft wire, and wrapped wire loops and bows for the parts I had to replace.

rosary with caged Our-Father beads

I liked the St Joe rosary so much that I used the same Hail-Mary beads and Our-Father beads from Ave Maria's Circle on my next project. I used OLRM 509, a 49mm* nickel-sliver "dogwood" crucifix from Our Lady's Rosary Makers, and AMC 2226, a 25mm* nickel-silver miraculous medal center from Ave Maria's Circle. I was planing the turquoise Guadalupe rosary so I decided to use this rosary to practice caging the Our-Father beads. Each Our-Father bead is caged in a 6-inch helix of wire. Like the St Joseph rosary, each bead is strung on a wrapped wire link, and wrapped wire bows are used as connectors (instead of jump rings) and to separate the Our-Father beads from the decades of Hail-Mary beads (instead of a few links of chain). I used 20 gauge nickel-silver craft wire for the links, bows and cages. (*measurements include bails)

Saint Joseph Rosary, black wood and copper wire

This rosary came out very well. Everything except the wire is from Ave Maria's Circle. The wire is 20 gauge copper wire from the JSM Bead Coop. The crucifix is 2 1/8 inch wooden crucifix stained black with the corpus and titulus in nickel silver [AMC #351]. The crucifix lacks the metal binding/backing that is common to this kind of crucifix. I wasn't sure how I would like it, but it turns out that the lack of backing emphasizes its simplicity and "woodenness." The Hail-Mary beads are 9x6mm oval, black wooden beads [AMC #508] which I bought in bulk. The Our-Father beads are 10.5x7mm, oval ridged black wooden beads--[AMC #543] This crucifix and these beads go very well together. The center is a 1-inch St. Joseph Center [AMC #242]. Wrapped wire bows are used to attach the crucifix and center, and to separate the Our-Father beads from the Hail-Marys. I didn't plan it this way, but the simplicity and wooden parts evoke a sense of St. Joseph. I like this rosary very much, but a friend of mine asked for it, and I gave it to him. I will have to make myself another one.

turquoise Our Lady of Guadalupe rosary