the news is good. i really like doing this as much as i thought i would. maybe a little more!
i made two more flies this weekend -- one on a size one hook, like my first one, and the other on a size two. the higher the number, the smaller the hook. these are still good and earring-sized, and i was happy with them (although the whip-finish on the one in the middle is a little sloppy.)
again, i'm only following in a very general way the recipes in my books -- because i'm not trying to catch any fish. these flies don't have to look like anything that's ever lived on this earth. they just have to be pretty! pretty... and deadly.
i have attempted to squash down the barb on each of my hooks, but have no answer yet for handling the point of the hook itself. i like how it looks and don't want to change it very much. i like the sharpness of them.
i had this idea that i would tie some flies for ben's dad for his birthday this month. ones that would more or less work.
ben
was excited about this idea, but then showed me some of his own old fishing flies. i was a bit daunted when seeing how very, very small they were compared to what i was doing.
i didn't think i'd be able to tie anything so small with my sapling skills. and i tried, and was correct. i couldn't. so that idea will have to go on the back burner for awhile.
seeing ben's flies, though, got me all excited. because they are so beautiful, and some of them have been used -- in the water!! something about the wear and tear on them made them all the more exciting to me. like a lace tablecloth at a yard sale, you know?
i asked ben if i could keep them and he said i could, so now they are part of my "notions" drawer, like buttons and sequins. i have some ideas about what to do with them.
would anyone like a pair of non-matching and dangerous earrings? just ask. i'm feeling quite generous.