I was trying to solder some silver (1mm I think) wire to itself in a simple
filigree type thing using hard solder. I followed all the instructions in
my book yet the wire melted before the solder. I'm using a small butane
hand torch, would that make a difference? If so, I'm going to have to give
up my new hobby!

At a guess it's probably one of three things (it usually is). Cleanliness
of the piece, wrong solder and/or flux, or allowing the heat to remain in one
place too long rather than heating the whole piece.