I recently attended a pearl knotting class. The evening prior to the knotting class I created two crocheted bracelets. One would think that pearl knotting would be a fairly easy process compared to a braided crocheted piece.
My thoughts went to the history of pearl knotting. To a time far away when women would get together and create beautiful pieces to adorn themselves, family, friends, and others. The men of the village would brave the deep water of the ocean to find the ocean gems. Weddings, gifts, and heirlooms are gracefully created with this simple technique.
I was slightly embarrassed when I realized I was in the bottom of my class. As another student stated, we were the "special ed" corner of the table. Frustration grew as my fingers fumbled when I attempted to hold the silk cord while guiding the tweezers to just the right spot above the pearl. The technique seemed to "click" after a few words of encouragement from the instructor. A few knots later, I was confident my next knot would go smoothly and I too would be on my way to creating beautiful pieces.
The cord is draped around my fingers, I turn my hand to bring the tweezers to the right spot, and NO PEARL! What's this knot doing there? In my excitement of, "By George, I think I've got it!" I forgot to bring up the next pearl before starting to make the knot. Now my hands are wrapped with cord and the tweezers are suspended like a high wire acrobat swinging to grab the hands of their partner who is missing.
The pearl knotting class is is actually my attempt to keep busy, socialize and learn new skills while hubby is off to college on the mainland for three weeks. Okay, no harm done. Let's untangle this and start over. I continue along as the other students finish their pieces. The bracelet is finally finished. Whew!
I used Swarovski pearls and crystal accents. It actually came out okay. I will post a picture of it when I perfect my jewelry photography technique.
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| Black and white bracelet; Swarvoski pearl and crystal, hand knotted, sterling silver findings. |
