Off to a flying start

An exciting project that was requested by my friend Tara. She was visiting with her family in England this fall and one of her favorite things to do there is to attend the local outdoor market. There are a variety of things sold there, fruits, vegetables and best of all, antiques of all sorts. This multi-stone pendant was a treasured find from that visit. As shown, there are four bezel set stones connected to one another and there were stitches attaching a scrap of fabric at the top. I wonder how this was worn in its original state? I can imagine it as a rather Victorian choker with a black satin ribbon circling a slender neck.

I was at liberty to compose the design in whatever manner I chose. My first thought was to combine the pendant with some seed beads in hues that would both complement and accentuate the soft, cool green. I found the colors I needed and then moved onto selecting the threading material. My plan evolved a bit here when I remembered the soft cinnamon colored nylon that I had stashed from a months-ago buying trip. I decided that macramé would be an interesting method of carrying the beadwork and nicely displaying the pendant. The variety of textures that macramé allows contrasts with the cool smoothness of the stone in the pendant.

Notice that moving down the necklace, increasing the concentration of both beading and knotwork lends visual weight, and draws the eye toward the focal point. Within the knotwork there are fan patterns that reflect the triangular positioning of the stones in the top portion of the pendant. The areas that are more lacy and open are farther away from the pendant.

This project was both a challenge and a pleasure to work on. I love the opportunity to further my design experience with macramé. This is a rather time consuming technique, so it’s harder to find the time to indulge in this very often. While I was working on this creation, as so often happens, I had some other ideas and will be doing more macramé soon.In my treasure trove of buttons I found an old brass button with a feminine floral motif. The tone of the brass mirrors the metal surrounding the pendant stones.