This semester of jewelry making is just flying by! We are on week four already and are having alot of fun. Granted, there is some whining going on, but I think I would be disappointed if I didn't hear any anticipated whining from my "regular" whiners!! It is all in fun. We spend most of our class time laughing at jokes. One comment by one of the ladies and it is turned into some joke with hidden undertones.
As usual, I get sidetracked.... Week two wasn't without some stress both prior to the class and during the class. The project for the class was pearl knotting with some lovely freshwater pearls. I had only done this technique myself a few years ago, so it was a refresher for me as well. I had purchased a beautiful strand of kelly green freshwater pearls from The Beadin Path; talked my husband into yet another trip to Freeport!
Once home, I proceeded to take out the nylon cord, which has an attached needle on one end, and not even reading my own instructions, eyeballed what I thought was the correct length of thread to use for an eighteen inch necklace and began the knotting process. You see, the technique for a strand of pearls is to have this evenly spaced knot in between each lovely pearl. I was moving along, the knots weren't looking too bad but I was struggling some with making sure that they were just touching the pearl, when I suddenly ran out of cord on the end with the needle. I thought I would add a few more pearls on the opposite end that I had started on but quickly found out that you can't thread the pearl with the cord without a needle - it frays...
Of course, this was just a few days before the actual class, so I began trying to come up with Plan B; maybe only make a necklace for a little girl, cut off the pearls and restart with some other green beading thread that I had in my jewelry stash, or wait until I could get to Freeport again on the weekend and get more of the nylon cord and do it right this time. I decided to try with the thread from my stash and cut all the pearls off the original cord to begin again.
This new thread was much thinner and it required two knots after each pearl. I got about halfway done and really looked at it. I didn't like the way it was coming out and if it doesn't meet my specs, it isn't going to cut it for class or my website. I'm very picky that way. I decided that I would leave it alone for class and bring it in the way it was.
I started the class with a new approach - I explained to them that I had an unfinished demo with me and it was because I had done everything wrong that could possibly be done in pearl knotting so that I could teach them how to do it correctly. I was trying to save them the aggrevation. They didn't bye it and seemed nervous about starting. Once they got going, "the correct way", most of them were getting the hang of it. A few struggled with it and want to remake theirs. I guess if I can do it multiple times, so can they! One of the new ladies, who shall remain nameless, seemed so stressed by the time she left the class. I joked with her that she needed to go home and have a cigarette but she informed me that she doesn't smoke and she gave up wine for lent - so she was really stuck!
I did make it to Freeport the following day, got some more green cord, and finished the necklace. I was pleased with the results and it made it to my website!!
Isn't the expression - Third Time's The Charm!!
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