Silk Knot Pearls

In the past few years, weaving, crocheting and silk knotting have unexpectedly become some of my favorite techniques. If I need to clear my mind, change my attitude or just lighten up these techniques are like a meditation. They require focus and concentration. The repetition calms and soothes my busy thoughts and uneasy feelings.

Pearls are perfect for knotting because the knots keep the pearls separate from each other which decreases the wear and tear of their luster. It also only allows one pearl to escape if the silk should ever break. But choose any stone you like and escape into a knotting treatment.

Level: Intermediate

Materials:

Clasp and Pearls

Griffin Silk Cord (Needle comes attached to it. Choose the right size for your bead hole.)

French wire

Tweezers (straight or bent nose)

Tape

Craft Cement

Side Cutter/sewing scissors

Take the entire 2 meters off the cardboard.

String the 1st bead, 1/3" french wire and then your clasp down until approx. 3" from the end. The end without the needle attached to it.

Then string back through your 1st bead.

Tie a double knot.

Cement it.

Tape down 3" tail.

String on bead 2.

Make an overhand knot.

Put tweezers through the open knot.

Grab onto the silk with the tip where you want your knot to land.

Pull the working end of the silk so the knot slides off tweezers into place.

Gently remove tip and place tweezers directly in front of your knot.

As you pull your silk towards you, push the knot tighter and closer to bead 2 by gently pushing your tweezers towards knot.

Repeat over and over again until you have 2 beads left.

String on the last 2 beads, then 1/3" french wire and your clasp.

Then string back through your last bead.

Tie a double knot between your last bead and 2nd to last bead.

Cement it.

Wait 5 minutes for cement to dry.

Cut both silk tails off as close as you can.

And voila!

If you wear your silk knotted necklaces regularly I recommend reknotting it annually.

Inspiration

Having worked alongside, behind the scenes and closely with several jewelry designers I have just as much reverence for the creative process as I do the products. What inspires these artists to take the 1st step? What is the fuel that keeps them going? The answers to these questions are as unique as the artist herself. But there are some answers very prevalent and popular across the board and for good reason: nature being one of them.

Spending time in nature and taking in the beauty she freely offers is inspiring over and over again. Lest we forget, as our lifestyles can keep us disconnected, we are all nature ourselves made of the very same elements that make up plants, animals and minerals. If we choose to look, the infinite and various gateways to reconnect are always open and welcoming.

Jewelry is comprised of some of natures most amazing creations like metal, silk and gemstones. The artists that choose to honor and celebrate mother nature are some of my favorites. So I thought I would share a few of my favorite jewelry designers.

Originally from Southern California, Jeanine Payer's designs have been on my favorites list for many years now. Payer brings my love of jewelry and poetry, especially Rumi together. Each piece has a bit of poetry hand engraved into it elevating us from the mundane. "I believe in pieces having a wonder about them. I like making things that are at once both powerful and private. Each person brings their own particular meaning to the jewelry, therefore each piece becomes highly endowed" says Payer.

www.jeaninepayer.com

Another long time favorite is Satya. I love the simplicity of this everyday jewelry mixed with such powerful symbols like, the Lotus (soul expansion & heart opener,) the Om (summoning the divine in ourself & others) and Genesha (the remover of obstacles.) I see women wearing these pieces and never taking them off. This jewelry functions more like an amulet or talisman.

www.satyajewelry.com

There is no more appropriate word than LOVE to describe most women's attraction to diamonds. My high school sweetheart gave me my first pair of diamond stud earrings and my fiance gave me diamonds last year; but several years ago working for a designer I discovered and fell in love with rough cut diamonds. I wear them as earrings almost everyday. It is especially important with this most powerful and precious stone to attain it conflict-free.

Ruff & Cut offers these raw diamonds from socially responsible sources.

www.ruffandcut.com

I hope that the next time you put on one of your favorite pieces of jewelry you allow yourself to see the nature in it and awaken some of the nature of you.

Wire Wrapped Ring

I love simple adornments, like the one hammered gold band I never take off. However, some occasions call for more. So I tend to layer on and stack simple rings together. I am biased to gold, but all metals and even mixing them can be especially fun and fashionable.

Or I put on this easy to make wire wrapped ring that gives a similar look.

Wire wrapped rings are much easier to make than you'd expect.

The biggest challenge is sizing. You want to leave space to fan the wires so 2 sizes larger than the finger size works best. If you usually wear a size 6, create the ring at size 8 on the mandrel.

Level: Easy

Materials:

ring mandrel*

24 or 22 gauge wire

wire cutter &

needle nose pliers

1. Cut 2.5 feet of wire & place the middle of this piece on the mandrel at your desired size.

(This leaves over a foot of wire on each side to wrap.)

2. Wrap 9 times around the rind mandrel (4 with one tail and 5 with the other) leaving yourself approximately 3" of remaining wire on each side.

3. Cross the 2 tails creating a nice corner that holds each other.

(Like when you turn a ribbon on the bottom of a gift box.)

4. You can wrap these 2 tails as much or as little as you desire to pull all 9 wires together and secure the ring. *(If your mandrel is completely round remove your ring to complete this step. If your mandrel has a flat side with a bit of space, like mine, wrap it while it's on the mandrel.)

5. Cut your remaining wire away and be sure to press your ends in so they are flush and do not scratch your finger.

6. Fan your 9 wires apart and adorn yourself!

Creative Options:

Use a thicker gauge and hammer your wire beforehand.

Add beads or gemstones onto your bands.

Mix silver and gold fill wire.

I welcome your questions, hearing about your ring making experience and the comments you receive wearing it.

Hammered rings from www.etsy.com

Brick Stitch

Last summer, Merrill contacted me and asked if I could teach her peyote stitch for a big project she was working on. I had always wondered how to do this beautiful beadwork, but always wrote it off because it just looks so intimidating, not to mention time consuming.

I was also 4 months pregnant and knew someone better could teach her. I asked around and discovered a friend who had been doing this sort of beadwork since she was a kid.

However, my friend was not comfortable teaching anyone but me..

so I went for it!

For a few weeks, I sat and learned something new, something old and something really fun. We started with small swatches and simple projects like rings as we covered peyote stitch: flat and circular, brick stitch, ladder stitch, square stitch and hand looming.

It wasn't until this summer that Merrill actually came and took some lessons. And she, like myself, was intimidated at first by the amount of time this technique would require for the flower she had in mind. As it turned out the design for her petals was best made with brick stitch so that is what we did.. for weeks. It required us getting through those awkward first steps of learning, but then finding a flow and with the support of each other we were often times simply immersed in "a very peaceful, meditative process," Which is one of the main reasons Merrill creates her art.

Here is her completed flower and final vessel.

Find out more about Merrill's art at

www.merrillmorrison.com

My hope is that this blog will encourage you to take the leap and go on a new adventure with your hands and creativity. The first step is usually the hardest, but hopefully with my weekly tips, tricks and DIY projects the once intimidating will feel exciting and at last approachable.