Creating Aruba in a Necklace

Barnacles, Bubbles & Pearls in a Fisherman's Net

First of all, I have never been there, but I loved seeing photos of the clean white sandy beaches and the beautiful greenish tint to the coastal waters of Aruba. Now that the sweater has been finished, and I am eagerly waiting for the weather to get cooler so I can wear it, I am faced with how to companion it. Challenged with redesigning my wardrobe, I look into the closets and drawers and see nothing! It seemed a natural turn that because one of the knit-a-long requirements (that I imposed on myself as well as everyone else), is that the knit creation have embellishment. Well, sometimes a piece of art just needs to be kept simple. SO, I decided to be complete with the knitting. However, not quite satisfied, I took a notion to accessorize with a necklace. Never having been one to hesitate doing something because I never tried it before, I jumped in fully committed. Although I have experimented at beading simple strings of jewelry, as just about everyone else has, I have never done something encrusted with beads. The necklace became like a project I have seen in Belle Armoire, a beautiful magazine for bead crafters. This necklace has been daunting. Just a jewelry dabbler, I have to learn, or create ways, to put this together that has had me researching throughout the process.

The inspiration concept that was my beginning point was that of a fisherman's net. Using some old corks saved form a celebration deeming champagne, I cut the corks in two, shaped them into beads and drilling holes. Then, I knit a net of silver metallic crochet cord. and attached the cork "floats." I attached the ends of the silver net to a chain, and began the process of encrusting the piece with barnacles of seed beads, shell palettes, irregular pearls, and silver and glass beads.