In Limbo

I find the days between Christmas and New Year are like being in limbo. After weeks of hard work getting the Christmas preparations to fall right, the following days seem somewhat of an anti climax. The radio stations still play Christmas music for a couple of days and you’re sitting on oddments of Christmas paper and trying to find space in the fridge for yet another plastic container of leftovers. So it wasn’t until yesterday that I found time to return to my workspace and get on with an upcycled pendant based on this damaged carved mother of pearl brooch that I’d started before Christmas.

I suspected that if I cleaned up the damage on the left and took out the matching filigree section on the other side that it would still work. After carefully taking the jewellers’ saw to it, I was happy with the result.

Next I stuck it onto a piece of gorgeous deep crimson silk velvet and added satin stitching along the main stems to give a bit of colour and also to help make sure it was properly attached to the fabric.

I gathered it up round a circle of pelmet vilene for strength and stability and made a plain circle for the back.

I stuck them back to back into a wide odd hoop earring with a lovely floral design on the edge which forms the frame for the pendant. I think I actually prefer the design without the filigree all the way round – it seems to make the flower stand out more.

It was good to feel like I’ve accomplished something.

My middle one, however, has accomplished a great deal this year. She started teaching herself to crochet when she left university in 2019 and was struggling to get a job. This year money has been very tight for her but she has, like many of us, had more time on her hands and the family has seen the benefit of that in her Christmas gifts. She somehow found the time to crochet a jumper for my mum, beanie hats for my dad and her brother, a beautiful lace shawl for her foster sister, a chenille cowl/snood for her little sister and this stunning lap blanket for me.

I can confirm it’s as cosy as it is beautiful.

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