Vintage Wooden Spool Challenge inspires an Artisan Necklace

 

 

Christine is calling it a rolling blog hop, because the participants will be posting on different dates based on when they're ready.  That's a nice low stress jewelry component challenge!

 

For this challenge, Christine generously sent me these goodies:

 

 

 

The only required component we had to use was at least one of the vintage wooden spools she'd found on an antiquing jaunt.  Although I've got some ideas for the two dagger stone beads, they're going to have to wait for a little longer.  I love the white stone beads and may just string them simply, but I'm waiting to see if something more inspired happens.  I think I'll be using the spools again, too, because I really love the texture and warmth created with the fiber wire as you'll see below.

 

 

Now I understand how my Mom has felt when one finds "vintage" or "antique" items that one grew up with at an antique store.  Jeesh!

 

My Mom sewed all of my clothes growing up.  I had the most beautiful Christmas and Easter dresses each year.  I had matching top and short sets in the summer.  Until I think I was in 7th grade we had to wear dresses so I loved having my special ones, especially the sailor and smocked ones.  I inherited her wooden spools of thread and now maybe I know what to do with them!

 

I've been hoarding a lampwork bead for some time from Wee Gems that was made on a metal sewing bobbin.  It's definitely unique, because I've never seen one since.  How could it not be part of this special necklace?  With some designing on paper and fiddling with my stash I figured out what I was going to do and couldn't wait to finish it.

 

The first thing I did was take Mod Podge, a decoupage glue, and put several layers of it on the ends of the spool so as to save what was left of the thread labels.

 

 

 

 

I even thought the chain looked like the linked thread that comes out of a sewing machine.  I'm not a sewer though so that could just be my imagination.

 

 

The hook and chain allows this necklace to be worn at multiple lengths just by hooking into the chain at various spots.

 

Note:  I would've preferred to call this a Sewer's Talisman Necklace, but if other non-sewers like my husband happened to see the title they apparently would first think of the stinky sewer rather than the more creative sewer.