The Rest of the Necklace

Inspiration for jewelry can come from all kinds of unexpected sources, beyond color and shape. When I first glimpsed upon the dainty vintage red and white cabochons, the charms in this necklace, I immediately thought of redwork embroidery. I knew I wanted to design a necklace or bracelet based on this theme. I have so many happy memories of my mother teaching me how to embroider when I was quite young. As a young girl, I loved the classic British novels, and taking out my needle and thread and sewing hoop and working on a piece of embroidery created a quiet camaraderie with whatever character or plot I was caught up in at the time.
So I had my redwork cabochons set aside in my bead box, but there they sat for a very long time because I just couldn't find the "rest of the necklace". It was truly such a thrill, when one day, when I wasn't even looking, I found the glass cabochon with the lovely floral basket, so typical of embroidery themes, and how wonderful that it was red and white. The crisp white background of the cabochon reminded me of embroidery cloth. Now that the necklace is done, I have a few of the smaller cabochons left over, so I am thinking of working on a matching charm bracelet.