COLLARS

I seldom wear jewelry and I am hopelessly practical so most of my projects are the creation of functional objects. Regardless, when I spied the moth broadcollar on the cover of "Those Bad, Bad Beads" by Virginia Blakelock (my earliest beading guru) I was in love. The book was comb bound and my copy had a page that was mysteriously double printed (and therefore illegible), but it became my first beadwork bible.

In those pre-internet days, bugle beads were hard to come by and consistently shaped ones without ragged edges were impossible. Still, it wasn't long before every cardboard box in my house was peppered with pinholes and my floors sparkled in the sunlight.

Watching these beautiful creations grow, row after concentric row, is fascinating and the satisfaction of finally unpinning your work once it is complete and feeling the weight as it drapes over your shoulders is unreal.