Old Love Affairs

One of my earliest jewelry memories is receiving a silver and turquoise bracelet when I was probably 7 or 8 years old. My grandma and grandpa had taken a vacation in Colorado and brought the bracelet back to me as a gift. They always brought us some little trinket back when they went on a trip. It was a little narrow cuff style bracelet with small turquoise cabochons glued across the top. Oh, how I loved that bracelet, not only because my grandma picked it out for me but because it had turquoise and that's my birthstone! I finally outgrew it but I think I still have it packed away in a box with other childhood mementos. But the thing I've never outgrown is my love for turquoise - blue turquoise or green, doesn't matter. So I am always on the lookout for turquoise to use in my jewelry designs. Some of my best designs, I think, I've done with turquoise.

A couple weeks ago, we went to a farmers' market and I found a jewelry supply vendor with a lovely variety of turquoise. I purchased some beads, a large odd-shaped pendant and some open square donuts. The pendants and donuts are reconstituted turquoise, but turquoise nonetheless. I couldn't wait to get home and start playing with designs. The first I came up with was a bracelet using the square donuts. I linked the donuts with bands of beadweaving using metallic silver seed beads and small red coral beads. It's got that classic southwestern look, which I will always love.

One of the donuts I bought had been drilled to use as a pendant and I wanted it to coordinate with the bracelet. So I used the same metallic silver seed beads along with turquoise and red seedbeads and beaded a shaped, open square in peyote stitch to hang the turquoise donut from. I wanted the chain to be very metallic looking with touches of turquoise and the coral beads. I stitched it in herringbone for a sleek, shiney look. The clasp is a repeat of the peyote stitch square. And of course to complete the ensemble, I had to make earrings to match!