This has been the most challenging week of this adventure. Taking the hiatus from my 20 Time project caused me to need to relearn some of the basic skills I had acquired from week 3. It did not take long but I did need to re-watch the videos that showed me how to make the slip knot and chain stitch.
Because I am doing this project I was given all of Grandma´s beads, string and crochet hooks after she passed away. Here is a picture of the two largest collections we found at her house. I decided to use these since the only other way to get the seasonal beads is to order them on-line at a premium cost. The string Grandma uses for the necklaces is very fine compared to the yarn I used in my week 3 practice. Also her crochet hook is extremely small. I found that this made it quite difficult to keep the string on the point of the hook. |
Getting started with the fine gold thread was was the most difficult part. The thread is made of two twisted strands and the point would invariable end up splitting the strands. The small diameter of the beads is what required the small point and throat of the crochet hook. It does not look like a lot of progress but these first 6 beads took me 3 hours. I restarted multiple times for a variety of reasons. Either I was not properly hooking the thread and the bead would fall causing the whole string of beads to unravel or the point of the hook would get stuck in the bead or split the gold sting. I crocheted the first three beads 8 times. Once I got passed the third bead, things started going smoother. It was easier to keep the tension, pull the string through the bead and previous loops, and add the middle chain stitches. At one point I was at 5 beads and when adding the 6th, which is the bell, the whole thing fell out of my hands and I ended up starting again with the second bead.
This is as far as I can get this week. For next week I will try to complete the necklace.
This is as far as I can get this week. For next week I will try to complete the necklace.