handmade holidays: milestones and memories

In January, my maternal grandmother turns 90. Ninety. Isn't that amazing? What an accomplishment. Unbeknownst to her (good thing she's not on the internet - er, that I know of!), a large contingent of us are gathering together on the 29th to surprise her and celebrate together. I'm bringing a couple of fruitcakes that I made and aged this year (my first attempt at following in my grandfather's footsteps), and this pin.

How my grandfather ended up living and gardening in New Mexico while my grandmother stayed in Oregon with us is a long story. Suffice to say, it happened. In the 1990s, my grandmother went down to visit him a number of times, and when she returned, she would always have a new set of beaded earrings or a new beaded necklace or something. I remember how much she loved this set of beaded earrings with garnets (her birthstone) in them. So, to honour her 90th birthday, I decided to make her a new beaded piece with that same Southwest feel. I couldn't find a good garnet cabochon, as I was limited (by time) to searching shops in town instead of hunting on the internet. This turquoise seemed a good substitute. The black seed beads are glass, but all the other beads are semi-precious stone: carnelian (orange), coral (pink and red), garnet (dark red - a bit hard to make out, but they lie inside the ring of pink coral) and amazonite (pale blue). I do hope she likes it; it was really fun to do some sewn beadwork and peyote work again - it's been so long, I'd forgotten how soothing and satisfying this work is to do.

In fact, it inspired another beaded present, that I'll have to show you once I finish getting the backing on! More to come! Happy holidays, everyone!