It is not often that it takes me a year to make a necklace, but this one has been in the tray for at least that long. First of all I had to find the really fine invisible cord filament (at Legendary Beads in Santa Rosa I could touch it and see that it was fine enough) where I also got some crimp tubes. When I tried them they seemed too big so I ordered some from Fire Mountain and was able to start the piece.

Then I found out this necklace takes a lot of crimp tubes so I quickly ran out. I thought I knew which ones I had ordered previously, but when the package came, it contained the larger crimps.

Because I order through our bead group, that meant waiting another month for another order. Finally I got the right size, but again had not ordered enough Another month, another order using the inventory numbers from Fire Mountain. When I got all my ducks in a row I was no longer interested in the necklace. How often has that happened?

However, by doing the earrings the other day I was inspired to get this out to finish it. The work on the earrings had taught me the value of putting only a single bead between crimps and the necklace was done with combinations of pearls and crystals. So in a burst of confidence, I cup off the hanging part. Then I discovered that the invisible cord material stretches and now the necklace was too long. So I began all over and finally got this piece out of my UFOs. I like it so much I am thinking of keeping it - something I rarely do. Now I need a new dress and surely new shoes, and I can just see the purse it needs. . .

In Japan, in one of the myriad shops we visited that day, I saw a grand display of at least 75 different purse closures. I was so overwhelmed by the huge selection that I got none of them but today I feel I could walk in that store and find the perfect one.