A New Skill: Restringing Pearls

A couple of months ago, a reader asked if I could restring some pearls for her.

She had three strands that I believe belonged to her mother-in-law, and she wanted a necklace made using all three strands.

Now, I've never restrung pearls before--but when did that ever stop me?

It did, however, take me an embarrassingly long time to actually GET to the project, because it was something new, and I had to have the right kind of energy to tackle it. And I did my research, both online and at two different bead stores, to find out the best techniques and tools for restringing these beautiful pearls.

But now that I am in the middle of this project, I am really enjoying it. It's one of those things that you can't rush, just slow and steady and pay attention to where everything is--coordination is key, in other words. It's a kind of meditation.

As I work, I'm remembering reading about a woman in one of Colette's short stories--in Paris, of course--who made her living restringing pearls. I'm thinking I could never do this fast enough to make a living at it.

More about restringing pearls.