A Necklace for Amy

Rudraksha...the seed of the rudraksha tree, held as sacred in yogic philosophy. Two of them came into my possession earlier this year, when a local tai chi school closed down and held a tag sale of all their stuff. Among other items, I bought a big mason jar full of beads -- small wooden ones, mostly, but tucked in there were two large rudrakshas, about the size of gumballs. As soon as I saw them, I knew they were meant for Amy, DH & my yoga teacher and friend.

After our little dinner party on Sunday, Amy hung around to help clean up, and I gave her the seeds. I told her I wanted to make a necklace for her, but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate given the special status the rudraksha holds for her. We wound up designing the necklace together that night, and the finished product is shown above. The rudraksha are the large round beads on the left and right of the pendant. The pendant itself is one I wore regularly several years ago, when I first came back to the States from Asia. I can't remember where I got it, but Amy took a liking to it when she saw it in my beading stash, and I thought it made the perfect centerpiece to her necklace. The small, brown wooden beads are the other ones I got from the tai chi school. All in all, a fitting piece for Amy, and designed especially so she can wear it during yoga class without it falling up over her head the way her longer necklaces do.

Hmmm, my first jewelry collaboration. Not half bad, if I do say so myself! :)