It only took about 20 minutes to make this crochet necklace, making it a perfect last-minute accessory. This one was made using acrylic yarn, because it was all I could afford at the time, but I very much recommend using cotton or bamboo instead to give it more weight and a better drape.

I used THIS PATTERN by Marta from Creativeyarn.  I didn’t attach the flower to the necklace.  Instead I just sewed it onto a brooch clasp so that I could either attach it to the necklace or use as a whimsical brooch.

Unfortunately this particular flower is a bit heavy for the necklace (partly due to my poor choice of yarn and party due to the HUGE button I decided to use), so if I wear it long enough, the whole things spins around my neck so that the buttons at the back wink at me crookedly from the side and the flower hangs lopsided and sad between my collarbones.

This is just a fanciful photo of this necklace draped over a photograph of me taken in South Africa when I was 7 months pregnant with Jaco.  The photograph was taken by my sister and the frame was a Christmas gift from her :)

I’m sitting on the bench my father-in-law made, drinking coffee my mother-in-law made and watching the boy Christiaan and I made being deliriously happy.

What you can’t see on the photo is the crisp farm air and the noise of the animals and the workers as they go about their day.  You can’t hear Pieter squealing, can’t see him being chased by his grandma, can’t feel the absolute peace of this one rare moment.

It makes me homesick, this photo…