Kiss of Desire

This is my first memory wire project. I used the bracelet pattern “Plume of the Peacock” from Artbeads, and purchased most of my materials from them, with a color change. While I love the colors in the pattern, I already own a “few” pieces of jewelry in shades of blue, purple and green. Blue, in particular, is my favorite color.

Every now and then, it never hurts to shake things up a bit. Red is a good color choice, if you want to be a bit bold. I didn’t do the entire project in red, since there are some pieces in my jewelry box which have shades of pink and rose. There are also some vintage pearls in my stash, which came from a necklace I bought at an antique store shortly after I graduated from high school. The strand broke a few years ago. The vintage pearls are close in size to the iridescent red pearls I ordered for this project, so I swapped out some of them. Overall, this pattern isn’t difficult to execute. I had one problem with it, which was the secondary wire used to wrap delicatas around the pearls. It is strung thru most of the beads on the memory wire. Twice, the wire got a nasty little kink which ended up becoming a breaking point. I would recommend starting the secondary wire after you have 1-2 beads on the memory wire. Keep the next beads in your sequence at least an inch away while stringing the secondary wire thru. It will make it easier to keep the wire from twisting and kinking. Before placing the delicatas on the secondary wire, add 1-2 beads following your pearls to the memory wire. I learned the hard way the delicatas will fly off while the next beads are being strung on the main wire. By placing those beads first, you can secure the delicatas immediately by pulling their wire thru right after they’re strung.

After I finished this bracelet, its colors reminded me of a hybrid tea rose my paternal grandmother had in her garden. Its name is Double Delight and was one of her favorites. This variety, introduced in the 1970s, is now considered a classic which I would love to add to my rose bed, perhaps this fall. This same rose is also responsible for my love of a poem I discovered in the 1990s. I found it on the internet, not too long after my husband and I got our first connection. (Yes, it was dial-up.) Whenever I read it, my grandmother’s favorite rose is the one I picture in my mind.

The White Rose

The red rose whispers of passion,

And the white rose breathes of love:

O, the red rose is a falcon,

And the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream-white rosebud

With a flush on its petal tips;

For the love that is purest and sweetest

Has a kiss of desire on the lips.

John Boyle O’Reilly

1844-1890

The Project Queen