Pine Needle Pendants

After the GYB party many of you asked me about my Pine Needle Pendants so I thought I'd share a bit more about them.



I literally gather hundreds of southern long leaf pine needles, one at a time, in and around Tallahassee. This takes an incredible amount of time because the needles must be perfect.  Straight and not twisted. Clean with no discolorations.

I bring them home and wash them in a soapy bath to be sure there are no little critters hiding and then place them on my screen porch to dry. When they are dry, which the timing is hard to predict due to our humidity, I sort them again and cut off the stems which provides a bunch of individual needles.

Now the fun really begins!

Pendants are started  with cabochons which have been adhered to faux leather.  Coils of pine needles are attached by stitching with artificial sinew (waxed thread) while continually feeding individual pine needles into the coil.  After a couple of rows, this is the result.

The art of using pine needles to create baskets and other crafts had almost been lost. Fortunately the craft is being revived through interest in the creation and collection of this unique art form.

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Here are a few pieces that are now listed in my Etsy Shop, Pine Designs & Cache-Mire.

The rich, turquoise color is like a bright blue summer sky.

This reminds me of a cameo.

 red jasper

and white howlite

a few are small, and some are larger

and black onyx is one of my favorites

I went to China a few years ago (before I started blogging) and now use a portion of my profits of this craft to benefit China missions. It feels good to do some good, especially when you enjoy the process.  Does that make sense?

Thanks for stopping by!


                           Until next time....
                                Terri