Redeemed

Many years ago a climbing friend made me this Kea (native mountain parrot) pendant out of the base of a deer antler.

He hung it on a cord long enough to loop over my head. It always felt too long and I haven't worn it as much as I wanted to.

A few weeks ago I started to look at shorter alternatives and after some Google searches, I decided I could sort something out.

I ordered a couple of metres of what I hoped would be the right diameter plaited waxed cord and 2 wooden toggles (1 as a spare) online. A friend was going to help me create a new necklace using 2 slip knots.

But the holes in the antler are quite big and a single strand of braid seemes likely to be too thin. The idea of the wooden toggle with a loop to slip over it seemed like a good idea.

It was trickier than I thought. None of my fishing knots were ideal as they all created a bulky knot. I couldn't find the knot I needed online so I emailed the craft supplier to find out what I should search for.

I needed a whipping knot using only one strand of the plaited waxed braid to wind around the looo to secure it. After carefully undoing a length of the plaited braid I successfully created the right sized loop.

Tightly binding it with a single strand of braid was tricky and after a few attempts I had it firm and closely bound. If I ever have frayed ends on a rope I'll know exactly how to fix it. :-)

I won't be giving up my day job any time soon but I've done a reasonable job considering I'd never attempted anything like it before.

I wore the kea pendant today but I was cold all day and it remained hidden beneath my scarf. Maybe tomorrow.

Today's gratitude: For endless fresh water from the tap. I've felt thirsty all day.