Inspiration and Design
The May Pretty Palettes was inspired by a piece of Scandinavian fabric from the 1950 produced by Almedahls. It's called "Surt Sa Raven" (Sour Says the Fox).
For my necklace, I used the same jet marquis and matte gold bicones that Erin Prais-Hintz used. I added amber shell rounds (similar in color to the gemstone tiger eye) and red coral rounds.
I began by wire wrapping random beads inside the marquis chain links leftover from my Pearl Perchance Necklace. I love making individual components like this because it allows me to play with the arrangement of final design before connecting all the parts together. Each link is different, which adds a sense of playfulness to this fairly serious color palette.
Originally I planned to make a choker necklace, but I had so much fun making the wirewrapped links that I ended up with a necklace 32 inches (81 cm) long. Sometimes it's hard to stop beading!
About the Necklace Name
I wanted to give this necklace a Scandinavian name to honor the original inspiration. I thought the tiny red coral rounds looked like berries, especially with the leaf-shaped chain and jet marquis beads. A little research revealed that the small red lingonberries are popular in Sweden, Norway, and Finland. One of lingonberry's alternate names is "fox berry," which I found especially interesting since the inspirational fabric included foxes in the design.
I've never tasted lingonberries, but this necklace has inspired me to seek some out. If you're in the U.S, you can find lingonberry syrup, jam, juice, and other items at IKEA, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Cost Plus, and other specialty markets. I'm definitely putting lignonberry jam on my shopping list. Have you tried lingonberries? Is it true they taste like cranberries?