HBBH 3 :: Greek Independence Day

Marlene and Shelley, now famous for their holiday bling hops, have decided that there is no reason why a holiday hop should only be scheduled in Nov-Dec. There are plenty of holidays year-round, and why not take advantage of them?!

And here we are. A holiday hop in March that celebrates pretty much any holiday you can think up for the months of February or March. My partner, Mary Govaars of MLH Jewelry Designs, and I decided on the Greek holiday of Independence (March 25th) because, well just because who doesn't love Greece and a little Mediterranean colors ... especially in the dead of winter ... on the East Coast! Well the East Coast for me, the West Coast for my partner Mary. 

Take a look at this beautifully designed necklace by Mary. She used that serine Mediterranean blue colors in the beads. Those large blue diamonds are vintage howlite; aren't they just gorgeous in this piece! She mirrors the pattern with silver that have that distinctive Greek pattern to them. She also added drop beads that have a moonstone hue. I think she absolutely nailed a beautiful Greek look! Thank you Mary for such a lovely necklace and beautiful package to open.

I have a lot of friends from the Mediterranean for some reason. Not a bad thing; mind you, just enough who know I love beads and who like to bring my souvenirs home in the shape of beads, or charms. You all know that I'm not complaining! I simply LOVE to get something interesting in to my beady concoctions. 

The piece I sent Mary included lots of beads and charms from the region including evil eye beads and charms in the shape of whirling dervishes and crescent moon with star. I used gold and wood seed beads in various sizes to create a freeform peyote bracelet in a tone on tone pattern. This is actually my second ever freeform project, and I have to say I'm really liking this type of bead weaving!

The symbol of the dervishes brings to mind this region to me for some reason. The word Dar in Persian means door with the term dervish meaning going from door to door. Dervishes have taken a vow of poverty; mainly to learn humility. They are not allowed to beg, and what money they acquire must be given to others in need.

Dervishes have become popular from the performing Dervishes throughout the region. You'll see them from Turkey, to Greece to Egypt and elsewhere. They spin endlessly, and my bloggy friend Kashmira saw a performance where the Dervishes had lights on their skirts and all you could see was the flowing lights. She even got up to dance with them. Wish I could have been there! (click on the link to see her post from her trip)

There is another small piece to this story. You'll also notice a crescent and star, which is a symbol from the Turkish flag. One of my friends is ethnic Greek who grew up in Turkey. She embraces two cultures, two flags, two countries. Truly a sense of what it means to find independence and to live a life in peace.

Ok, this is a hop. You all know what to do. Take a hop through the list below and see what all the other participants shared in their swaps.

Alicia Marinache              Catherine King                      Chris Schlicht
Cynthia Machata              Dyanne Everett-Cantrell         Gina Hockett
Jennifer Reno                  Laura Reed                         Leanne Loftus
Lennis Carrier                  Lori Bowring Michaud           Marti Conrad
Mary Govaars                   Renetha Stanziano               Rita/ Toltec Jewels
Sandra McGriff                 Sarah Goode                       Sherri Stokey
Sonya Stille                      Tammie Everly                    Therese Frank
Tiffany Goff Smith            Marlene Cupo                      Shelley Graham Turner