Summery Necklaces and Sailing Longings

Necklace - Porcelain Dragonfly With Moonstone Heishis

This necklace is rather short for being one of mine. The pendant sits very nicely in the décolletage, perfect for a classic white shirt on a summery day in the country side or by the sea side. Or wear it with a pretty white cotton dress at the traditional Swedish Midsummer's celebration.

Art bead: Dragonfly on porcelain - FinnCreations

Other beads and components: Farfalle/peanut beads, moonstone heishi semi-precious stones, seed beads, silvery findings, beading wire


Necklace - Saltsjöbaden (with brass pod pendant)

I am thinking sailing for this necklace. Either on the boat or just when spending time in the marina, perhaps drinking a cooling beer in the fancy restaurant. 

Beads and components: Brass pod pendant from Objects & Elements, seed beads, wooden rounds, glass, acrylic, brass findings, waxed linen cord


Summer feelings
Ok, so perhaps you have already guessed. I am really longing for my 3 day-session sailing 2.4mR in Saltsjobaden, Stockholm, in the beginning of July. Just looking at pictures gives me that wonderful feeling in my stomach. 3 days is not enough, but so far that is what I have booked. I hope to add another session again in August :-).

I did not do a lot of sailing at all growing up. I do not come from a sailing family. But most of my childhood I lived very near a marina. So the atmosphere is just so at home for me. Then I coincidentally came across sailing 2.4mR a few years ago as a part of a rehab session I did for people with MS (I have MS for those of you who didn't know). One half an hour session and I was completely and utterly hooked. It is the most amazing feeling you could imagine. You are so one with the elements. So free. And you can sail as fast or slow as you wish. Guess which one I like. You're right, faaaaast. I am going to take proper lessons this time, so I hope I will become more advanced in my sailing skills. It doesn't hurt that the location for where I do the sailing, Saltsjobaden is a fantastically beautiful place. And the general surroundings of the club, Skota Hem, are just plain awesome. The people are so nice too. I hope to have a meal at the Holmen Kok & Bar restaurant (below) at least once.

Please contact me if you are interested in any of the necklaces shown in this post. 
E-mail: malindekoning[at]hotmail.com

All my best,
Malin

Sailing 2.4 - I looooooooooooove it!

The 2.4mR is a one-person keelboat. It is the smallest keelboat there is. My friend Linda who has grown up with sailing said when she saw one:

"Oh, now I get it, it is so small you put it on, you are kind of dressed in the boat"

It is popularly called the "Two-Four". It was developed and designed by yacht designer Peter Norlin of Sweden in the 80's. Today it is an internationally well-known boat. And it is one of few classes designated as an International class. The boat is primarily used for racing and the class holds highly competitive national events in many countries. The Olympics for instance.

You are sitting with your bum under the water line, so you are so very close to the water. You have the most amazing feeling of being one with the elements. And you alone control the sailing. Well I personally am a learner still, so I have an instructor following me in another boat. It is undescribable how marvellously wonderful it is. I loooooooooooove it! The first time I tried it was about one and a half years ago. And I cried from joy. My tears was just pouring of happiness. I realized I had been sitting there with the biggest grin ever on my face for about 1 hour, totally focused. "How do I get it to go faster?", I asked my instructor. "Pull the sail tighter", she replied, which is not the true answer I know now, but for the level I was on it was all I needed to know. So I pulled for all I knew, and the boat was leaning more than 45 degrees. And it was swoooshing forward at high speed, coz it was a windy day. And I was in heaven. I was laughing out loud. This was on a friday, and I was so obsessed with the experience I had my husband and children to go there with me again on the sunday just looking at the boats ... caressing them. It is more than one hours drive. And I dreamed I would end up racing in the Olympics winning the gold-medal. And maybe I will ...

Yesterday I was there again, sailing. It was a lovely sunny day. Perfectly beautiful. Not windy enough for my taste, but on the other hand it gave me a chance to experiment and get a bigger understanding of some of the details of sailing.

I just recommend everyone to try it out. Please do! It is good for the soul!

An article about 2.4mR on Wikipedia