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Keys, Coins, and Red Thread: Crafting a Sanctuary for £20 (And What It Taught Me About Writing)
Discover the spiritual meaning behind a custom £20 skeleton key windchime and how the process of crafting it perfectly mirrors writing a novel.
C. Pintilie
5/27/20262 min read
I’ve been looking for a windchime recently. I wanted something specific for my space—something with weight, texture, and a bit of soul. But after scrolling through endless online stores, everything I found was either mass-produced and generic, or inexplicably priced upwards of £100.
I didn't want a factory-stamped garden ornament. I wanted a talisman for the threshold.
So, rather than compromising, I decided to build exactly what I wanted. For about £20, I sourced a metal hoop, a pack of vintage-style skeleton keys, replica Chinese cash coins, a small metal bell, and a spool of bright red yarn.
What started as a scrappy DIY project to save a few quid quickly turned into a physical metaphor for how I approach both my writing and my advocacy work.
The Power of Intentional Objects
I’ve always been drawn to the idea of protective talismans. Long before I was tying these keys to a hoop, my anchors were coins. I collected them in all shapes, sizes, and materials: those stamped pennies from historical tourist attractions; coins from around the world; old coins found on the street; coins that were not real coins but merely mass produced for souvenir shops.
Physical objects have a unique gravity to them; they hold whatever intentions we pour into them.
When I sat down to build this chime, I wasn't just stringing metal together. I was intuitively blending symbols that meant something to me:
The Keys & The Armor
As a novelist, I’m naturally obsessed with keys. They are the ultimate storytelling motif—representing transitions, uncovered secrets, and unlocking new chapters. But one key in this cluster holds a specific weight. It’s stamped with Ephesians 6:13: "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." In my advocacy work, that concept is everything. Standing your ground. Refusing to yield when things get heavy. Hanging this by my door is a daily reminder of that resilience.
The Coins & The Red Thread
To balance the heavy, intellectual weight of the metal keys, I wove in Chinese cash coins—classic symbols of balance between heaven and earth—and bound the entire structure in red yarn. In countless traditions, the red thread is a boundary of protection, a way to seal a space against negativity and preserve the energy within.
Tangled Threads and First Drafts
The actual process of making the chime—cutting the yarn, measuring the drops, tying individual knots for every single key and coin—required a surprising amount of patience.
Honestly, it felt exactly like drafting a novel.
When you start a book, you have a pile of disconnected elements: a setting, a theme, a handful of characters. At first, trying to tie them all to a central narrative ring just feels like a tangled mess. But if you sit with it, keep adjusting the tension, and tie off one thread at a time, the structure eventually holds.
The heavy metal is supported by the soft yarn. The chaos becomes a deliberate design.
Guarding the Threshold
We all need reminders to protect our peace, whether we’re building a world on a blank page, fighting for a cause, or just sitting on the back porch. Sometimes, you just need a physical reminder of your own resilience clinking in the wind.
I built mine for 20 quid, but the feeling of creating my own sanctuary is priceless.
Over to you: Do you have any handmade talismans or specific objects that bring you a sense of grounding and protection? Let me know in the comments below.
(And if you want more behind-the-scenes thoughts on storytelling, resilience, and my upcoming novel, make sure to sign up for my newsletter!)
