Beads?!

Favorite Scarf Ever. Pattern info via Ravelry.

I know nothing about beads. Not completely true. I know that beads are round-ish and have holes so they can be strung. Relevance? Well, a while back I bought some van Gogh inspired sock yarn at my LYS. (Translation: local yarn shop) Click here to see original post. Later, when I was in another yarn shop, having neither the yarn nor a picture of it on my phone, I stumbled upon matching beads at a trunk show. I like trunk shows and when there is a bead trunk show at a yarn shop...   

Here's a pic of the yarn and perfectly matched beads.

Anyway, the scarf has been finished and blocked for a while, meaning May 24th. So, after a metaphorical nod to my friend procrastination, I decided there’s no time like the present to add the beads. I’ve never added beads before, but I have added fringe, should be easy, right? 

Ready for beaded fringe

Not so fast. Due to my lack of knowledge regarding beading along with my disdain for most things math, I paid no mind whatsoever to the diameter of the holes in relationship to the size of my yarn. In other words, the yarn was too large to simply string through the beads. And, the beads were too large to loop and crochet. Thus, my dream of adding beaded, crocheted fringe was not to be. Sigh.

Beads attached to yarn and ready to become fringe.

Again, not so fast. After mourning the demise of my dream for a respectable 5 minutes or so, I dried my eyes and set about making this work. I mean, the beads and yarn are a perfect match. I ended up tying/rigging the yarn with regular thread and using a sewing needle to thread/force the yarn through the bead. I attached with a crochet hook and voila! 

Queue the happy-ending music and roll the credits: beaded fringe.

I'm very happy with the results. Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear about your project challenges and how you overcame them! ~ Christina

Unwinding!

First and most importantly, hope you all are unwinding on this long Memorial Day weekend. Thank you to all of our service men and women both past and present for your many sacrifices. Honoring you this weekend!

“What have I been up to the past couple of weeks?” you ask. Or, maybe you didn’t ask, but please humor me here as I catch you up. Oh, and my goings on are in no particular order.

Starry Night colors

I’ve finished knitting my lace scarf. See the picture above. I am going to add beaded fringe so it’s not officially finished, but it's finished enough to blog/blab about. I used blocking wires for the first time. It does take forever to guide the wires through the knitting, but the result is fantastic. My scarf is light and lacy, and I’m in love with the Van Gogh inspired colors. This is a free pattern. Click here for details: Ravelry.

Blocking with wires

I’m also (still) stash-busting and am determined not to buy anymore yarn until I use up (most of) what I have. With this in mind, I dove into my stash with the intention of knitting a pair of socks. But, just look at these amazing colors. The photo does not do justice. Too gorgeous to hide in a pair of shoes, I agree. So, I did some surfing on Ravelry and Pinterest and found this free pattern for a shawl. I have about 7 rows left and am up to about a million stitches per row or maybe 247. Click here for information: Ravelry.

Oaklet Shawl

Last weekend we went to Indiana to see my younger brother graduate from Indiana Tech. I’m very proud of him. He’s been working hard to get his degree and has given up much in terms of time: family time and time for himself. Hopefully he’ll get some time to unwind soon.

My little bro and me

I’ve also sent in a square to participate in my first ever yarn-bombing. I knit this square using a pattern from the book “100 Afghan Squares to Knit” by Debbie Abrahams. The charity is in Ireland and is raising money to provide service dogs to people in need. I must say I am very impressed with the U.S. Postal Service. I mailed my square Monday and it made it to Ireland (yes, that Ireland - the one across the Atlantic Ocean) by Friday. No more snail-mail jokes from this knitter!

Next, just call me Heloise, because I’m about to give you a helpful hint about unwinding yarn. After spending one too many hours untangling gargantuan, colossal yarn knots, I tried an unwinding suggestion from a friend: use a chair. It worked beautifully. Here’s a picture.

No more tangles!

It’s beautiful beach weather here again in Michigan. Spent yesterday afternoon unwinding on the beach with our dear beach friends and am headed back today. Thanks for spending some of your weekend with me. Hope you are unwinding as well. Would love to hear about your goings on. ~ Christina

Chili, Blues, Van Gogh, Frenchmen, and Secret Projects

You're probably asking yourself what these seemingly random things have in common, right? Well, me of course! I’ve been busy this week. So in no particular order, here’s what I’ve been up to. I started a new project called Favorite Scarf Ever. You can link to pattern information here: Ravelry. 

Here’s a picture of my WIP - notice the scalloped edge.

Did I mention the pattern is free? It’s knit using sock yarn in two pieces and joined in the middle. This way each end will have a wonderful scalloped edge (see above) due to the chevron pattern. I found this yarn at my local yarn shop. The colors are inspired by the colors in paintings by Vincent Van Gogh. When an art lover who’s a knitter or a knitter who’s an art lover stumbles upon such a find, well, someone like that couldn’t possibly be expected to resist.

Here's a picture of the yarn from Opal's website. Click here to link.

And, now a helpful hint when you need to split your skein:

To divide yarn for a project like this, use a food scale. Wind yarn until it's half the total weight, then cut.

On Thursday, who can believe my luck, I stumbled upon beads that match this yarn in another yarn store, and I didn’t even have the yarn with me. So, I’m going to add some beaded fringe. I can’t wait to finish this project.

Can you believe how perfectly these beads go with the yarn?

Friday night I curled up with the classic, Frenchman’s Creek, by Daphne Du Maurier. I’m just getting into it, but I loved her book, Rebecca, so I know I’ll love this one too. This is the first paper book I’ve read in about a year and a half since getting my Kindle. Holding the book and turning the pages came right back to me, just like riding a bike! Although I do miss reading hands free with my Kindle propped up on a pillow. Not to worry though, I’m sure I’ll persevere.

Here's a picture of my library book

Saturday we went to a local chili cook-off with friends that features blues music. The name of this event is appropriately: Chilly Blues. The contest is held at a restaurant on the channel that leads to Lake Michigan. Gotta love West Michigan; you just pitch a tent and bring in some heaters and you can have events like this all year long. The weather was sunny so it was a gorgeous albeit chilly day. 

Here we are in the tent. The tall thing behind us is a heater.

Finally, I was invited to the baby shower of a dear friend. The shower’s in a couple of weeks. So... I began a knitting project that I can’t really talk about yet or it will ruin the surprise. I’m about halfway through the first item, and I think it’s about the cutest little thing I’ve ever knit. And, the yarn is Sublime! Really, that’s what it’s called: Sublime. Check out the composition: 75% extra fine merino, 20% silk, and 5% cashmere. Let’s just say it’s a good thing what I’m making would never work for an adult or I’d be tempted... scratch that, I’m sure I can find something to make for myself with this yarn ;)

Well, I better get back to clicking my needles so I can make some progress on these projects and still have time to read before hitting the sack. As always, I’d love to hear about your projects and latest reads. Thanks for following along! ~ Christina

¡Mexico, mi amor!

Huatulco, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love your semi-tropical climate with eternal warm winds and hot days.

I love your nine bays home to turquoise water and tropical fish.

I love your coarse sandy beaches where seashells roll to and fro with the rhythm of each wave.

I love your majestically brown mountains.

I love your spiked cacti reaching up to greet an azul sky.

I love your musical language and sensual food.

I love your beautiful people.

Mostly, I love your ¡hay no problema! way of life.

I’ve been on vacation and so have not blogged. I took a vacation from the US, my smart phone, and knitting. Yes, even knitting. I needed to rekindle an earlier love - reading. For 6 days I sat by an Infinity pool nestled between the Sierra Madre del Sur Mountains and the Pacific Ocean and just read. (See picture above.) Well, in between aquarobics, snorkeling, and walking the beach, I read. I finished Dr. Zhivago - a Russian classic I’ve longed to read. Not much to say about the book: it’s Russian and it’s a classic. Two qualities I love in a book and well worth the challenging read. I also consumed a book called The Yellow House, written by Patricia Falvey. This historical fiction novel takes place in Ireland before, during, and after World War I. As I followed the life and loves of the main character, Eileen, I learned about the history of the violence between Protestants and Catholics on that island nation and its struggle for freedom from the British. To say I was sucked in is an understatement. If you love historical fiction and a strong female character who is flawed but lovable, you must read this book!

Now on to the other aspects of my vacation. We stayed at a resort called Dreams in Huatulco, Mexico. 

Dreams Resort

Huatulco is a region in the state of Oaxaca (near Guatemala) developed by the Mexican government to be a tourist destination. This was our second trip to the resort and I highly recommend it. Not many Americans have yet discovered this region. The staff speaks little English, but knows enough to meet your needs and is endlessly patient as you recall and practice your high school Spanish. The tourists at the resort are largely Mexicans, with Canadians and Americans comprising just about half. The sound of Spanish fills the pool areas and restaurants and the general attitude regarding anything you should need: it’s no problem. I think I could live there!

 Here's a picture of our room at the resort.

Lastly on to knitting, since I’ve been home, I finished my Ericka Scarf. Pattern details can be found here: Ravelry. 

Here's a picture of my scarf before blocking.

I’ll leave you with just a few pictures of beautiful Hautulco. Adios mi amigos ~ Christina

 The girls at one of the Infinity pools overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The ruins at Copalita, about 2000 years old!

 Shelby and me all snorkeled out!

 Tropical fish - underwater cameras are a blast!

Stash-Bust I Must

Wow! Another gorgeous week in West Michigan. The temperature was in the 80s a couple of days here in Grand Haven. To celebrate this summer-like weather I have decided to knit a scarf. Yep you just read that. Actually I’m stash-busting, which in the knitting world means using yarn you bought once upon a time either for a project you never made, or because it was sooo soft, or because you were in a new yarn shop and had to buy something, or because the colors were too beautiful to pass up, or because it was on sale and yarn is NEVER on sale, etc. You get the idea. On a side note to the definition of stash-busting, the knitter’s significant other may know about the stash but usually has NO IDEA how much cash is tied up in it. There is no need to disclose this information. Think of how upset he or she might become. There is no need to inflict this sort of anguish on a partner. Best the knitter suck it up and carry the load alone. It’s the right thing to do, really. Sometimes, ignorance really is the kindest way. 

 Here are a couple pictures of my scarf. Click for pattern information: Ravelry

My scarf is knitting up nicely. I started it on Thursday and am probably about halfway finished. The colors in the indoor picture are the most true, but I had to get outside and enjoy this weather, so why not take a picture in the backyard? I am loving the way the colors are coming out, and yes, the yarn is Noro. Silk Garden Sock to be exact. Imagine me having “extra” Noro laying around. All I can say is it’s hard to let go of your first yarn love. I’m using size 5 needles with sock yarn so the texture is coming out lace-ish or meshy. The colors and texture will make for a great Spring scarf, assuming Mother Nature lays off the fast forward button and we have some Spring weather.

Of course, I had to buy a book of patterns with which to stash-bust. Such are the mysterious nuances of knitters and their stashes. My new book is titled: Sock Yarn One-Skein Wonders edited by Judith Durant. The book contains 101 patterns using sock yarn. There are patterns for everything from socks to baby sweaters to bags to mittens to shawls to home decor, etc. I’m using the phrase “home decor” loosely here, some of those patterns are a little out there. Anyway, I picked up the book at my local yarn shop and as you can see have several pages marked for future stash-busting projects. I even color-coded them by type of project. 

Here’s a picture of the book should you want to pick up a copy.

Finally, this fine weather is bringing some May flowers before they've had their  April showers. I am joying see crocuses (or is it croci? too lazy to consult a dictionary) in bloom, which I never see due to the abundance of rabbits and deer in my city. I guess the weather is confusing the wildlife too...

Here's a picture of crocuses/croci in bloom.

Back to knitting for me, then off to bed. It's a school night after all. Have a great week and keep in touch :) Christina