A Place to Crochet

I was in my local bead shop the other day – La Bead Oh – and the owner, Kathy showed me an antique beaded purse that someone had just given her. I was a lovely sort of stripey pattern and as I looked closer, I realized it was double crochet with 2 beads in the first part of the stitch.

I know you’re supposed to be able to crochet with beads and get a beautiful effect but it’s never quite worked for me. But I had a good look at it and decided to have a go.

I finished my little beaded vase (see earlier post) and still had beads on the thread so I started there and you know, it’s easy peasy! I’m really enjoying doing it (it’s actually easier than knitting with size 0000 needles!) and I’m loving the effect. So now I have a couple of other ideas of things I want to try.

It’s a little like the knitting in that what you’re seeing is actually the wrong side of the work. Like this:











(sorry about the blur)

But when you turn it through, there’re the lovely beads!!














Now I’ve just got to decide how long I’m going to make the tube and how I’m going to finish it off. I think I’m going to just do a flat bottom and then put a beaded fringe on the bottom but I’m not sure about the top. A little more thought is needed…hmmmm……

I Love Beads

Can I just say, I love beads. I love how they feel and how they catch the light and how the fabric feels in your hands and how they look. I’m enamored with beads. No one who knows me will be surprised by this sentiment but I just felt it needed to be said. I also love the fact that, even in the hands of a novice, they make things lovely. I’ve knitted with beads and I’ve crocheted with beads and I’m learning how to tambour with beads. But this is my first foray into just plain beading for a bag like this. Well, not the absolute first. I’ve done a couple of little amulet bags but this is the first real people size beaded purse. As you can probably tell, it’s my own design – not very even but did I mention it’s my first? And I’m in love with it. Just like a first car or first house or first love, it’s special. Even if it’s a first beaded bag that only a creator could love, since that’s me I feel pretty good about it!

As with other things I make, this started out life as something else. This was the top half of a bag knitted from Noro Silk Garden (which I still intend to finish by the way). But when I got into it, I didn’t like the proportions so decided to finish this off as I did and I’m ever so pleased with it.

Did I mention I love beads? OK. Good.

Ahoy, Matie!

I've had this pattern on my mind for several years. I originally made it for a colleage having a baby but it was one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants things that came out only so-so. But I've been wanting to refine it and get it written down. Here's what it looks like so far with the sleeves still to come. It's very exciting to finally get it sorted out. I will have it in 4 sizes, this being the newborn/preemie size, and will have it for sale on my web site eventually.

My biggest news is that I've finally started my own business. People have been telling me for years that I need to do this but it was never the right time. Now it just seems to be the right time to start and, as I'm telling people, everyone's reaction seems to be, "Well, it's about time." That's been a very satisfying reaction, I can tell you.

The web site is http://www.wandagraysondesigns.com/. The name comes from joining my mother's and father's names because they are the ones who have inspired my curiosity and creativity throughout my life. A new adventure, for sure.

This part is really for my Mom. Here are some of my plants,the second on is what I was telling you about. No idea what it is but it's turning out so pretty. You can't really tell in the picture but the flowers are a pale purple.















And, finally, in the serendipity rocks category, is a little project that I thought was supposed to be a little knitted bead coin purse, but turned out actually to be a little beaded vase. It still needs starching and shaping but I was thrilled to discover it. I was actually going to rip it because it wasn't at all attractive. I discovered, however, quite by mistake that I was knitting it inside out. All the other things I've knitted with beads I've done in garter stitch so I never thought about a right side or wrong side. With this one, because I was knitting in the round with the knit stitch to the outside, I discovered there definitely is a right side.

Here's a picture of what I was seeing. Not too clever, right. But just turn it inside out and wha-la - a while different picture:

knit side:









purl side:

Shangri-la is in your mind...

Next year the Olympics will be in China which is a huge deal for the Chinese government and people. Having been cut off for so long from the rest of the world, ordinary people are hoping that the huge influx of people from others countries will highlight their struggles with a totalitarian government, which the Chinese government still is for all intents and purposes as well as showcase all that is wonderful about China, the Chinese people and Chinese culture. The government is making every effort to show the best side of their country to show that they have everything to be proud of and to prove they are not a second-rate country but a strong, proud nation.

In their effort to make their country accessible to the enormous number of visitors, they have faced a few stumbling blocks. One is how they have tried to make all their signs and posters read in multiple languages but largely in Chinese and English. Taxi drivers have even been made to learn at least basic English so they can best serve the travelers. All very noble efforts towards the goal. Unfortunately, not all of it has turned out as they would have wished. Especially at issue are the signs like this one(which is my favorite of the ones I’ve seen).

(Click to see a larger image)

The government has now had to draft in Western retired businessmen to work with them on cleaning up the signs which, unfortunately will do exactly the opposite of what they’ve wished. I’m afraid most people will overlook the great effort which has gone into making Beijing accessible to them and will end up mocking their efforts.

I just want to know…where IS my buffalo?!

Progressing...

Here's the progress on my Danish sweater....

It's finally starting to look like something!

Long Weekend

I love long weekends. About all I did was sleep and knit. I got through the first motif on my Danish sweater which feels like a huge thing. The thing is, I had to make a little adjustment because I couldn’t face starting all over. Seems it was coming out a little larger than I had intended – due partly to my maths, I think, but also due to the fact that it’s a 16-stitch repeat and if your measurements fall in the middle of the repeat you either have to round up or down. I rounded up and I really could have done with rounding down. So I’ve made an adjustment that I think will work but I’m not going to admit to it until I see if it works. So far it’s okay and I’m going to blindly continue.

I finished my self-designed Victorian bag so I only lack sewing in the lining. I did a lining but the material was a little heavy so I’m going to change it out. I’m pleased with how it came out. A weird thing happened with the beads and thread at the beginning of the piece. It’s knit from the top of one side, increasing beads as you go down and then worked back up the other side. On the top section of the beginning, somehow the beads seemed to bleed onto the cotton. I’ve never had that happen before so don’t know really what happened and it didn’t happen on the rest of the work. Giving it a good soak in soapy water seems to have gotten most of the color out of the cotton, although if you look closely you can still see it. I originally did a powder blue lining but think I’m going to go back to white.

I’ve got an idea for a smaller coin purse that I need to work on this week. Since this came off the needle last week, I now need to get something else started. I have some lovely cobalt blue beads that I’ve been wanting to do a full-size purse with and I think I’m going to do one of the patterns out of the Lacis reprint of 2 1920’s beaded bag instruction books. I started it this morning but it may take a while! I’m working it with a cobalt blue crochet perlé cotton size 8 thread and size 0000 needles. Like I said, it may take a while! Actually it’s just awkward right now because I started it with 8 stitches over 4 size 0000 double pointed needles. Anything that small is awkward at first but once I get some distance on it, it should go pretty quickly. I love the tone on tone effect so far.

I was also able to make great strides in my Fisherman’s Sweater. I’m testing the pattern I wrote to make sure I haven’t put in something too stupid (of course, I did so the exercise is worth it!). I’ve finished the front and back, which were the pieces with the cable stitch up the raglan shaping and am now about halfway through the first sleeve. I should be able to finish that tonight and maybe by the weekend I can do the collar section which is the part I most need to test on the pattern. It’s been quite interesting now that I’m getting more patterns written and ready for others to work on the discipline of getting the patterns right. I’m also going to work on some assorted sizes for this sweater, too, to add to the flexibility. I need to learn much more about that side of things and this will be a good chance to work things out. After all, other than the fact that it’s got a ‘fancy’ stitch, it’s a pretty basic sort of pattern.

Once I get the pattern worked out, it will be available for our Guild members but I’m also going to work out a way to get patterns out there for others to use. I’m still working on how I want to do that.

I was also very excited to get an email from a student in my recent sock class with a photo attached of her first completed sock (using my pattern, no less!). That’s the real pay-off, isn’t it, passing on the knitting bug!!

Just another quick post to show off my latest necklace. I’ve had this shell for a while, pondering it every time I went by the table where my jewelry stuff is, trying to figure out what it wanted to be. Funnily enough, I’d also had this jasper for a while. Green is my favorite color and I fell in love with the color variations in this stone, never dreaming they would go together. Sometimes it’s just right in front of you. Last night I sat down to admire the shell and just started poking around in my beads and then I just saw it! I’m really digging it – and it’s just the right length.