Motivated Part II

Last week was a creative juggernaut for me. There was knitting Clapo-Ktus, finishing the Viola socks, a butterfly cake and a class in beading. This post is about the beading adventure.

Last November Tena and I drove the hour-long trip to Abbotsford to check on Birkeland Brothers Wool. I was still taking the spinning class and needed some roving. (Read all about it here.) I made a purchase, we had a lovely lunch and decided to knock around the quirky little shops in the area. One of them is a bead shop by the name of Strung Out on Beads just two doors from Birkeland Brothers. We spent a fair amount of time looking at the array of beads with no real purpose in mind, simply enjoying the sparkle, colour and wide range of bangles. Just as we were about to go I spotted these beauties.

The three Ball Gown ornaments in the back of the stand

The store owner calls them Ball Gown ornaments. Both Tena and I had to stop and ask about them. The beautiful Victorian look over a simple Xmas tree ornament was just enchanting. Lisa, the owner, assured us anyone could do this type of beading and that she teaches classes assuring us within two hours we too could create one of these for ourselves.

Now back to Miss M. I have decided for the next while in addition to other gifts for Xmas, Miss M will receive a handmade tree ornament from me. That way by the time she has her own tree, there will be a variety of decorations for it. (I remember the shock I had the first time I decided to spend money to decorate a tree for myself, the cost seemed staggering.) So, put the Ball Gown ornaments together with this idea and I knew I had to take the class.

On Friday February 12 I finally got my act together and drove back to Abbotsford. There I got to pick my ornament, bugle, seed and accent beads as well as a needle and thread. And much to my amazement I was able to pick up the technique rather quickly even though my only other experience with beads was adding them to knitted projects. Contrary to having the ball complete in two hours, I had two ladders complete, or about one-third of the ball gown. But I came home with instructions and all the tools I needed and within another four or five hours I had this.

My first Ball Gown ornament. Thanks Mom for the stand to show it off!

I think it is worth another look

I am thrilled with it. Even Paul noticed it and how the beads capture the light and in a small draft how the ball twists to show off its good looks. Needless to say, I am hooked and mesmerized by with these ornaments and have started another one. Here are the ladders I have completed so far.

The ladders for the red ornament

My tool box with the beads, thread wax, thread, red ball and needle.

I own quite a few seed and bugle beads already; most were purchased at $1 or Loonie stores over time. The small white beads (see above) have been used as sugar sprinkles on donuts, and the rest were something I thought I could use for accenting a shawl or scarf. It must have been a premonition that there would be a good use for them in the future. It appears their time has finally come. So all I need to do is purchase accent beads and I will be able to make plenty of these ornaments. And as I take breaks from knitting and spinning I can fill the time with beading. Oh, another creative venture has been spawned.

As I said, last week was an inspired week in knitting, cake decorating and beading. Next post, the Clapo-Ktus and Viola socks. Both are drying after their soaking and should be ready for their photo op soon.

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms...

Ode to the Cat

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Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting. It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008. (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.) See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles. And what about the yarn? It is truly ex-bulky. It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space. Or h...

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