the Akamai Knitter

Saturday was another fun day at The Bead Gallery with their Wire Play Day studio.  This time around I made yet another bracelet.

I’m calling it the Tri-Fold Sampler Bracelet. The reason it’s called a sampler is because each section is coiled with a different gauge of wire over a 14g (gauge) core.

This is a detail shot of the 18g portion. I used moonstones and aquamarines as dangles.

For the next section I used 20g wire. I used more moonstones and rose quartz.

For the final section, I used 22g wire and cherry quart with even more moonstones.

The finished bracelet looks like this.

Lemme tell you, all that wrapping really made my hands work and hurt.

I also worked on another project, but the unveiling of said project will have to wait for its completion. It might take awhile as it’s rather fiddly and I’m going to need a lot of help with it.

And as much as it breaks my heart,  I’m probably not going to make next month’s studio. So the mystery project will most likely remain in hibernation for a long while.

Instead of a studio next month, I’m planning on taking a custom class with the extraordinarily talented KnottyNaomi when she’ll be visiting next month. That is definitely something to look forward to!

In the meantime, I have plenty to keep me busy as well as some excellent furry company.  Who could resist this pretty boy?

I hope Monday is treating you well!

Aloha!

the one where I show off my mother’s talent.

See what she made?

Lampwork beads by Calvin Orr.

I haven’t been sleeping too good so words escape me.  So I’ll leave you with a picture of El Goofball aka Scheyer.

I am so glad it’s Friday.

Have a great weekend!

I was happily knitting away on my shawl until Saturday rolled around. That’s when I had lunch with a bunch of my beading friends. My friend Ann trotted out some really amazing needle-woven necklaces and instantly inspired me. I was too awestruck to get photos.

The needle-woven necklace had actually been calling me softly before this. My friend Helene had given me her instructions on it a couple of months ago. Elaine had given me an assortment of cord with which to get started. Ann was the catalyst.

My first attempt looks like a disaster. I wasn’t sure exactly how long I wanted the necklace, so I kept having to add thread. So I have all these thread ends hanging out like nobody’s business. It’s a complete mess.

I do have plans on cleaning it up though. There are a couple of close-up shots here.  Once I get all the ends tucked away and add a clasp, I’ll take better photos.

My second attempt is going much better. The beads make me happy and so does the color of the thread.

I’m not even sure if I’m using the right thread for this type of project. It’s really hard to get a consistent weave and it kills my hands if I work on it for too long.

This is a really labor intensive project. So while I will take breaks, I haven’t been doing anything but this for the past 2-3 days. Can you say “hyper-focused”?

I really don’t know if I’ll be able to sell necklaces like these. The beads are pricey and the cost of the labor would send the price up sky high.  I guess I’m just not even sure if there’s a market out there for this type of product.

I do think they’d make awesome presents. I could also downscale it to a bracelet. The main thing is I’m enjoying myself and I’m broadening my horizons.

To make up for the lack of knitting content, I give you a picture of Sammy partaking his weekend treat of papaya.  Yes. Papaya. The boy goes crazy over fruit.

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Also, Happy Girl’s Day!

I grabbed some yarn out of the sock yarn bin the other day for my next pair. It kind of languished for awhile, but I finally cast on yesterday.  I have no idea what kind of yarn it is as the lable is MIA, but it was in the sock yarn bin. Thus, it must be sock yarn.

However, as I was knitting with it, I began to wonder if it really was sock yarn. It’s very thin and I could go out on a limb and call it laceweight. Even some of the girls at knit night commented on how thin the yarn is. Not a good sign.

Take a look. (Please excuse my dishwater hands. Also, they yarn is blue. Not purple! Stoopid camera.)

I’ve knit about an inch of ribbing and I like the way it feels. Only these socks are meant to be a gift and I’m worried about them wearing out if this yarn is a lace yarn rather then a sock  yarn.

So I have a dilemma. Continue to knit this as a sock or choose a yarn that I know will hold up. The practical choice is to choose another yarn, but I do so love knitting with this  yarn.  What with me being me, the decision on what to do with this yarn could be an epic battle.

My knitting mojo is really out of whack. First there’s the FLS with the gauge issues. Now we have the sock with yarn issues.

Issues, people! Serious. Knitting. Issues.

Thank the fiber gods for spinning.

That’s more Butterscocth for a custom order. I loves me my 80-count Merino.

And since it’s ECF.. why not a cat picture?

He doesn’t look too pleased, does he?

TGIF! I am so glad this week is over. Have a fabulous weekend!

Here it is! My first knitting FO of the year. Woohoo!

Pattern: My own (cuff down 3×1 rib with round heel)

Yarn: Opal Harry Potter yarn in Ron colorway

Needles: size 1US/2.25mm

Started: December 6, 2008

Finished; January 25, 2009

For the most part these were a relaxing knit. The part that was not so relaxing was the yarn vomit. I think I’ll either rewind my sock yarn or work from the outside of the ball from now on.

In the end, I was saved from the tangled mess by my friend Mary (sadly blogless) on Saturday, when she kindly rewound it all by hand. Isn’t she a sweetie? But wouldn’t you know that I finished the socks the very next night. Ain’t it always that way?

Another little thing I finished is a necklace to match some earrings I made for a customer.

In my brain dead state, I couldn’t remember all of the crystals I used on the earrings. It turns out I didn’t use all the same colors as the earrings. It’s a good thing my customer is a sweetheart and loves it anyway.

I also finished plying all those singles yesterday. I washed them and they’re drying as we speak, so hopefully I’ll be able to blog about them, as well as two other skeins,  on Friday.

Speaking of fiber, I may have fallen rather hard during Hungry For Handspun’s shop update yesterday. I’m still recovering from the shock of it.

Even Quincy took to hiding from the impact of the fall from fiber restraint.

Happy Hump Day, everyone! Be good to yourselves!