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Friday, April 28, 2006

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The fluffy-haired one in the back

It's been a busy week here. Now that softball season has begun, I have been spending many hours freezing my butt off watching my daughters' games. It's a perfect opportunity to get a lot of knitting done, but the games are in the evening and it's been very chilly lately. It's no fun knitting when your fingers are numb. Anyway, they are both doing great and Daughter#1 is even pitching this year, so it's fun to watch. I just hope it warms up soon.

I tried to finish those damned Jaywalkers, and was almost done with both when I tried them on and noticed that the arch area of the foot is baggy. Uggh! Now I'm trying to decide whether to rip both socks back to the gusset and accelerate the decrease rate, or to just say "screw it" and finish them off and be done with it. I am leaning toward the "screw it" option, but these are for Sister#1 and I'd hate to give her a 'faulty' pair of socks. So they are back in time-out again.


In happier news, I did manage to finish something recently. I knit two beaded bracelets. Behold:

click for bigger picture

click for bigger pictureI made these from a kit that I got from Patternworks a couple of years ago. They don't appear to offer it anymore, but it looks similar to this one, just with different types of beads. I discovered this kit (which I had forgotten I had) when I was reorganizing my stash a while ago. Look at all this stuff I'm finding -- I should organize my stash more often, huh?

Anyway, the two bracelets are knit in such a way that the beads are offset on each side, so the bracelets twist by themselves. You can wear them separately as two bracelets, or you can wrap them around each other and wear them as one thick bracelet. I think I prefer them worn separately -- they have more character that way.

If you look closely you can see that the beads in each bracelet are different: one has matte cube beads on the outside of the twist and shiny seed beads on the inside, the other has shiny cube beads on the outside and matte seed beads on the inside.

click for bigger pictureMatte cube beads on outside, shiny seed beads on inside

click for bigger pictureShiny cube beads on outside, matte seed beads on inside

Pattern:
Twin Twisters Beaded Bracelet Kit
Needles:
#0000 DPNs
Beads:
4mm cube beads and size 8 seed beads, in both matte and shiny irridescent finishes
Thread:
25 yds New Metallics (2-ply metallic polyester thread), made by On the Surface, used doubled
Comments:
Although these needles are tiny and the thread is slippery I still enjoyed knitting these bracelets. They were very quick to make and not difficult. I would just recommend that you work in very good lighting too avoid going blind when trying to pick up a dropped stitch.
I might make some more of these, but I think I would use a different clasp -- this one is just a little too visible.

Oh, and, as you know from my last post, I went to see the Yarn Harlot speak at WEBS last Friday. She was GREAT -- very funny (of course) and very down-to-earth. It was definitely worth the two-hour trip to see her.

I checked her site and I'm in her pictures. Here they are. I'm the one with the fluffy hair and the bright green sweater in the far back. I was sitting next to Melissa, but you can't see her in this picture -- she's too petite. ;)

Leave a Comment 8 comments:

Amanda said...

Thanks for the link! I am sure it will come in handy! I love those bracelets, I have been wanting to try knitting with beads, but have not gotten around to it.

MelissaKnits said...

JUST SAY IT! I'm FREAKING SHORT!! 4'11". I used to be 4' 11 3/4" but I've lost 3/4" in the past two years. I am shrinking faster than I grew.

Anonymous said...

Cool bracelets!

Anonymous said...

Great bracelets!!

Did you run into my mother and sister at the YH thing? (Crazy Jane and Mistress Stash Enhancer) ;o)

Christine said...

What a COOL bracelet! I love it! So, so cool.

I'm jealous that you got to see the Yarnharlot. She's not coming anywhere close to Houston. *sigh* Hope it was fun!

If you knit at the games with fingerless gloves on, would that help?

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I just love the Twin Twisters Beaded Bracelet. Is there a way to get the pattern?

Thanks,

Nancy

Persnickety Knitter said...

Nancy,

I guess Patternworks no longer offers the kit, and I just did a search and came up with nothing anywhere else online. Maybe you could call Patternworks and see if they know where you could get it.

Please email me with any other questions you have (my email address is in my Blogger Profile).

panoramic photo stitching said...

Looks very beautiful. Loved the bracelets.

Regards,
panorama stitching