There was plenty of joy in knitting socks for my book during the last 8 months, but not much spontaneous joy- none of that *see the yarn, get an idea, dig out the needles, and finish it in an evening* stuff when you're working on new sock designs 7 days a week. But I'm done designing socks for the book right now (lots of word-work left to do, but no knitting), so when a yarn speaks to me, I can listen.
And I listened to Floozy when she arrived yesterday. This is the yarn from Twisted Fiber Arts Big Yarn Club (see yesterday's post for the stats), and Floozy told me that she wanted to be a hat, but not just a plain hat. A hat with lace and beads. My own amateur lampwork beads (the beads were added with a crochet hook at the exact stitch where they're needed, not strung on the yarn in advance.)
Didn't she turn out beautifully? The ball was 90 yards of pure organic Merino luxury, and this hat used all but about 5' of the yarn. I used size 10.5 (6.5mm) needles and 70 sts, and lots and lots of beads, which I just happened to have in perfectly coordinating colors (was I psychic 2 years ago when I was obsessed with torchwork?). You know how some yarns look better in the ball or skein than they do knitted up? Floozy isn't one of those- she was gorgeous in the ball, but the full beauty of the gradually mutating colors didn't show until the hat was in progress. I tried to get some good stitch shots so you can see the full range of colors.
The hat is long for me, so I will wear it with the cuff folded (what- you thought I was going to give Floozy away? Not on your life. I will probably buy a coat just to go with this hat).
And best of all- Floozy is an original pattern, a pattern that is not earmarked for some other publication. So next Friday, Floozy will be the first Freebie Pattern posted in months!
Now I'm done playing for a bit, I guess I'd better get back to compiling sock patterns into chapters, and adding notations for photos and charts and sidebars...
Wow, that is stunning and I adore the colours:)
ReplyDeleteAdding a bead?...You take the stitch off of your needle with a crochet hook. Add the bead and put stitch back on the needle and continue knitting? That is cool...
ReplyDeleteyep- you put the bead on the crochet hook, then pick the loop up with the hook, and pull the loop through the bead, and then you put the bead back on the needle and knit it just like always. It's a super easy way to add beads to knitting.
ReplyDeleteoops- you putthe loop with the bead back on the needle and knit the loop.
ReplyDeleteTotally stunning. And now I must go contemplate the bead technique. It's not coming to me at the moment, but I'm sure a yummy sandwich will help.
ReplyDeleteI just did my first beading with a crochet hook. Much easier, especially if you aren't told how many to string, or they are at the very end. I was using silk, and was sure it would eventually turn to fuzz sliding a bunch of beads along it. It worked great!
ReplyDeleteThat yarn is beautiful. I am sorely tempted to go look at the site.