Busy Times

Wayne and I put our finishing touches on the pond last weekend. We put some beauty bark around the pond, and added some plants (inside and outside the pond) and 6 fish.

My friends told me of knit along with Sivia Harding's group. I have to smile, I have great friends and they know me too well. Of course I joined Sivia's list! and life is good (I had the yarn just waiting for a project like this in my stash - GREAT planning ahead on my part). I give you almost 2 repeats of the Gothic Leaf Stole with Beads, by Sivia Harding. Double click on the picture so you can see it close up!

The yarn is from Lisa Souza, and it is her yarn called Petal - which is 50/50 Silk/Merino in a colorway she did as a one off called Leopard. It's perfect for this leaf pattern. It's hard to see in the photo but it's a golden and buttery yellow mix with dark spots and a few rust colored spot in it. I'm using Sheila and Michael Ernst glass needles in size 7 - in their colorway Amber Passion. I'm loving the stole pattern since it won't get wider, only longer, and unlike a triangle shawl there is no chance of it outgrowing my knitting needle cable. The beads are size 6/0 with two different colored bead selections: clear black and amber black. I'm doing every other set of stems in the opposite bead color. They are very similar, and they look nice together, but it's not my wonderful planning that brought the idea to mind. It's the fact that the bead store didn't have enough of the same color. Yes, necessity is the mother of invention.

Here is a tip when using small crochet hooks for beading. Do not stick your crochet hook into the ball of yarn pointy side up. Especially if you get up and sit back down where that hook may find a part of your body. Pulling that small hook out, after it is embedded in one's thigh is not for the faint hearted. It does not want to come out easily. Trust me on this. Enough said.