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Where creativity & imagination go hand-in-hand... |
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Monthly Newsletter July 2011 |
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Dear Knitters and Kumihimo-ists! | |
Hi there,
I hope you are all enjoying your summer. It is absolutely beautiful here. I am enjoying the trails near my house and they are incredible for walking, hiking, running and bike riding. We still have some snow and we actually went skiing at Squaw Valley on the 4th of July!
I've added 3mm Miyuki Cube Beads - just a little smaller than a 6/0 seed bead. The Glazed Donuts and Peruvian Pendants have been "HOT" and I added a few new colors and patterns. I've also added Gold Plated End Caps in both styles; magnetic and hook & eye (4mm, 6mm, 8mm).
Our next Kumi-gathering is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19th. I look forward to seeing all of you that can make it and please bring whatever you've been working on!
For those of you that are confirmed on the Guatemala Knitting & Kumihimo Retreat in February 2012, it's not too early to make your travel plans and airline reservations. Click here if you want to read about the Guatemala Trip.
Happy Braiding and Knitting - Karen
P.S. I know it seems early but I thought I would send out a little reminder. Kumihimo Kits and one-of-a-kind Kumihimo jewelry make great gifts and that time of the year will come quickly. Plan ahead and pace yourself and start making some of your special gifts early. |
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| New Miyuki Cube Beads.... |
Miyuki Japanese Cube Beads - 3mm x 3mm - 9 grams per tube
Colors: (left to right)
Matte Black = $2.75/ 9 gram tube
Matte Black AB = $2.75/ 9 gram tube
Matte Metallic Khaki Iris = $4.25/ 9 gram tube
Matte Gunmetal = $2.75/ 9 gram tube
Matte Metallic Patina Iris = $4.95 / 9 gram tube
Necklace pictured is made with Olive C-Lon & Matte Metallic Khaki Iris beads.
*C-Lon Tex 400 threads very nicely through the bead hole.
Click here to SHOP for Toho Seed Beads and Miyuki Cube Beads.
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| More Colors....Yippee! | |
Three New Colors! Glazed Ceramic Donut Pendants are really fun to play with and gorgeous too! They measure 1 5/8" in diameter and have a 7 mm hole. Cost $5.00 / each. Create your own bale or attach the Donut with a Larks head Knot (pictured). Click here to see all 8 colors. New Colors from left to right: Lt. Olive, Navy, Earth.
In addition to these fun items you'll find more new items like Jelly Belly Stone Beads, Texture Beads, Painted Ceramic Beads and lots of Metal Spacer Beads all at the Kumihimo Pendants & Glass Beads Shop!
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| New Colors C-Lon Tex 400 ! |
Two New Colors! C-Lon Tex 400 is a fabulous braiding and beading cord. I started out using it primarily for beaded Kumihimo braids and then found that many of my Kumi-friends were having great success using the C-Lon as a "stand-alone" braiding cord. Some of the results have been fantastic. Just to give you an idea how it braids up, an 8 strand round braid consisting of C-Lon, pairs perfectly with a 4mm end cap. A great deal at $4.50/ 39 yard spool. Colors in palette: Aqua, Sable, Peridot, Marigold, Purple, Shanghai Red, Black, Lt. Orchid, Oyster, Teal, Lt. Blue and Grape. New Colors: Chocolate and Olive.
 | | Olive |
 | | Chocolate |
Click here to shop for C-Lon. |
| New Gold Plated End Caps - Magnetic & Hook and Eye - 4mm, 6mm and 8mm |
Gold Plated End Caps (Magnetic and Hook & Eye) 
Enough of you asked for the Gold Plated End Caps so here they are! They are a little bit pricier than the silver colored end caps. But sometimes you just need Gold! Click here to shop for End Caps.
4mm Magnetic End Caps Gold Plated $3.00
6mm Magnetic End Caps Gold Plated $3.35
8mm Magnetic End Caps Gold Plated $5.75
4mm Hook & Eye End Caps Gold Plated $3.35
6mm Hook & Eye End Caps Gold Plated $3.50
8mm Hook & Eye End Caps Gold Plated $6.00
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| New Kumihimo "Petite" Satin Cord Colors | |
2 New Colors Kumihimo "Petite" Satin:
Green Apple
Lavendar
Williamsburg Blue
$3.00 / 10 yard package
Click here to see all 26 Colors of "Petite" Kumihimo Satin Cord
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| Kumihimo "Artist" Showcase - Mimi Hook |
"4th of July" by Mimi Hook (Bethesda, MD)
 | 4th of July by
Mimi Hook |
I met Mimi in Oaxaca, Mexico. She has created many beautiful Kumihimo necklaces and has become a busy Kumihimo teacher in the community where she lives. We talk over different Kumihimo ideas on the telephone and I just wish she lived closer so she could be part of our Kumi-group. Mimi sent me this photo of her brilliant 4th of July necklace. I love it. Her necklace is the 12 stand ridged spiral and she used red Toho 6/0 seed beads strung on C-Lon Tex 400 and Royal and Lt. Beige Kumihimo Satin Cord. Mimi's necklace is in the Kumihimo Gallery Slideshow.
12 Strands with Beaded Ridge:
Color A = 4 strands (Light Beige Satin) spiral 1
Color B = 4 strands (Royal Satin) spiral 2
Color C = 2 strands (Shanghai Red C-Lon with Red Toho 6/0 Seed Beads) ridge
Color D = 2 strands (Red Satin) ridge
Measuring:
For Colors A and B (main spirals) determine the desired finished length, double that and then add 4 to 5 inches. Ridge strands (C & D) are 1 1/2 times longer than (A & B)! And since C strands have beads, you can make them a little longer again. It's better to cut your strands too long than to get to the end and come up short.
Set-Up:
Color A in 6, 7 and 25, 26 (satin)
Color B in 9, 10 and 22, 23 (satin)
Color C in 16, 32 (C-Lon with beads) Color D in 17, 1 (satin) Movement: 26 to 5, 7 to 24, 23 to 8, 10 to 21, 17 to 31, 1 to 15 and so forth. This is the same movement that you have done with un-beaded 12 Strand Ridged Spirals. If you need a reminder you can look back at the May 2011 Newsletter . If you would like to be showcased, please send me a picture. I absolutely love seeing what you make. Email me with your pictures! If you can, take your pictures on a white background!
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| Beaded Choker with Teardrop "Fringe" | |
I have to admit...sometimes I wake up at night with ideas and sometimes they haunt me until I set up my disk and start braiding. My latest creation, Black Beaded Choker with Glass Teardrop Fringe, was alot of fun to make and took some thinking. I am happy with the way it tuned out. 
This Black Beaded Choker with Glass Teardrop Fringe is 8 strands of Black C-Lon with Black Toho 6/0 seed beads on all 8 strands (30 grams). I carefully inserted, while braiding, 24 Glass Teardrop Beads that give the choker a "fringe". You can see a bigger picture of this in the Kumihimo Gallery Slideshow .
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| Kumihimo Pattern of the Month..."Lattice" | |
16 Strand, 4 Color, "Lattice"
Color A: Black (lattice) Cut 7
Color B: Purple (accent) Cut 5
Color C: Taupe (accent) Cut 3
Color D: Pink (accent) Cut 1
Measuring: Determine desired finished measurement, double that and add 4 to 5 inches.
Set up Disk: Starting with N #32: AA (32,1), AB (4,5), BD(8,9), CC (12,13), AA (16,17), BB (20,21), DA (24,25), AB (28,29) . Space pairs evenly around disk.
Movement: Bottom Left to Top, Top Right to Bottom, Clockwise Turn to Next Pair. |
| Kumihimo Tip #5 | |
Take Notes!
Many of you, especially if you have taken a class from me, have heard me say "take notes". I have a little wire ring notepad and I TRY to take quick notes each time I make a braid. This is a valuable tool!
1. Give your braid a name (something that describes it).
2. Take a bobbin and trace around it to make a "disk".
3. Label the position of your strands.
4. Make notes on your colors and types of thread used.
5. Makes notes on the cut length of the strands.
6. If you are making a beaded necklace make a note of which strand(s) you strung with beads and also keep a tally of the grams of beads used and note that too.
7. Make a note on how you finished the ends; ends caps, tie, looped end, etc.
8. Add anything special; like adding a focal bead and starting in the middle, note if you cut a strand too long or too short...anything that could help you down the road.
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| WHAT A KNIT ! Newsletter Archives | |
For those of you that are new to What A Knit, you'll find some good info in the archived newsletters.
January 2011
February 2011
March 2011
April 2011
May 2011
June 2011
If you have any friends that might be interested in receiving this newsletter, make sure you forward them a copy. Click this link to
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| |  Thank you for meandering through my What a Knit Newsletter. If you need Kumihimo Disks, bobbins, "Petite" Satin Cord, C-Lon cord, end caps (hook & eye or magnetic), patchwork knitting patterns, ToHo Seed beads, unique pendants, Kumihimo Kits (they make great gifts) click on any of the following links:
As always, please feel free to call me or drop me an email if you have any questions or suggestions. Email Karen or call 530-448-3624. |
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