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Where creativity & imagination go hand-in-hand... |
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Monthly Newsletter August 2011 |
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Dear Knitters and Kumihimo-ists! | |
Hi,
It's been another busy, fun and creative month. Thank you to all of you for your incredible enthusiasm. I love hearing from you and even though many of you are long distance, your notes and phone calls are wonderful.
I will be on vacation from August 4th to the 12th. My husband and I are heading to Southern Oregon where I will spend two days taking a Kumihimo Workshop using the Marudai. The instructor is Adrienne  Gaskell. After the class, Robbie and I will spend a few days at Belknap Springs (on the McKenzie River) where we will ride our road & mountain bike before heading "home" through Sisters and Bend, Oregon.
My KUMIHIMO SHOP will be OPEN while I am away, however, orders will not be shipped until I return. I will be returning on the 12th and any orders placed while I am away will be shipped on the 13th.
Our next Kumi-gathering is scheduled for Tuesday, August 16th. I look forward to seeing all of you that can make it and please bring whatever you've been working on!
A quick note on the Guatemala Knitting /Kumihimo Retreat - many of us have now purchased our tickets. Let me know if you have any questions. Click here if you want to read about the Guatemala Trip. The trip is full, however there is a back-up list if anyone is still interested.
Happy Braiding and Knitting - Karen
P.S. Thank you for shopping with me. I know you have many choices and I appreciate it when you choose me! |
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| NEW, NEW, NEW... |
Here's the list of all the NEW stuff you will want to check out:
Japanese MIYUKI 4 x 7 Long Magatama Beads in 9 Colors -
These long Magatama beads are beautiful. They remind me of watermelon seeds only they come in absolutely gorgeous colors. The Magatama beads are directional - you can line them up if you like.
Colors include: Matte Khaki Iris, Matte Patina Iris, Matte Gunmetal, Matte Smoky Amethyst AB, Matte Dk. Topaz AB, Metallic Dk. Plum Iris, Tr. Aqua AB, Tr. Chartreuse AB, Tr. Green AB (AB stands for aurora borealis - a rainbow finish).
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Japanese MIYUKI 3 x 3 Cube Beads in 4 More Colors -
The color pallette has gotten deeper with a new Teal color as well as three brilliant mixes; Blueberry, Surf-n-Turf (I didn't pick this name) and Rainbow.
Colors include: Matte Black, Matte Gunmetal, Matte Black AB, Matte Patina Iris, Matte Khaki Iris, Tr. Teal AB, Blueberry Pie, Rainbow & Surf-n-Turf.
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Japanese MIYUKI 6/0 Seed Beads in 5 Colors - (not to be confused with the TOHO seed beads that I stock in 15 colors)!
MIYUKI Colors include: Matte Rootbeer AB, Matte Black AB, Matte Dk. Topaz AB, Tr. Teal AB, Rustic Gray S/L Alabaster.
Click here to shop for Magatama, Cube and Seed Beads...
C-Lon Tex 400 in 15 Colors -
I just added Eggplant and it is beautiful! All of the beads thread very nicely on the C-Lon Tex 400. For those of you that haven't used C-Lon - give it a try. It is an excellent thread to use with beads and it also has beautiful results when used as a "stand alone" braided cord. It's a great value at $4.50 / 39 yard spool.
Colors include: Aqua, Teal, Sable, Peridot, Purple, Marigold, Shanghai Red, Black, Oyster, Lt. Blue, Lt. Orchid, Chocolate, Olive, Grape and now Eggplant.
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Click here to shop for C-Lon... |
| Kumihimo "Artist" Showcase - Wende Beck |
"Creative Collection" by Wende Beck (Truckee , CA)
Wende is one of our Truckee locals who comes to our third Tuesday of the month Kumihimo gathering. She is super creative and has alot of fun with color. She came over to my "shop" the other day to re-stock her Kumihimo supplies and walked in carrying her plastic container with all her stuff and swimming around in the bottom of her tupperware were these gorgeous, beautiful braids. I immediately had to pull them out and start playing with them. I love them. Bright, bold and fun!
Wende's collection consists 8, 12 and 16 strand round braids using Petite Satin Cord, mercerized cotton and Perle Cotton.
Now ready to move onto beading, she purchased 12 colors of C-Lon and several tubes of beads (seed beads, cube beads and magatama beads). I can't wait to see what she comes up with!
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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| Magatama Beaded Bracelet | |
The Magatama Beaded Bracelet was super fun and easy to make. The beads are directional and I threaded them so that they were all facing the same direction - gives a generally smoother look.
Finished Length: 8 1/2" including magnetic closure
Braided Length: 7 7/8" including beads
Beaded Length: 6 1/2"
Materials:
C-Lon Tex 400 (Olive): 8 pieces each 48" long
Magatama Beads (Khaki Iris): 14 grams
6/0 Seed Beads (Matte Maroon): 8 grams
4mm Gold Magnetic End Caps: 1 Set
Method:
1. Magatama Beads were threaded on N and S pairs.
2. 6/0 Seed Beads were threaded on E and W pairs.
3. 30 beads were strung on each thread.
4. 1 bead was moved with every movement. (Left bottom up, Right top down). |
| Ceramic Whimsy Necklace |
Quick & Easy
This is an 8 strand, 2 color, spiral variation round braid made with C-Lon Tex 400 using equal parts Shanghai Red and Marigold. The Ceramic Whimsy pendant and metal barrel spacer beads were added to the braid and the necklace ends were finished off with simple end caps.
Materials:
(4) Color A: *C-Lon Tex 400 "Shanghai Red" $4.50/spool
(4) Color B: *C-Lon Tex 400 "Marigold" $4.50/spool
(1 ) Ceramic Whimsy Pendant $3.00
(5) Metal Round Barrel Spacer Beads $.40/ea
(1) Pair 4mm End Caps with Magnetic Closure $2.50
Approximate cost to make this 17" necklace is under $9.00!
*C-Lon Tex 400 has 39 yards/spool so you'll have leftovers for other projects.
Colors in photo (left to right): Cocoa, Terracotta, Lead, Grape, Straw and Olive. I made a 17" braid from
C-Lon Tex 400, slipped the metal barrel spacer beads onto the braid after it was completed, attached the Ceramic Whimsy Pendant to the braid with a Larks Head knot and added 4mm end caps. You can see a bigger picture of this in the Kumihimo Gallery Slideshow .
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| Kumihimo Pattern of the Month..."Checkered" | |
16 Strand, 3 Color, "Checkered"
Color A: Turquoise (lattice) Cut 7
Color B: Black (background) Cut 8
Color C: Lime Green (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), BB (4,5), CB(8,9), BA (12,13), AA (16,17), BA (20,21), AB (24,25), BB (28,29) . Space pairs evenly around disk.
Movement: Bottom Left to Top, Top Right to Bottom, Clockwise Turn to Next Pair.
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| Kumihimo Tip #6 | |
 | | Notes for 6/0 TOHO Seed Beads |
How many BEADS will I need?
The type of beads, thickness of "string" and the finished length of what your are creating will effect the usage and consumption of beads.
I have a couple of ways that help me determine how many beads I need:
1. REPEATING WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE: I have made many beaded necklaces that I can use as references to tell me how many grams of beads I will need. This is where "taking notes" comes in handy (last months Kumihimo Tip #5). For example, I made a 3x3 Cube Bead necklace using 8 strands of C-Lon Tex 400 with beads on all 8 strands. The finished necklace , including end caps, is 17" long and the beaded portion is 14 1/2 ". I used 26 grams of beads. If I divide 26 grams by the beaded portion, 14 1/2", that gives me a yield of about 3 1/2 grams per 2"of beaded section. The beads I used came in 9 gram tubes so I used about 3 tubes. Somebody else could use this information to help estimate their bead requirements. If they made the same necklace but longer, say 19" with the beaded portion measuring 16 1/2" then the bead requirement would increase to just under 30 grams of beads.
2. THE MORE SCIENTIFIC METHOD: Whenever I use a new type of bead I take a more calculated approach and I make a "sample" first. For example, I measure and cut 8 strands of C-Lon Tex 400 (about 12" for this purpose) and then I add 8 beads on the strands that I want to carry beads. In this case, I put 8 6/0 seed beads on each of my 8 strands of C-Lon Tex 400. I used 64 beads total (8 x 8). These beads weighed 4 grams. After braiding and exhausting my numbered supply of beads, the beaded length of braid was 1 3/4". Using these numbers similar to the above example, you now have another way to estimate your bead requirements.
1. When in doubt, buy extra beads. You will always be able to use them somewhere, somehow.
2. When in doubt, cut your strands long! It is recommended to cut the strands that will carry beads 2x as long as without beads. I have found, for me, that 1.5x seems to work pretty well.
3. Buy a scale to weigh your beads. It really comes in handy!
4. Take notes...type of string, length of beaded portion, weight of beads, type of beads (seed, cube, magatama, etc), size of beads (4/0, 6/0, 3x3, 4x7, etc), brand of bead (all beads are not created equal), did you use a combination of beads (different sizes, different types)? The more you write down, the better!
I hope this helps and if anyone else has helpful hints please feel free to share any methods that you use!
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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
July 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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