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Where creativity & imagination go hand-in-hand... |
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Monthly Newsletter July 2013
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Dear Knitters and Kumihimo Braiders,
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Hello, hello!
Again, it has been another great month!
In this newsletter you'll get to hear about our 1st Annual Truckee Kumihimo Workshop. We had a great time and learned so much. We did alot of braiding. And now with Spain, CNCH and the workshop behind me I have finally had some extra time to add some new items to WhataKnit.com. I can't wait for you to see everything. Enjoy!
I am excited to introduce a new fiber; Kumihimo Rayon Gimp. I have braided with it a lot and I love it. You will want to check it out.
Many of you have asked me to sell my focal beads individually and I am finally offering some of them a la carte. The glass beads are one of a kind and the quantities are limited. They won't last long. Enjoy. They are beautiful.
I also have some new base metal findings in my line-up and I am sure you will like them. Nice and clean and they come in gold and silver plated.
For the local braiders, we will be having Kumihimo Night on Tuesday, July 16th at 6:30 PM at my house. Bring whatever you are working on and come over for some catching up and fun.
Happy Braiding,
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| 1st Annual Truckee Kumihimo Workshop |
 Braiding, Braiding, Braiding!Our Makiko Tada turned Carol Miller Franklin Kumihimo workshop was such a success that it is highly probable that I will put together another one next year. It was really quite a great time for everyone. We had a cohesive group of talented women. We learned, we laughed, we ate and we braided and braided and braided.
Our teacher, Carol Miller Franklin, came to us from Gainesville, Florida and enlightened and inspired all of us. Even the two gals in our group that were NOT interested in the Marudai, came to enjoy it and one is buying her own. In four days we each braided 4 Imposter warps into 24 different braids. It was incredible. Many of us came to the class with ALOT of disk experience and it was interesting, for me, to see the wheels turning as each person translated between the two Kumihimo tools! Carol did a fantastic job and patiently managed all of us!
I have nothing but gratitude for the lovely women that came from Maryland, Nebraska, Arizona and California to participate in the workshop. It takes everyone to make something happen. So, once again thank you Carol, Mimi, Mae, Sharlet, Carolyn, Paula, Suzanne, Holly, Kathy and Irene.
See you same time, next year!
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Kumihimo Rayon Gimp - 14 Gorgeous Colors!
| It's Super!
 Kumihimo Rayon Gimp or "KRG" is a super fun fiber to use for braiding. Each hand dyed skein is unique and no two skeins are alike. They are dyed to blend beautifully. The Kumihimo Rayon Gimp is a round medium weight fiber consisting of a cotton core carefully wrapped with a fine rayon sheath. When braided, KRG possesses a beautiful luster. I have played with the Kumihimo Rayon Gimp quite a bit and have found that it braids nicely on the Marudai as well as the Disk. Cords braided on the Marudai tend to finish thinner in diameter and the braids crafted on the disk tend to finish a little thicker. Each skein is approximately 10 meters long and weighs around 5 grams. It is also fun to take two different skeins of KRG and combine a couple of colors in one braid. The KRG is fairly durable but I do handle it with a little bit more care than, say, the satin cord. I have used it on new disks, old disks and my Marudai and I have encountered no problems. It is just simply super! I love this new fiber. It is quite magical as the braid grows and the variegated colors take on their own character. One skein will make an 8 strand round braid approximately 22 inches to 24 inches long on the disk and even longer on the Marudai. Have fun!
The bracelet required one skein of Kumihimo Rayon Gimp. The bracelet is an 8 strand round braid (left bottom up, right top down)and I braided this on the 6" disk. The closure is the 8mm All-in-One Magnetic End Cap.
The Edge Bead Necklace to the right is made from 1 skein of KRG color F and Toho Aqua Bubblegum 6/0 seed beads. The 6/0 seed beads slipped right on to the cord. The only tip preparation I did was to snip the end to get a clean cut. For those of you familiar with the Edge Bead Necklace, I thread 20 beads on each cord vs the 14 to 16 that would be threaded on to satin cord for a similar piece. I used a 5mm All-in-One magnetic end cap for the closure.
You must give it a try and let me know how you like it and please send pictures of what you create.
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| Beads, Beads, Wedges and Barrels! |
 Furnace Glass Barrels, Furnace Glass Wedges, Metal Spacers and Barrels and Bright as well as Sophisticated Flame-worked Beads. Now available a
la carte. When ordering pay attention to the description for hole sizes and suggestions for cording. Prices range from $2 to $8.50. Quantities are limited. These are one of a kind focal beads. When they're gone, they're gone. Click here to shop for focal beads.
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| New ! Findings |  New Ways to Finish.. All-in-One Hook & Eye / End cap 3.2 mm id and 6.2 mm id
Silver and Gold Plated
$2.00 / each
All-in-One Toggle / End cap
3.2 mm id and 6.2 mm id
Silver and Gold Plated
$2.00 / each
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| Kumihimo Artist of the Month | |
Skylie Wattenburg - Alturas, CA
This beautiful necklace was made by 11 year old Skylie Wattenburg.
She sent me an email that said "I am Elizabeth's grand daughter and I wanted to show you what I can do. I made this necklace for a wedding gift. It took me awhile but I did it". Well, Skylie, your necklace is very pretty and I really like the colors that you picked. I really like your long clusters of beads.
I can't wait to see what you do next.
Thanks Skylie!
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| 1st Annual Truckee Kumihimo Workshop "Recipe Book" |
 | | The gals enjoying lunch and talking Kumihimo! |
Kumihimo is the "gathering of threads" and the "gathering of friends".
While Carol did the teaching I did the cooking. I had a blast planning menus and making meticulous grocery lists and then checklists for the timing of everything. I'm sure I got some skeptical looks from my family, but when it all went off without a hitch, I think they may have thought twice about giving me a hard time about all of my lists!
We braided, we ate, we braided, we ate. Somewhere during our very busy four days "someone" suggested that I "just" put the recipes together for everyone. I rolled my eyes. When I woke up the last morning, I had a few extra minutes I created the 1st Annual Truckee Kumihimo Workshop Recipe Book. I saw it today when I was getting ready to write my newsletter and thought I might as well share it with all of you. Some of the recipes are really good.
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Shopping |
I have 5 "Kumihimo Shops" to meet all of your Kumihimo needs. All orders are through PayPal (or use the credit card option) and I ship orders via USPS First Class Mail. This has been amazingly reliable and incredibly fast. Most orders are shipped the same day I receive them.
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WHAT A KNIT ! Newsletter Archives
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For those of you that are new to What A Knit, you'll find some good info in the archived newsletters.
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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The Red and Black necklace was braided on the Marudai. It is a 16 tama Maru Gengi and I used two colors of the 
