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Where creativity & imagination go hand-in-hand... |
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Monthly Newsletter June 2014
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Hello Braiders,
Greetings from the beautiful mountains of Truckee. The snow is melted, the meadows are green, the flowers are blooming, the birds are chirping and the sun is shining. Need I say more? All is good.
It has been a delightful and busy month. A little while back I joined the "Braid Structure Walkabout" facilitated by Carol Franklin and it has been wonderful.This is an online braid study group. At least once a week, I sit down and braid to "just braid" and I am learning new things that I wouldn't usually find the time to try. We are using Jacqui Carey's new book, The Book of Braids. I am using my Marudai for these braids.
I am also having a wonderful time exploring, on my own, Ma kiko Tada's new book, Comprehensive Treatise of Braids VII: Kumihimo Disk & Plate 2. Yesterday, I practiced switching core (inside) elements with outer elements to change the color along on the length of the Kongoh Gumi braid. In addition, I added some reverse spirals. This braid (right) was braided on a 6" foam disk. Fun, fun, fun! The ideas are flowing! If you are a disk braider, and you don't already have Comprehensive Treatise of Braids VI: Kumihimo Disk & Plate, you should get this for your library. Both of these books, VI & VII, specifically for the Disk & Plate, are excellent.
For those interested, all of these books are available for purchase in my Kumihimo Bookstore.
Happy Braiding,
karen@whataknit.com
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| Kumihimo 12 Strand Ridge Spiral Necklace with Beads ! | |
Finally! You asked, you got it. I call this the Kumihimo 12 Strand Ridge Spiral Necklace with  Beads! It's a fun twist on the Round Braid and you will enjoy braiding this project. It goes very quickly and it's always satisfying when you flip over your disk and look at the sweet success of your efforts! The style of this necklace is well suited for many lengths and there is plenty of satin to make this necklace shorter or longer. The instructions are written for a braid 21" long but with the satin cord supplied in this kit you could make the necklace quite a bit longer by cutting your original lengths longer. On the other hand, if you want a shorter necklace you can adjust the size to shorter length simply by choosing where you want to finish & trim the end sections. P.S. This braid is also beautiful as a stand-alone cord without the embellishment of beads. Just food for thought! Enjoy.
You will need:
Kumihimo Disk, 8 Bobbins, Scissors, Tape Measure, Needle and Thread, Glue (I like WeldBond).
You should know:
Kumihimo Round Braid Basics (left bottom up, right top down, clockwise turn), How to drop beads.
Kit includes:
3 pkgs Satin Cord (10 yards each color)
1 pkg 6/0 Seed Beads
8mm All in One Magnetic End Cap
Instructions with Photos
5 Colors:
Turquoise/Royal/Apple, 
Purple/Peach/Bright Pink,
Black/White/Silver,
Red/White/Blue,
Williamsburg Blue/Navy/Tan,
Teal/Plum/Caramel
Cost $20
Kits available now!!
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4th of July Kumihimo Necklace Kits
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Snap, Sparkle, Pop...it's time
to get ready for the 4th of July.
These fun kits will get you into the holiday spirit. Three classics...from left to right: Edge Bead Necklace, Cluster Bead Necklace and Painting with Beads.
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You will Need: Kumihimo Disk, 8 Bobbins, Measuring Tape and Scissors, Needle & Thread, Glue (Kumihimo Tip #3).
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You Should Know: Kumihimo Round Braid, How to Drop Beads (see Kumihimo Tip #14 if you need a quick tutorial on how to drop beads).
Edge Bead & Cluster Bead Necklace Kits include:
- Satin Cord
- 6/0 Seed Beads
- 6mm All-in-one magnetic Clasp
- Instructions with Photos
- Cost: $15
Painting with Beads Necklace Kit includes:
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- 1 spool C-Lon Tex 400
- 6/0 Seed Beads
- 5mm All-in-one Magnetic Clasp
- Instructions with Photos
- Cost $26
Kits available now!!
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5 New Colors - KUMIHIMO EDGE BEAD NECKLACE KITS
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An All-Time Classic and Favorite. This is the necklace that fools everyone. It is the "round" Kongoh-Gumi 8 strand braid that has a "flat" appearance in the beaded section and a round cross-section on either end where there are no beads. This one is easy to do and it's lot of fun.
I have added 5 new color ways for Spring. They are bright and fun!
Kits includes:
- Satin Cord
- 6/0 Seed Beads
- 6mm All-in-one Magnetic End Cap
- Instructions with Photos
- Cost: $15
New Colors (left to right): Royal & Turquoise with Aqua, Coffee & Tan with Khaki Iris, Peach & Gold with Rainbow Topaz, Red and Pink with Flamingo Red and Williamsburg Blue & Avocado with Lt Sapphire.
You should know: Kumihimo Round Braid, How to "drop" beads (see Kumihimo Tip #14 if you need a refresher).
You will need: Kumihimo Disk (regular or mini), 8 EZ bobbins, tape measure, scissors, needle & thread, and glue (I like WeldBond).
Kits available now!!
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5 NEW COLORS! Karen's Corkscrew Bracelet with KRR & Satin
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This is a colorful twist for Karen's Kumihimo Corkscrew Bracelet.
Learn how fun and easy it is to braid around Memory Wire and make a bracelet that keeps its shape!
This bracelet is braided with 4 elements of petite satin cord and 4 elements of Kumihimo Rayon Ribbon. You have a choice of simply cutting your KRR as it comes off the skein for a more blended appearance or you can match the color repeats to get great definition in the color changes as seen in the photo of samples.
You will need: 6" Kumihimo Disk (not a mini), 8 bobbins, scissors, needle & thread and Glue (I like WeldBond - available at Ace Hardware Stores, online if not at Ace
and at some craft stores).
You should know: Kumihimo round braid.
Kit includes: 1 package of Petite Satin Cord, 1 pkg of Kumihimo Rayon Ribbon, corkscrew bracelet wire, hammered barrel and instructions with photos Cost: $17.50 
5 NEW COLORS (left to right): Turquoise & KRR U, Chocolate & KRR Y, Teal & KRR C, Plum & KRR J and Caramel & KRR W.
Kits available Now! |
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6 NEW COLORS - Magatama Fringe Necklace Kits
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Another classic!
The Magatama Fringe necklace is similar to the Edge Bead Necklace, but different. The necklaces are the same in that the braid structure on both necklaces is the "round" or Kongoh Gumi braid. The beading sequence differs to obtain the "fringe" on the bottom and the 6/0 beads bordering the top "edge". Like the Edge Bead Necklace, the necklace appears "flat" in the bead section and has a round cross-section on either end where there are no beads.
Kits includes:
- Satin Cord
- 6/0 Seed Beads
- 4x7 Magatama Beads - 6mm All-in-one Magnetic End Cap - Instructions with Photos - Cost: $15 - $17 You should know: - Kumihimo Round Braid You will need: - Kumihimo Disk (mini or regular size) - 8 bobbins - tape measure - scissors - needle and thread
 Colors (left to right): Williamsburg Blue & Raspberry, Antique Gold & Garnet Topaz, Teal & Chartreuse, Pink with Red/Orange, Peach & Cranberry, Turquoise & Cobalt Sapphire, Tan & Garnet Topaz, Lavender & Smokey Amethyst, Mauve & Galvanized Silver, Chocolate and Patina Iris, Dk Olive and Khaki Iris. Kits Available Now!
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Square Knot Kumihimo Rayon Gimp Bracelet - 3 New Colors!
|  Three new colors added to this popular bracelet kit. Super, fun, super easy - you will love making it.
New colors (top to bottom):
KRG Y, KRG G and KRG W
Kit includes:
- Kumihimo Rayon Gimp (10 meters) - 8mm All-in-one Magnetic End Cap - Instructions with Photos - Cost: $12.00
You need: Kumihimo Disk, 8 bobbins, scissors, tape measure, needle and thread, glue (I like WeldBond).
You should know: Kumihimo Round Braid (left bottom up, right top down, rotate disk)
Kits Available Now!
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| Kumihimo Tip of the Month #25 | |
Check your work as you go. I know a few people that check (admire) their work so often they joke with me that they never make progress. Then there are those who braid and braid and braid and  then check their work only to find that 6" back they made a big goof! Some goofs we can live with but when it comes to designs with aligned beads, it is not so easy to look past. Check your work frequently; especially when you are first working on a new design and when you are working on designs that involve dropping beads and counting. Make sure you are doing it right, right from the start. Backing out of a mistake. When you find that you have made a mistake, back out of your work and keep your braid on your disk. This is very simple - just think of it as braiding in reverse. Instead of "left bottom up, right top down" it's "right bottom up, left top down". Just take whatever braiding sequence you work with and go in reverse. It's amazing what you will learn. You may find you crossed a cord, or you swallowed a bead, or you forgot a bead or that you miscounted. The smallest of errors can throw off you braid. Braiding is braiding whether you are going forwards or backwards. In one direction the braid gets longer and the other direction the braid gets shorter. Don't despair, you are always learning and that's a good thing!
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GUATEMALA - 2015
|  March 6 to March 18, 2015
Annual Knitting Basket Knitting & Kumihimo Retreat Guatemala City, Antigua, Lake Atitlan
One room just became available...could be for an individual or a couple of people to share. It is also worth getting your name on the Waiting List.
Contact: billandireneyork@gmail.com
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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.
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