Blackberry Picking and a new Belle

Two bits of good news: the blackberries are ripe and wild (=free!) and my new LYS wants me to teach a class on beaded knitting with my Beaded Belle pattern. My kids are delighted by the berries and head out every few hours to pick from the bushes that encircle our yard. We have made a 2 pies so far, and jam is in the plans for next week...

I knit up a sample Beaded Belle for the yarn store to promote the class. It is knit in Tahki Cotton Classic, which seems to hold up so well for beading-- even though the beads hang and rub against the yarn throughout the knitting, this yarn doesn't pill or stretch. This time I used Czech beads instead of Japanese, and although they were half the price (nice) they had twice as many imperfect/too small holes (not so nice.) My perfectionist side delights in Miyuki and Matsuno beads, I have to confess!

Orange Flowers and Lace

Ah, I love the occasional bit of red-orange. I tend to favor cool colors-- greens, turquoise blues and pale lavender shades being my favorites. But every once in a while I need some brilliant red-orange, and when I spotted this yarn (Classic Elite Lush) I knew it was the perfect shade. This specific shade of orange is a bit tricky to find, and when I do, I try to snap it up. I knitted this sweater (Lush and Lacy Cardigan) throughout the winter, but by the time I was finally done, I couldn't bear to seam it up. Two things that do not go well together are hot weather and angora. This winter I'll put it on Ravelry when it's all done.

Zinnias. Need I say more?

And the cute little japanese-inspired calico floral with gold tints. Neither my daughter or I could resist when we spotted it on the red-tag shelf. Maybe some cute little zipper pouches for notions...