Sunday 16 February 2014

Beads beads beads.....

Since casting on my first beaded project I have searched high and low for another beaded project to sink my teeth into. It came in the shape of some fingerless gloves by, funnily enough, the same designer as the beaded shawl I'm knitting. 

Starlight is a fingerless glove pattern by Anniken Allis and it is perfect! I had many false starts though, when searching for the right yarn/bead combination and was almost at my wits end when I found the perfect match! 
The yarn is Fyberspates Superwash Lace, which I got in a sale about 2 years ago. It's been languishing in my stash ever since, as I've never found the right project for it, held doubled though, it's great for this pattern. I really like the pink and green beads as for me they had just the right amount of colour and interest to this already gorgeous pattern. The fist one was quick and I finished it in a couple of days, however the second one is taking longer due to being back at work.

I'm adding beads using some picture hanging wire, as I can't find a crochet hook small enough here and the Fleegle Beaders I have aren't quite the right size for the yarn. 

While I'm on the subject of it I thought I'd share my thoughts on the Fleegle Beader now that I've used one enough to make a judgement. I bought the 0.8mm, (which I'm using for the Rivoli shawl) and the 1mm size.

The beader took a while to get the hang of and initially I didn't enjoy using it, however after I went back and re-watched the video on youtube and it seemed to click. It's easy to put beads on but I could see how a bead spinner would be convenient for loading it.

The two stoppers are very useful; I find that I use one at the top and one at the bottom, as that seems more secure than the beader tip. 

The packaging isn't something I'd keep it in and in fact, when I received mine one of the tubes was broken at one end. I also think it would be helpful if it came with a little slip of paper illustrating how to use it. It's incredibly inconvenient for me to use youtube where I live and this would have been most appreciated. 

Overall I'm pleased I purchased the beaders and can see me getting a fair amount of use from them over time. The biggest size might be something I consider in the future. 

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4 comments:

  1. I've done beading, but not with knitting. Great work!

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  2. Thanks. I was amazed at how easy adding beads to knitting was when I tried.

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  3. It never would have occurred to me to put beads on gloves. Not sure why, because yours look great! :-) I've never used a beader so I can't comment, but I do love my tiny crochet hook! That being said, I totally understand how hard it can be to find things in China - I lived in Beijing for a number of years and ended up going to Hong Kong every six months on 'supply trips'. Still, the gloves are lovely and probably just the thing for right now.

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    1. Thank you for your compliment. The weather is still a little cold for fingerless gloves but by the time they are done it will be perfect for them. Yes it can be hard to get things and going to Hong Kong to restock sounds like a great idea!

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