'Sakura' Focals

These are the first 'proper' beads I've made this year and I am SO pleased with them.

For almost four years (on and off) I've been trying to create a cherry blossom design on beads but I couldn't quite work out the best way to do it. This week I realised that I had been making things way more complicated than they needed to be. I've tried frit, encasing, enamelled stringers and more before but the effect always ended up muddy and blurred. I was aiming for a crisp, stylised but recognisable-as-cherry-blossom design and I've finally cracked it!

I wanted to give the beads a Japanese feel so I've used the traditional 'tombodama' olive-shaped bead that Japanese lampworkers favour and I've also given the beads the name 'Sakura' which is Japanese for, you guessed it, cherry blossom.

I'm chuffed to bits with them and I hope you like them too.

These focals will be for sale on my website at 8.30 pm (UK time) tomorrow night.

Jewellery by Nemea Designs

Mary at Nemea Designs sent me some photographs of jewellery that she's made with my beads. It's so nice to see my beads all made up into wearables and I do so love the thought of people going about the place with my beads about their person.

The necklace at the top of the post features a simple white heart-shaped focal bead and the gorgeous necklace below contains some of my bright red enamelled beads.

Mary has also turned some of my colourful plain lentils into simple earrings. The beads in these are made with a glass that is no longer made. Shame - it was really pretty.

If you have a spare moment or two, head on over to Mary's website and take a look at her lovely work. She creates wonderful jewellery for adults and children and there is also a great range of beaded gifts too.

If you've got photographs of work made with my beads then please email them to me. I'd love to see them and they may even get featured here on my blog.

Green Feet

Remember that bright Kermit-green Smooshy sock yarn that I told you about?

Well, I've turned into socks. The pattern is Wendy D. Johnson's 'Swan Song' one and it's available for free. Please click here for the pattern page.

I loved knitting with this yarn so much I've bought another skein.

This time it's a gorgeous colour called 'Blue Lagoon' and just like the green stuff I can't stop squeezing and smooshing it!

Wedding Q&A

So many of you have sent congratulatory emails and messages with regards to our engagement. We've received cards, flowers, chocolates and I've even been sent yarn to say congratulations! Thank you all very much indeed.

Along with those emails have come the inevitable wedding-related questions. Vik at Wild Fire Fibres just left a comment on my last post which encompasses virtually all of them. So here are her questions followed by my answers :

"Firstly a massive CONGRATULATIONS!!! Do you have a date yet? Dress ideas? Are you going to handmake some of the things for your wedding? Or are you just going to do it cheaply (like us) and whenever you get round to it (again, like us - been engaged 4 years!)? It's lovely to have a ring on isn't it :)"

Date
Yes, there is a date set. It's in September and I'll let you know the actual date when it's all been totally one hundred percent confirmed.

Dress
I haven't picked one yet but I know what colour it might be - kingfisher blue. Well, that's what I have in mind right at this moment. It could change. It won't be a 'proper' flouncy wedding dress. Again, I have a style in mind but I'm saying no more as Chris reads the blog and the finer dress details are staying secret until the day. He knows the colour I'm currently leaning towards but that's it.

Venue
Cambridge. It's going to be a register office do on a very small scale. There will be no reception or evening bash as such. We're still undecided - maybe we'll take our small wedding party out for a meal afterwards. The wedding will be small because neither of us want a big shindig. I've never ever wanted the big huge wedding thing and Chris certainly hasn't. I was shocked that he even proposed! So the wedding is going to be pretty unconventional, I guess.

Engagement Ring
Yes, there is one. Chris and I went to choose it on Saturday and again, it's not your traditional engagement ring. I don't actually have it on my finger as the jewellers are ordering the correct size in for me. There will be photos of the engagement ring as soon as I have it which should be in a couple of weeks.

So there you have it. In short, we're talking about a very small do without your usual wedding bells and whistles. The best wedding I've ever been to was the smallest, most unflashy thing you can imagine and it was just perfect. I hope ours will be too!

Triton Socks

We're not even two weeks into 2010 and I've already knitted two pairs of socks so far this year. I just wish I was being as productive on the bead front but I'm not going to dwell on that .....

Anyway, these two pairs of socks are the same pattern knitted in different yarns. The pale blue ones are Rowan Cashcotton and the variegated ones are Wild Fire Fibres Manyana in 'Pixie'.

The pattern is my own design and the socks are named Triton after the Greek god of the sea. The recurring lace motif is a bit like a trident and the wavy pattern in between them is quite sea-like.

I've written a pattern for these - it's my first knitting PDF. You can get the pattern as a free Ravelry download. The socks are knitted from the toe up and they have an Eye Of Partridge heel. The pattern is written for knitting on two circular needles but you can easily adjust it for working on DPNs. The pattern is both charted and written.

A big thank you to Chris who is responsible for the 'footography'!

I hope that fellow knitters will like the Triton pattern and if you do make any socks with it please do send me some photos of your finished work. I'd love to have a look!