I'm obsessed!

Lately, it's been all about beads here. It seems every project I've been working on has been about beads. The Sekku Shawl Of Doom is finished and turned out gorgeous. So I wont be calling it 'shawl of doom' anymore. Not quite decided on a name yet but this won't be published until August so I've got time.

As soon as I blocked the shawl I knew it was a winner. 

I do have a slight hesitation about the lower edging but I'm not sure if it's bothering me enough to change it. Think I'm just being extremely picky.

 I did buy another ball of Noro Sekku at Spin A Yarn the other day so I may knit up another sample.

 This is a small shawl and is really more like a scarf than a shawl I've got some Noro Silk Garden Sock too, so I may knit up a sock yarn version too, which should be larger.

 Last week I finished a shawl that had been on the needles for ages, probably about a year. Once I picked it up again, I was about halfway and finished the second half in no time at all.

 This one has beads too. And the yarn is my own Supreme Sock, which is wonderful.

The Silky Camel Shawl is nearly done. When i took this pic yesterday I had a few rows left on the edging but now I'm nearly finished with the beaded crochet cast off. I'm planning to block it tonight and I think it's going to be lovely.

 See the tin the beads are in in the photo above? That's one of the tins from the pic below. I got them from Paperchase last week. I thought they'd be perfect for storing beads.

 The Supreme Sock shawl and the Sekku shawl were my easy 'take along' projects for the last few weeks. So as they're both done I decided I needed another easy project I can knit on while out and about. I had an idea for a new shawl with an unusual construction, which may or may not work. I wanted long colour changes and had some Schoppel Wolle Lace in my stash. The colours are black, dark navy, royal blue and purple.  I decided I wanted a very simple body with beads on the edging. First I used some seed beads but they blended in too well with the yarn and weren't very visible. I'd ordered some miracle beads which are similar to the ones I used for Mar Menor but these are a size smaller so I tried those and i love it. They're bright and definitely visible.

All these designs plus one that I finished at Easter time, will be part of a collection which will be published in August and will be all about beads and lace. I'll talk more about that in July when I get some proper photos done. I'm planning a photoshoot in mid-July sometime.

 At Woolfest next week I'll be demonstrating how to add beads to your knitting four times each day. As I'm demonstrating beads and I've got several patterns which require beads and there is usually noone else selling beads at fibre shows, I decided to sell some beads this year. I've been placing some wholesale orders which have been arriving this week. Here's today's delivery:

I've got some 0.50mm and 0.75mm crochet hooks too. So now you can get your pattern, yarn, beads and the crochet hook you need. I'll be in aisle H at Woolfest so do come and say hello. And if you've wanted to learn how to add beads to your knitting using the crochet hook or dental floss method, remember to stop by when I do the demo, which will be hands on.