1. I felt a little better, took a look around and realized that I am way, way behind on errands and laundry and email and phone calls and that there are no groceries. (I have talked Joe into fixing that.) Further to those problems, today was the last possible day I could go to the passport office and still get Sam’s passport in time for her trip. (She has a babysitting gig in Mexico. How is it that all of my babysitting gigs were on my block?)
2. All time record line up at the passport office. Just over three hours. Probably has something to do with this, (I’m positive it does, actually.) but still…Dudes. Three whole hours? (I have never resented the “no food or drink” rule in the office more. That is a long coffee/water free period for a knitter recovering from the flu.)
This is three hours of a Jaywalker. (Vesper sock yarn, in Tartan.)
For that matter:
2b. Starting a Jaywalker. That sock pattern has wicked mojo on it or something. The minute your resistance is low…There you are. I shouldn’t be surprised that a bout with the flu has resulted in this sock turning up again. I think it’s a viral pattern.
3. Bead stores. The new Sivia Harding sock pattern that came with the STR sock club calls for beads. (You can see a wonderful example here, on Pink Tea.) I thought about putting them on there, and then I got a hold of myself. I don’t even know where a Toronto bead store is. Answer….Queen Street West. I was taking the streetcar home from the passport place and all of a sudden there were a million beadstores all over the place. I had some sort of involuntary twitch, pulled the bell and the next thing I knew…
Yeah. Whoops.
4. Bead stores are not for the weak, recovering, or anyone with a single magpie gene in their bodies. It was only that I was tuckered out by the Passport office and couldn’t stand for very long that I only came home with hundreds and hundreds instead of millions and millions. Bead stores are wonderful little shimmering dens of temptation.
5. Beads are CHEAP.
See that? Less than two dollars, and it’s enough to do a pair or two of socks. (Note: There were other beads, beads that were not for knitting. Those beads cost a lot more money. I averted my eyes from the burning glory of the beads that were not for knitting and thanked my lucky stars that I am a knitter and that I don’t know what the seven dollar bead was for. If you do not have a one track knitting mind, you should maybe not go to the bead store.)
6. Almost thirteen year old daughters in bead stores is a bad idea. They make that high pitched shriek thing that means they want you to spend all of your money on something shiny. Go alone. Go strong. Go without a credit card. Wear garlic.
7. I asked the lady if these were 8/0 seed beads like the pattern says, and she (without looking at me or the beads) said “Sure. Why not.” (Apparently customer service in bead stores is as touch and go as is is everywhere else. I thought the tiny glass art would purify their souls.)
8. I didn’t get very far with the eggs.
These have been brought to room temp, washed with water and vinegar and had any little lumps or bumps carefully pared off with an X-acto knife. (Almost. I can see one I missed.) Any idea what comes next?
9. This was less than 1/4 of what I usually get done in a day and I am so absolutely tired I could go cross eyed.
10. This makes me want to figure out how to get beads onto yarn anyway. (Threading it like a needle doesn’t work. My yarn is too…flaccid. ) Sivia recommends dental floss threaders, which I don’t have, and all reasonable (and unreasonable) attempts to substitute dental tape has failed.
Perhaps I need to cut back on the passport office and the decongestants.
Woo Hoo! Herewith, the obligatory “I’m First!”
My guess is that you’ll blow out the egg yolks and make exquisite egg art a la Faberge. Love the Jaywalker art too.
I have been lurking forever. I have to come out in the open and officially apologize for the totally unreasonable passport rules imposed by my country. Canada, most of us are very sorry.
You’re going to blow out the eggs and do neat artsy things with the (annoyingly delicate) shells, like the lady did when my Dad ran for school board (she made him blown-out eggs that looked like his campaign posters). Or you’re making Ukranian Easter eggs (http://www.flickr.com/groups/pysanky/pool/).
As for the beads, I’ve never knit with them MYSELF, but the nice ladies at my LYS say that you can put them on the stitch with a crochet hook … I guess what you’re supposed to do is knit until you get to the stitch you want to bead, then use a teeny crochet hook to pull the stitch through the bead, then knit as usual.
Or so I’ve been told.
I am knitting the phenomenal Simple Knitted Bodice, which calls for a beaded silk yarn. Rather than spring for the expensive pre-beaded yarn, I am beading my own. To thread the beads, I use a bead threader that I bought at the bead store. They sold me 5 for US$1. They are very fine wires shaped into needles. Threading the yarn into the bead needle is indeed a challenge, but it goes in after a couple of tries (and a bit of licking and twisting).
I can see why the Jaywalker is a viral pattern. Especially in that yarn.
And I have no idea what you’re doing with the eggs, but I have it on good authority that you don’t really blow…
Decongestants and x-acto knives. Do you really need me to say it?
You should also be able to make your own wire bead threader(s) if you don’t want to risk the temptation of a return to the bead store.
Dip the end of your yarn in a bit of hot wax. Make sure it’s just a thin layer though. Once it dries, it should be a bit easier to thread the beads. A bit. Feel free to curse and swear at me if this makes it harder for you though. I promise I’ll pretend not to hear you.
I am thinking you are going to Ukraine up those eggs a little.
Restraining, by heroic effort, all jokes including sucking, blowing and grandmothers. I’d say you’re going to dye them dark red, NOT blow out the innards, and scratch intricate patterns onto them. If you do? Put them up where the cat cannot possibly knock them off the mantle six months later. Bad interval.
Clear nail polish on the end of the thread? Or superglue?
I. will. NOT. start. beading. socks. Especially not because I see lovely examples on the Harlot’s blog. I will not backslide into my beading frenzy just because I can bead AND knit at the same time. I will stay OUT of bead stores. (and I have bought $7 beads, apalling isn’t it???)
What I did when I needed to string bead onto some yarn was found a needle that the yarn fit into, and that would fit through the bead, thread yarn onto needle, then send beads over needle and push them onto yarn.
I was using e-beads (small seed beads, I think 10/0 but the container didn’t say) and used a cross stitch needle treaded with fingering yarn (knit picks essential) I found that my usual darning needles were too fat for my beads.
About the eggs: you are going to make the “batiked” eggs (wax resist and dye) for the Ephiphany? Love the tartan yarn. Too cool. Rest up.
Thank you for another of your hilarious posts. Your humor is back! Yeah! I have had the crud for 3+ weeks, it just keeps coming back. Oh my gosh, those socks are irresistable, the beaded ones. How do we get that pattern?
You could put a bit of plain glue on the end of the yarn. That should harden it up enough, and you can kind of twist the yarn until it comes to a point. No guarantees, but if it works, it would save you a trip out of the house.
the bead thing. use a regular sewing needle and a small length of thread. line up the two ends and thread those through the needle. you should now have a thread loop. Thread your arn in thread loop. now you are ready to string the beads.
Or, you could get flossthreaders next time you are at the grocery or drug store. Bitter experience has taught me that once I have exhausted all the “easier, less time consuming ” ways, I end up going with the recommended method fairly frequently.
1. Get some fluids and rest! Feel better soon.
2. There should be a Harlot exemption from the whole Canada/U.S. passport thing. Definitely.
3. Bead stores are very, very dangerous. (Ask a lady who has a bazillion-dollar bead stash but doesn’t use it any more because of the yarn thing.) And beads aren’t cheap!!! You must enter the bead store with blinders on (and no teenagers), lest you succumb to the (get this, most ever spent on a single bead . . . ) $65 dollar bead. Okay, now that I’ve admitted that I think I will have to give another donation to MSF next paycheck . . . (It was at a bead show. I blame the lights. They were bright and made everything seem so twinkly . . .) Seed beads, however, are lovely, and (usually) cheap, and I always liked working with them best because stringing bigger beads goes too fast. (Another reason beads are expensive–you can finish the necklace in 15 minutes. Then what? Knitting is definitely an improvement in the hours-per-dollar entertainment category). Seed beads can be purchased online to avoid the bead store tempatation issues. I like http://www.whimbeads.com. Tons of seed beads. Tons. Or you can just email me. I probably have something appropriate in my stash. 😉
assuming you’re threading pre-knitting: hot wax on the yarn, as Dorothy B suggested, but my favorite method is a dab of nail polish at the end (like rams suggested). It doesn’t even have to be clear ’cause it’s the end that will be cut off later. 😉 you can also create your own bead threader with some craft wire but I’m not sure I can describe that here… 🙂
good luck! I have thus far avoided beaded socks, but I’m sure it can’t be too far away… if I can avoid the bead shop (I beaded before I even knew how to knit). 🙂
Beadstores at dangerous at the best of times, but under the influence of a decongestant? I am shocked you have only those few beads and any money left!
I actually thread sewing yarn with beads and ply my handspun with it, it looks spectacular!
As for beaded socks, I will just say thanks, so much, once again for giving me yet another temptation to fight…….Hope you get better soon though! Love Tye x
Knitting with beads is fairly easy. The LYS had a class teaching such techniques using patterns from Debbie Abrahams book ’25 cushions to knit”. There is a very helpful and easy to understand section in the back on how to knit with beads using a slip stitch technique. They also show you how to get the beads on the yarn (very thin needle threaded with very fine beading thread with a loop at the end- put yarn through loop, bead on needle,and slide.) The beading part was easy- doing intarsia at the same time was not. Oh, our LYS has a bead section in the back to feed the habits of double addicts.
MMmmmm. Those socks are gorgeous. Beads. Yeah. Hard to resist. Colorful and shiny! Yes, the plastic floss threaders (cheap, at the grocery store near the toothpaste – tell Joe to get some) work – drape your yarn through the threader, then use the tip to pick up a bead. There are also collapsible eye needles, regular beading needles (but you’ll need to rig a sewing thread to loop around your yarn anyway, like the floss threader, because the beading needle eye is too small for yarn. Beware of bead spinners. They are wonderful tools for doing many bead projects, but they are spendy!
Have fun with your socks and get better!
Stephanie
Dip the tip of the yarn in hot wax{candle wax will do}. That should make the yarn stiff enough to string the beads. I string beads…I make beads…I love beads and of course sticks and string.
diana
I made a beaded scarf last year with hemitite beads…they have a wire bead threader. BUT, I love the idea of the dental floss threader, I have tons of those. Might be easier, less tempting to buy those instead of returning to knitting/craft/beading store.
Kris
Way back when, I bought some beads for a knitting project that hasn’t, um, materialized yet. The store owner suggested that I buy a needle called “The Big Eye”. It is like two pieces of wire, attached at each end but not in the center. You can split the entire thing apart and easily put a piece of yarn through it.
http://www.eebeads.com/ideas/51_BigEyeNeedle.html
(no affiliation, yada yada)
(and ugh, stupid new passport rules mean that I have to get passports for both my kids just so we can go to Quebec when we visit my parents. bleh.)
Here is a site that has a tutorial on knitting with beads using a crochet hook:
http://fluffyknitterdeb.blogspot.com/2005/08/by-special-request-beading-made-easy.html
That appeals to me a whole lot more than stringing countless beads!!
I am always under the influence of decongestants!!
I wish I could knit half as fast as you, just half. I most definitely could not get that much done (on a sock, no less) in 3 hours. Sick or not!
Oh yeah, stringing . . . regular, waxed (uncolored/unflavored) dental floss, or (and I forget what they call them), “needles” made of very, very thin wire folded in half. Not really a needle, just folded wire. That way you don’t have to try to thread an absurdly thin-eyed needle. Just stick the yarn in the middle of the folded wire and go to town. Good (cheaper) substitute: if you have one of those cheapo needle threaders that come in little sewing kits (foil tab with a diamond-shaped very thin wire attached), just cut off the foil tab and straighten the wire. Same thing.
Okay, I’ll shut up now.
oh yeah, blowin’ eggs. What you’re going to do with them? Make’em seriously beautiful, of course.
get the dental flosser thing, send Joe out..one.more.time. heh. (sorry Joe)
I second the “dip it in glue” suggestion. Use something like Elmers (plain white craft glue), cover the end of the yarn for about an inch, twist the yarn while it is still wet to make a point, then let it hang to dry (over the edge of a table). Easy and cheap. I use this all the time. I haven’t tried wax on yarn, but I think it might crack or come off on the beads which would make them sticky.
-Lynn, still, sadly, blogless
Bead stores are nearly as dangerous as yarn stores!
For threading the beads onto the yarn, could you paint one end of your yarn with nailpolish or glue, wait for it to dry/harden, and then use the painted bit like a needle? Or is your yarn too flaccid for that to work?
ok, knitting with beads is one thing…but EGGS???!!!
I’m sending Jewish Bubbe “Get Well” mojo your direction, Steph….those socks are stunning, the beaded ones made my eyes water, I second the Elmer’s Glue idea (you can do more stuff with that stuff) I do some beading, I do lots o’ knitting…beaded knitting? Knitted beading? I’m leaving that to the More Skillful (which is almost everyone). I’ve never had a passport, never been out of America EXCEPT a fabulous sojourn in Nova Scotia (meals courtesy of the Queen, though she didn’t serve us personally) but I’m going to get one! I’ll feel so urbane, so cosmopolitan, so worldly. You’ll never know I started in North Dakota!!
As a Canadian living in the US, please do not apologize for any Canadian Government Office. I have to renew my passport downhere, after 4 failed attempts at passport pictures, I finally called the office in New York and asked them to recommend an photographer. They did, it’s in black and white and finally after 3 months I got a passport. They take the $90 in advance and if you do not submit the correct paperwork within their working schedule they keep the money and deny the passport.
As for the socks – why not crochet hook the beads on as you come to the stitch, that way you don’t have to string them on ahead of time. This saves valuable time and frustration and you don’t have the weight of all the beads. This is a method I use and I will never go back to the stringing on.
The eggs have to be for blowing and painting, otherwise why take all the troble to make them pefect on the outside.
Here’s another good cheap substitute for a bead threader. Take a long wire/paper twisty tie, tear/scrape off the paper, bend the wire in half, place the yarn in between the wire near the bend, twist the two halves of the wire together, poke wire through bead.
I’d guess blowing the eggs out for some decorative faberge-like work. With beads too? I don’t know.
The Jaywalker looks great. I picked up some black and white self-striping Rellana Flotte sock yarn and I’ve been thinking that it would look great in the Jaywalker pattern. We’ll see.
I’m clueless on the eggs… I’ll be gobsmacked if you knit with them somehow! Can I just say this, though… GO LIE DOWN! X-Acto knives and decongestants do not mix! One more thing – I don’t usually use the word “flaccid” in relation to my yarn! LOL
Regarding beads and floppy yarn:
My eight yr old daughter and I prefer an end dipped in or painted with super glue. It dries almost instantly to a rigid state, is easy to apply, and did not appear to swell the fibers of her yarn. And we entertained each other endlessly with superglued fingers…a bonus!
To get the beads on, you can use fishing line. If you have any laying around. Or button yarn. Just make a loop, with some longer ends and pull the yarn through.
Sounds to me like you are going to mamke Ukanian Easter eggs which I lOVE to do. A dear friend from the Ukrain taught me a number of years ago and I’ve tried to pass it on to anyone who was really iterested in the beauty of them. BUT using beads and yarn on them would be VERY interesting too. Can’t wait to see WHAT you come up with as I happen to have a stash of beads that jumped into my possesion when at a low ebb at a Rock Gemmborie in Bancroft . I really thought I was going to a music festival at the time and got overtaken with all the glitter. Sure hope you have a GOOD idea as I’d like to put this big box of gems to some good use I must have LOTS of magpie genes and damn I forgot to wear the garlic.
P.S. I have absolutely no idea how to get the beads on to the yarn so I’ll be reading all the comments to find that out too. thanks for the mystery post
Here’s what I did to thread beads onto yarn that was too thick for the bead to go over the eye of the needle when the eye was big enough for the yarn. If that makes sense. Anyway it ought to work for flaccid yarn too.
Take a reasonable-sized needle and reasonably strong thread and thread the needle, tying the thread into a loop maybe 12 inches around. Now you can tuck the end of your flaccid yarn into the thread loop and fold it back six or more inches. When you thread the bead it goes first on the needle, then on the thread loop, then onto the yarn past the loose end.
You can stack up a lot of beads at a time on the thread loop and push them all onto the yarn at once.
Feel better soon!
Can you just imagine – my LYS is “Oodles of Beads and Yarn” – a very dangerous place, indeed.
I KNOW!!! I know an EASY way to bead your yarn!! I picked up this trick in a knitting community or something but when I made a Perdita Lilac recently it worked like a CHARM!!
Take a regular sewing needle and thread a piece of regular thread onto it. Tie the ends together in a single knot. Slip the yarn through the thread just like you would a needle and then slide the beads over the needle, down the thread and onto the yarn! PRESTO! Easy Peasy! No special equipment necessary!
As someone who has been blowing her nose, coughing, and being all-round miserable since last Wednesday night (that’s right, a solid week), I sympathise 100%. 150%, actually, since I think that, in my feverish world, I can get away with illogical math tricks.
Anyway, beading — check out the Knitty article on beads:
http://www.knitty.com/issuespring06/FEATseducedbybeads.html
(isn’t Knitty fabulous?)
Because I would never in a million years thread beads on to yarn, I focused on the “hooking beads as you go” section. Basically, you take each individual stitch, work the bead onto the stitch any way you can (itsy bitsy crochet hooks come in handy here), replace the stitch on the LH needle, and then work the stitch.
I’m still trying to figure out how to knit in the bath. 🙂
THe eggs- something fancy for Easter?? I’m Jewish, so I’m at a loss…. I do that we hardboil them and eat them dipped in salt water for Passover, but that’s months away.
If babysitting daughter is going to Mexico, have little pity, especially if it is summer. It will be brutally hot. I live in Houston, we’re brutally hot during the summer. ALthough, we had a babysitter come to Hawaii to watch us back in the 70’s. She was a cousin, it was a convention, it was the only time in my entire life I ever wore a bikini (I was 10, and pudgy, and the only suit available was a bikini). It was also the only time I ever burned my tummy. Sunscreen- make sure daughter has sunscreen. Mexico is close to the bulge at the equator and closer to the sun……
My 4 yo has a passport, with a 2 yo photo in it. Keepsake? I guess they’re only good for 5 yrs instead of 10 for a reason.
I’m betting you’re making pysanky (I’m fairly certain I spelled it wrong), aka Ukrainian Easter eggs. My family makes them sometimes too and I love to do it. As for the dental floss threaders, they are marvelous. The sewing needle-thread-yarn thing is awesome too, but sometimes doesn’t work as well. If your beads are only just wide enough to accomodate one thickness of your yarn, you might need to turn the end into a needle with glue or varnish.
I wanted to jion in the fun for the Olympics! I plan to make a lace sweater using a Sally Melville pattern from the Colors book.
Eggs, eh? Spooky.
Have you seen miriam’s tutorial on how to bead icarus? It forgoes prestringing and may work for you.
http://mimknits.com/wordpress/?p=33
Feel better soon! 🙂
Dip the end of the yarn in nail polish. It will stiffen then end and it will be easy to thread through the bead.
Do you know that I can now type my info into the fields above this box (and click “remember me” because I am the very personification of sphexishness) without remembering having done so? Either I spend too much time here, or you have completely overridden all my higher brain functions with bead lust. Not that I don’t already have beads upstairs, but they’re so shiny and pretty, and take up so little space.
Think how pretty those eggs would be if you covered them with tubular peyote stitch.
Buy beads in a hank (strung on thread). Tie one end of a string of beads to the end of your yarn and just slide those puppies onto the yarn. Since you didn’t know that before you bought beads in a tube, you can always string them onto sewing thread, and then follow the above procedure.
And I’d also guess that the eggs are for pysanky.
I just went all bead crazy this past week myself! I love your jaywalkers 🙂
I’ve done the teeny crochet hook trick – especially because I Do Not Want to thread beads onto the yarn ahead of time. If I’m remembering correctly, I’ve used that size bead for a shawl pattern, and putting pulling the loop through the hole worked fine for me.
If the nail polish trick doesn’t work, emai me your snail mail address and I will share my stash of dental threaders! They are GREAT for this – I used them on both the Diva!Scarf and the beaded mitts that I did for “Knit the Classics”.
You may have to go back to the bead store. Put on your blinders, give yourself 5 minutes, and only bring a few dollars. I have used this technique with great success. It only fails if they decide to change the floor plan and you are forced to look around.
They have these long, highly flexible needles that are split almost the entire length. They’re more like a length of thin wire that’s split up the middle. You thread the yarn through that, and then you pick up the beads one at a time (but you can put up to 10 or so beads on the needle after each one is picked up). Then you slide the group of beads down the length of the needle and onto the yarn.
There is another way, using a machine/bowl thingy that spins and somehow magically causes the beads to jump onto the needle willingly. The bead shop probably has one there for customers to use, but I consider that a highly dangerous method because you have to spend quite a bit of time in the store, surrounded by temptation. Resist, or you’ll have less money for yarn.
It’s Ukrainian New Year on Saturday! Time to perogy it up!
Either that or you feel the need for meticulous egg salad sandwiches to celebrate Twelfth Night (on Friday).
For threading the beads, get one of those bead needles that are just essentially a piece of wire twisted around itself. The bag mine came in labels itself a “collapsible eye needle”, and it’s just like it sounds. As thin as wire, so you’ll have no issue with the beads, and the hole’s as large as you want [snicker] so you can fit the yarn through.
Egg not? Thinking that the vinegar sterilizes them so you won’t get salmonella? This year I read what the cdc had to say about that (a no-go, so sad!). If you want a great holiday nog, without eggs, but with a similar spicy/creamy taste (and a lot of rum), check out the Coquito recipe posted on my blog 12/17. Glad you’re feeling better!
I started a beaded shawl last spring (another UFO) and used an item you can purchase at a fabric store called “Fray-check”. It’s made to keep loose threads and rips from unravelling. I applied it to the end of the yarn and, using my fingers, twisted it tightly. It was stiff enough to both pick up the beads and to thread them (my beeds were barely bigger than the yarn (Euro-flax). Have fun
oops, nog, I meant nog!
hmmm… all these suggestions leading to “strenghtening” the yarn or making it rigid enough so that you can thread the beads directly onto the end of it, they’re all pretty clever!!! I would have tried to reproduce the shape of a dental floss threader with sewing material: threading a regular needle with some thread, then making a knot with the two end of thread, then slipping the knitting yarn through the loop… (is this making any sense?)… then you put the beads on the needle, slide them down onto the sewing thread and seamlessly (hopefully!) onto your soft sock yarn… voilà !
as for the eggs, i’m guessing they’ll be dipped into some kind of decorating dye bath or wax designs (hence the washing with vinegar that removes fatty residue), but i usually do that for Easter, so you’ll certainly have to enlighten me as to what occasion to celebrate i’m missing out on!
cheers!
-Marie-Michèle in Montréal
so i meant to buy only $40 worth of beads to make a christmas present for my mum. so i was well and not under influence of drugs. so i ended up taking home uhmm… over $100 worth of beads that are still hidden under the bed.
Apparently I visited the bead shop when they were having one of their infrequent trunk show. And the beads were made from a fair-trade cooperative in Kenya by impoverished women. And the person who ran the trunk show (and worked in Kenya) was very nice. So to be fair, the money (at that time) did go to a good cause.
Still… I’m a little afraid to go back to that bead shop. I think I have more than enough to make a few birthday gifts spread out over the year. 🙂
I got to wait 3 hours in line at the passport office in Ottawa for a passport for Eric — age 2 months. And he was with me; no one tried to stop me from providing him with food, thank goodness. The funniest thing is that they ask you for height and weight — so his passport is already inaccurate!
There’s also a bead store at Roncesvalles & Dundas West, which is a little closer to you (should you end up succumbing and having to go back)
http://www.bead-junction.com/
I usually double the dental floss and thread the two ends through the eye of a needle, leaving a long loop hanging. I thread the beads onto the loop using the needle (making sure they don’t slide off the end of the loop – I usually stick my pinkie through the loop to make sure). When you have enough beads on the loop, stick the yarn end through the loop and push the beads down onto it. It’s usually a little tight where the yarn is doubled, but they slide better on the single strand of yarn.
I think I was a magpie in a former life. I love shiny bits.
I have a butt ton (not kidding) of dental floss needle thingies. If you’d like, I can have some in the mail to you tomorrow! Just drop an email w/ your address … nanknits2much@gmail.com
Hope you feel back to your normal, healthy self soon!!
Gotta love the new security-keeping the Canadians safe from the Americans and visa-versa!!! Meanwhile, the terrorists fake theirs and get in to both countries without even standing in a line!
Would that all people were knitters-the world would be at peace-well, until there was a yarn sale!
The needle Rox is referring to is called the Big Eye Needle I find this to be a very inexpensive yet invaluable beading tool. I have about a gazillion and twelve beads, along with my huge yarn stash. At least they can be used together at times. Too many obsessions, so little time. Have fun! (ps…lovely Jaywalkers)
I have magpie genes. My husband says I was a crow in a former life, because my favorite colors are “shiny” and “sparkly”.
If you need dental floss threaders, I have a bunch right here behind me that I can stuff in an envelope and send to you. I was threading beads a few months ago, and these threaders come in packs of 50 or so. Otherwise, look in the toothbrush aisle at your grocery store/pharmacy. They’re cheap.
Those Jaywalkers are HAWT.
eggs…not chickens then?
An alternative to the “dip it in glue” method, which does not involve waiting for glue to dry, is to wrap a few layers of aluminum foil around the yarn, trim it, and then rub it between your fingers until it forms a nice, solid needlelike cover. I’ve done this a lot in getting tiny beads onto crochet thread. It has the further advantage that you can use beads that are so small you can only fit the yarn through single-stranded. (If you use any sort of needlelike device, you need beads that are big enough to fit the yarn through doubled.)
I used a big eye beading needle when I made these beaded cuffs:
http://sissyvette.blogspot.com/2006/12/glimmer-twins.html
All I have to say is that although I love the results, threading the beads onto the yarn cut up my hands (sensitive skin) and damaged my (already ugly) nails. As soon as I’m all healed up, though, I’m going to make another pair!
My usual bead stringing method is to find a needle that fits through the bead (usual a small sewing needle works). Now since you can’t thread the yarn through that little eye I just thread thread through it. I then knot the thread in a loop and thread the yarn through that. I’ve been using this method longer than some of the newer tools have been available. It works and I’ve already got everything I need so no dangerous trips to the store. 🙂
For future reference, fill in the passport application online. You get to jump the line at the passport office that way (and gleefully enjoy the angry looks of the other people). Note that this only works for people over 16 years of age.
http://www.pptc.gc.ca/can/pol_on-line_form.aspx?lang=e
Can I just say how irritated I am about this whole passport thing? Even though I have a passport? And even though I’d kind of like to get it stamped in Canada? It’s just such a ridiculous Big Brother thing to do. And I’ll just leave it at that.
Erin’s got the right idea with the thread loop – it’ll work, I’ve done it. I think you’re making pysanky (Ukrainian) eggs 😉 fun!
About the eggs – I think you’re going to wrap them in pieces of old silk ties and boil them and come up with the most amazingly lovely creations you have ever seen in your life. If that’s not what you’re going to do, you need to try it. Finding ties to use for this is my big excuse for going to re-sell shops – along with looking for sweaters for recycled yarn! If you don’t break the eggs, they can last for years and years – the insides dry out and get hard (don’t shake too hard to find out).
Ok – what the?
I just ventured into a bead store today and picked out beads for my Bejewelled scarf!
Then I came home to discover that I was unable to string them on my yarn.
Mom figured it out – a tapestry needle is all it took.
My yarn is homespun thick and thin though.
Sounds like a productive day considering you are still sick. It would take me weeks to get that much sock knitting done! Feel better!
I had to make a trip to the store just for those damn flossers. They were worth it. Also, I had to go buy some beads with a 6 year old girl. Hello..$7 on one small tube that I only used a tiny fraction of…
You’re doing great! I hope your passport is up to date. Are you ever coming to Atlanta?
I waited for many, many hours at the Passport Office in Kitchener in 2004. The office was too crowded for all of us, so I was with a group sitting in the hallway. I sat myself on the floor and began to knit. Not long after, a security guard told us we were not allowed to sit on the floor. I’m pretty sure we were allowed beverages in the office, however.
I don’t have the patience to read all the comments, so this suggestion may already have been made. I teach bead knitting, and I suggest using “Big Eye” needles to thread yarn through beads as small as 8-0. The Big Eye needle is actually 2 thin wires soldered together at the ends, so the whole needle is one big eye. They come in sizes from 1″ to 3″ long. It opens wide enough to thread any yarn or thread through easily, and then closes down to be very very slender, so it doesn’t add much bulk to the doubled yarn, and can be threaded through most beads with smooth holes. It’s also flexible which is an advantage sometimes, and a disadvantage at others. You can usually get these specialized beading needles at bead stores or craft stores (I’ve seen variations of them at Michaels here in the states). I hope this helps, if not with this project, then with a future one.
Hope you regain strength soon!
Beads. Beads are worse than buttons. At least buttons can be hunted over time, found in old sewing machines and grandmothers’ attics. Bead fixes, er, um, stores are far too easy to come by. Eggs for painting? Valentine eggs?
Just a comment about the flu shot thing . . . I got mine (for the 2nd time ever) because the flu shot people ever so obligingly came to my work place and it was free and so, why not?
I am not and have not been sick with the flu, but I am now in physical therapy for the nerve damage done by a badly placed shot. I will never have another, because even though the flu sucks, this is very, very annoying (putting it nicely, as much swearing has already occurred, especially since it hurts to knit).
Also, to everyone who thinks all US citizens are lawsuit happy: I am a lawyer and I have not sued. Yet. Let’s see how long my knitting is impaired, however, and try to calculate the damages! (kidding) (I think)
A visual guide to threading beads onto yarn without a dental floss threader:
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~brwb/Beadknit.html
A tip. You’re going to be blithely stringing beads onto the needle and sliding them down the thread. One of them in the middle of the string will have a hole too tight to slide onto the yarn (or maybe the eye of the needle). Don’t pull hard trying to force it. You’ll just break the thread and scatter beads everywhere. It’s a defect of the process which applies the metallic lining. A pair of pliers or a nail clipper is a really good tool to crack the bead in half. It will save you from unthreading all the upstream beads.
Yes, you’ll sacrifice a bead. You sacrifice more when the thread breaks. Also, the leg of a panty hose over the end of Mr. Vacuum will allow you to vacuum up the scattered beads and recover them.
You’re starting your decorated eggs already? It’s not even Imbolc, much less close to Ostara. 🙂
Are you planning on doing Ukrainian Easter eggs?? That way lies madness, you know…..
Beadweavers everywhere are laughing/crying that beads are cheap.
Well I am 13 and Love bead stores!!! Yes I buy the Seven dollar beads! they make for the best jewelry! Just like knitting, take pricy materials and turn it into something even more pricy! With knitting and making Jewlry, I’ve been able to make some sort of a profiet from friends who want to buy there mom something nice! But I would never think of it as a long term career! Oh and since my mom says i have such expensive taste, i am having to save up to buy some cashmere yarn! yea! oh well that was really long wasn’t it! my bad!
To get the beads on, light a candle and dip the end of the yarn in the hot wax, let it cool a bit and smooth with your fingers. Do about 1/2-1 inch and you sould be able to get you beads on there. You could also tie a peice of thread to the end and then thread the beads on with a needle.
Get better, I got 2 rounds on a sock today before I had to go back to sleep. I have the tummy flu. Yuck!
Here’s how you thread beads onto yarn. Find a needle that will go through the bead. Cut a length of sewing thread, thread the needle, then tie the sewing thread in a loop. Put your knitting yarn through the loop so that two or three inches of it are hanging out the other end of the thread loop. Thread beads onto needle, slide onto thread then onto yarn.
Clear as mud, yes?
So sorry about the US-imposed passport issue…..
Beading and fancy decorated eggs in the same week? With flu brain? Good luck! 😉
Was in the same boat. Seems I get the urge to do something when no store is open and I don’t want to want until morning. So, I found that the little twisty ties that come on things like loaves of bread, or with trash bags, have a wire center. Peal off the plastic or paper and fold the “twisty wire” and you have a perfect “needle” that will go through any bead that will fit on your yarn.
Try Earthfaire.com They’re great. I went into my local bead shop once and they’re useless. If a novice knitter walks into a yarn store, pattern in hand and says “What do I need to make this?” the store clerk will help the person gather the the right material. If a novice beader does the same thing, at least in the bead stores I’ve been to, the clerk shrugs and says, “Search me but you can guess, buy what you think you might need and try it out. No returns.”
I expect you’ll be putting the eggs back in the chickens, right? So they would need to be smooth.
What I did was get fishingwire, tie it together with the yarn, and thread the beads onto the fishing-wire-yarn combo. Unless the beads are REALLY small, then I think it should work. Then you can just pull out the fishingwire, or just cut it into ilttle bits, just don’t cut the yarn… it’s not cool.
FEEL BETTER!
The website below shows the method I use to string beads onto yarn. It works very well. Just make sure that your chosen needle passes through most or all of your beads before starting the process–less frustrating that way.
http://icandyarn.blogspot.com/2006/02/string-beads-onto-sock-yarn.html
Okay who let our precious harlot near x-acto knives while she was both under the influence of decongestants and worn down from spending half a day in a government office? Who, I ask? That seems like a truly bad idea for those of us addicted to you… erm I meant your blog!
Once again I count my blessings….as a German living in Mexico with a European Union Passport I get it through the Embassy, it is good for ten years and costs absolutely nothing…..and it takes just a phone call…..and the time to pick it up, because it has to besigned in front of an official….
If there is anything you want to know about Mexico, even more specific stuff, if you need anything or if your daughter needs help arriving or leaving or anything I cannot think of right now…..please let me help.
I have worked here off and on since 1976 and live here since 1996 and am a resident and know my way around.
BTW: your daughter is much better off with a passport…….officials here recognize passports and respect them ; Canadian ( just like Germans ….lol ) have a good imagine….a birth certificate is often not recognized as such ( cops don’t speak English and are not educated and often don’t read well….something that supposetly will change with the new president…..ha,ha,ha, and know nothing about the law) and this could mean hassles for her…….it does not happen often, but it does happen.
Let me know if I can be of help…
Angelika
Mexico City
Someone probably already said this (forgive me for not reading the preceding 99 comments) but I just read something about threading beads onto yarn using plain floss, not necessarily threaders. Basically, thread the beads onto the floss, fold the floss in half (beads on one side) and then fold the yarn in half (a 4″ side is nice), with the creases of the floss and the yarn meeting up, like a chain. Then, slide your bead onto your yarn from the floss and then keep sliding your bead until it is only on the strand of yarn going to the skein.
Also, that high pitched shriek thing? I still do that. Scares the crap out of my Dad.
Holy Crapola! Look at those Knitters without Borders numbers! You go girl!
You know you can use the tiny glass beads for knitting too. I started knitting so I could make knitted beaded evening bags. You use the smallest seed beads you can get – almost. Sting thousands of them before you knit.
They are fab!
I’ve barely resisted learning to spin and now you and Knitty are conspiring to lead me to beading socks! Feel better.
Can’t wait to see what you do with the eggs.
My husband and I will be applying for our passports soon, I think instead of wearing the garlic to the bead store, we’ll wear it to the passport office and see if they get us through faster. Speaking of bead stores, I’ve been to the ones you mention and a sure way keep from spending like crazy is not to carry your wallet and have your husband wander out the door without you noticing. I was forced to only spend what I had in my pockets. It was very hard on the nerves.
Yolande in NB
Ukranian Easter Eggs….except it’s not Easter.
1. The glue option works but can be annoyingly slow because it’s somewhat fiddly while actually stringing. Wax? Seems to me like it’d wear off after a while and you’d have to re-do too often. Plus not quite stiff enough.
2. Better yet, if you can stand to wait, make your own bead needles. Buy a little spool of fine beading wire at a craft store like Michael’s or whatever – fine enough that it’ll fit through your beads doubled and twisted. Use an old pair of scissors to snip off about 3″-4″. Fold wire in half, twist the tips together tightly for about an inch. (Pinch tips together with one hand; slip couple fingers of other hand in the loop, spread them open a bit to keep the twist at the tips tight, and twirl the loop round and round several times. Go slow so you don’t slice yourself!) Trim ends below where twist is nice and tight. Voila, bead needle with a nice big eye easy to fit yarn through. When it gets too beat up, just make another one. One spool will make a heckuva lot of bead needles.
3. If you want to try the beadspinner thing, make one yourself, don’t bother spending $$:
http://kimberlychapman.com/crafts/beadspinner.html
4. Do *not* go to http://www.firemountaingems.com – where I just spent my mad money for the month on some essentials for the stitch markers I said I’d make for some TSF prizes. (I had to go have An Idea, oy. But I think people will like ’em. Well, ok, ok, I bought some other stuff, all right? [g])
And $7 beads? ::insane laughter:: Try a $57 (Canadian, thank god) dichroic glass donut pendant. Just the donut, no necklace attached. Alas, no one warned me about beads oh so long ago, and I took them up about the same time I did knitting. Unfortunately, not little seed beads. No, I had to go for the ethnic kind, like African and Afghani and Tibetan and Chinese, plus semi-precious beads or trade glass ‘n such, where you’re talking $$. It took me about 20 years to collect the beads for my big honkin’ Tibetan-style necklace with amber and turquoise and whatnot, and I *still* keep taking it apart and re-doing it to add another perfect couple of beads!
The way things have been going with the whole security frenzy down here has Canada looking awfully nice. So long as we live down here in the good ‘ol US of A, my dreams of seeing parts of the world far, far away will never come true.
So, what’s it like to travel internationally when you’re Canadian?
Ooops. I just lost a post in cyber space, I think….a PS to my previous comment.
I have knit quite a bit with beads and very rarely string them. I find when stringing 100s of beads the yarn shows wear and tear, because very often the holes on the inside are very rough.
Also; when stringing a bead it sits in place in a horizontal fashion ( meaning the opening is horizontal ). So each time when you put on let’s say a sock and it stretches the bead has space to move and wear down the strand of yarn it sits on ( I don’t need to tell you why I know this……I bet you can guess ).
I now almost always knit the stitch the bead needs to go on, pull the stitch with the biggest crochet hook that goes through the opening and put the stitch back on the right hand needle. This way the bead sits vertically and stays in place when the material is stretched and there is much less wear & tear. Also the bead stays in place, while stringing and placing horizontally often pushes the bead through to the wrong side.
I came up with this method after some very disappointing experiences with Baby Alpaca…..but am sure that I am one of various 1000s who came up with this method on her own…..kind of like inventing a recipe and then seeing it three month later in Gourmet Magazine…..I then often wonder if I am doing some involuntary Vulcan mind transfer….
Angelika
Mexico City
I caught some weirdness at a bead store too once. I was browsing (yes because the yarn store is closed on monday), examining some beads that are sold together on a string. I told the shop owner I was thinking about incorporating beads in my knitting or maybe my handspun, to which she replied, “Well you can’t use them like that. You have to take them off the string first.” Huh?
I once got a babysitting trip to Jamaica – 2 weeks no less. Awesome coup Sam!!!
Tartan Vesper Jaywalker – perfect combo. 6.0
Beads are cheap. Until you go to John Bead http://www.johnbead.com/ & get an account. Well, now I’ve said it and it can’t be unsaid. I’m sorry. Well, not really, but I thought that I should at least say it in the interest of appearing contrite.
Steph – put the beads on with a crochet hook one at a time when you need them. It’s way easier than stringing them all on. Especially when you’re recovering.
The bead store warning came too late – I had already figured out that I could make stitch markers with beads, and from there it was a short leap to earrings, and an even shorter jump to signing up for a bead store mailing list, and I fear only a hop to figuring out how to make bracelets and necklaces.
Manhattan has four bead stores (all within 2 blocks of each other) and Brooklyn one bead store that I’ve found so far. Total dropped at bead stores in the past month: ummmm…about $150. But I did make 6 sets of stitch markers and 10 pairs of earrings from that. With more beads and supplies left over. Heaven help me.
Thank goodness I always wear cowboy boots. Wearing secretly gorgeous handknitting socks is one thing – scraping all of the painstakingly attached beads off of them each time I put the boots on is simply not an option. No beads for me! Of course, there are always scarves…and shawls… and sweaters…oh, help! And I join the native chorus of “Sorry, Canada, the US is just…rude.”
LOL – Ok, in my usual wordy fashion, I left a long post with some beading info, and revised and previewed the durned thing so often that it got held for approval. So when you see that? There’s a how-to on making your own beading needles in it. (Really, there’s no need to buy the suckers.) And a link to a site with instructions on making your own cheap beadspinner, too. Might come in handy for other knitters taking up the beading thing.
*Now* I’ll shaddap. 😉
To get beads onto yarn: take a length of thread ~30cm, fold it in half. lay the yarn over the fold, then insert both ends of the thread through the bead and pull the yarn through.
For threading the beads on there, can you find some very fine wire with which to make a needle? That would do the trick. Or, [sorry] another trip to the bead shop to procure a wire needle that has an eye that squishes down to fit through the beads after you get the yarn in it.
I hope you are feeling better soon. Good luck!
beads, knitting, passport, beads,Queen St. beads blah blah blah,
EGGS, w.t.f ?????
Are you stoned, am I not stoned enough?
Eggs……..
Please, let me apologize for our government. I can see what they had in mind when they instituted the passport thing… but please. January 20, 2009 is getting closer everyday. Maybe I’ll just move to Canada with you. I could handle 53 day summers…
If you don’t use up those beads knitting, check out the knitted wire napkin rings on Knitty.com. I’m even tempted…
The eggs, well I just don’t know. I hope it’s egg salad sandwiches on wholemeal bread but I don’t usually sterilize and style them as you’re doing. Hmmm…
Xcato knives and eggs…………..what the hell are you doing over there. Stand away from the eggs and xcato knives(I have never shown you the scars from my own Xcato knife and a pumpkin)
Dear god girl go to bed till the hot lemon drink is gone.
Promise, no mor Xcato knives and………….EGGS.
I fourth (fifth? sixth?) the nail polish recommendation. Just dip the end in, let it dry (this is key to the process), and if it’s stiff enough it will poke right through the beads. If it’s not stiff enough, dip again, let dry again, rinse, repeat.
Dental floss threaders are fabulous for stringing beads. You can get a package at Shopper’s for cheap:) Try a different bead store. Even in puny little halifax, the staff in the one and only decent bead store can tell me which beads are 6s and 8s etc.
My bets are on psanky for the eggs. Gotta be smooth to get the fine lines and room temp or the wax won’t adhere.
I just took a fine piece of fishing line about 4 inches long, folded it in half and knotted it. I ran the yarn through the loop and left a long tail (lest the yarn fall out of the loop). I then trimmed the two ends of the fishing line above the knot and started threading seed beads. It’s the only think I’ve tried because I don’t know any better!!! It worked on sock yarn!
Count me among the “Big Eye” needles proponents. Indespensible, and made for the very job you’re talking about. I’ve used it and wouldn’t dream of stealing the floss from the bathroom. Plus, really, in the scheme of things, cheap. Buy two – you’ll lose one and be glad for the other. Downside is the second trip to the bead store. Add yarn to the list of things you don’t bring to a bead store. Suddenly, against your will, you will be matching, or contrasting it, wondering if the sparkly beads or matte finish ones are better. A slippery slope… just sayin’…
How much do I love 13-yr-old Jenni’s comment?
A lot.
I’m glad you’re feeling better. What part of Mexico is Sam visiting? I’m in Cd. Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Tx.
Easy way to get beads threaded……. Get the kids to do it 🙂
For the beading:
There’s these thingers to thread dental floss through braces and bridges and what not. They’re basically a needle for the floss, but very thin. I have some that are a little thinner than embroidering floss that would definitely fit through those beads with the yarn folded in the eye of the thinger. Try that?
I use fishing line for beading yarn. It’s a lot sturdier than dental floss and comes on great big spools for like a dollar. I believe that there is an issue of SpinOff that talks about it, I’m just not sure which one.
PS. I’m the one that gave you the beaded mohair when you visited Portland, Oregon.
Steph…no time to read all the posts as I am about to (hopefully) go off on a date with Mr. Sandman after a loooong day plus long commute. So pardon me if someone already posted this suggestion. BUT! This is how I thread beads onto yarn:
Light a candle. Let the wax melt a little.
Dip end of yarn in hot wax.
Allow to cool a little until wax is pliable.
Twist and narrow end of yarn into needle-like shape that will fit through bead hole — it will look like the end of a shoelace, only twist the end of the yarn to make it pointy and tightly twisted, narrower than the yarn itself.
Allow to harden.
Thread beads.
Snip off waxy end when done.
HTH
Dez
Get some clear nail polish and paint the very tip of the yarn to make a stiff “tip” and use that to thread your beads…or get a #13 crochet hook and crochet them on! 🙂
PS – I have a “crochet method for beaded knitting” tutorial on my blog side bar for all the info/support you might need!
Got so busy with bead suggestions, forgot to comment on the eggs: you are either going to blow the contents out so you have hollow eggs to decorate and make HUGE beads for super-bulky beaded knitting, or you are making your own homebrew flu vaccine?
oops, I forgot the eggs too…Ukranian Eggs for Easter!
Hello Stephanie. I can’t even imagine what you are going to do with eggs. I just wanted to say, I got a very nice card from a man who was a senior with DWB, and he said he was your brother in law. His name was Ben, I believe. Anyway, I would just like you to know, he sent a lovely card, personalized and everything. I don’t know how I can get to tell him thank you, but if you can tell him for me, please say thank you to him.
–Cheryl from Cape Breton.
My local bead shop (just a walk away) is run by a LOVELY couple. They are great and very helpful..Guess I am tad lucky… 😉
My kids (4 and 7) are shockers in the bead shop..they want to buy lots!! Good thing they have free colouring in piccies and pencils to distract.
As for threading…I dont know am yet to get that far…One day I hope.
Hope you are feeling real better real soon.
Katt
Mr Crumpet sent me a link to this Achewood comic one day… perhaps it was a hint? I can’t tell…
whoops — link didn’t work — here it is http://achewood.com/index.php?date=04112005
May I show you an $85USD glass bead? Knitting related, even! http://smartassglass.com/recent-3.htm
And towards the bottom of this page http://smartassglass.com/recent-2.htm in the RoadKill series, and also %85: The Silance of the Hams. Yes, funny, punnish glass beads in the form of a pig with tire tread marks…
Sharon Peters rocks.. I think you’ll like her.
And no, I’m not affiliated with her in any way.. I’m just a maker of $25-$60 beads, and know that THIS woman has amazing skills 🙂 (who, me? Encourage addiction to art glass beads? Nooooo, you must be mistaken.)
(makes me wonder if there is a lace-knitting master out there who is knitting puns into her shawl repeats?)
Hope you feel better soon.. thanks for the reminder about the passport, mine expires this year, and I’ll have to figure out the lead time to get it replaced in time!
I’ve knitted up one Winter’s Eve sock – I used haematite (coloured) beads. Very pretty but get used to the idea of LOTS of reverse sticking stitch… I should stick a pic on my blog.
Do you guys have fuse wire there? We get it in two weights on a little card, and the thinner one is perfect for threading beads. You cut off a little bit about 6cm long, bend it in half about 5cm from the end of the yarn and squish it odwn on the yarn so it is held in place, hold the two ends together then thread the wire through the beads and slip them over the wire/yarn bit. Most of the beads will slide right over but some are duds and not quite big enough. HTH your poor flu-fuddled brain.
Babysitting in Mexico? What a gig!
Ukranian painted eggs
i think you can dip the yarn in hot wax and then swirl it tight to make a wax-yarn-needle. i did this when i was small to thread too small of needles with too large of threads/yarns– but then i pressed it flat.
love the socks
For knitting with beads: Contact Marcia Cross at Threadbender in East Lansing, MI. I hear you’re going there soon anyway. . . I took one of her classes on knitting a lace shawl with beads and got a couple really clever tools. I ended up beading Birch – beauteous!
~ Steph
I just completed my first adventure in knitting with beads (complete with threading them onto the yarn) and I used the directions included with the following Knitty pattern:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/PATTmaryella.html
It turned out very well and, though it was time consuming, it was very easy to do! Good luck and enjoy your shiny beads! I hope that you feel better very soon…
I join into the chorus of Americans apologizing for the passport mess. I remember that joke about the 3 biggest lies and one of them was “I’m from your government and I’m here to help you.”
Pity me – not only am I a knitter, crocheter and beader, I also work with polymer clay. Imagine my yearly craft/yarn/bead store expenses. I kid myself by thinking that I “save money” by making gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Here are some beads for you all to check out:
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZpatiQ2awalton
Yep, as I post this the current bid is $355USD. Go to http://www.patiwalton.com to see more examples of her work as well as John Olson’s. No, I don’t own any of Pati’s beads, but I do have one of John’s he was selling for a mere $20 at a show because he didn’t like the shape. So a $7 bead? Oh, Harlot, that’s chump change.
PS. I got a $30 flu shot in October. Then a week before Xmas, I got the flu.
I’ve done quite a bit of knitting with seed beads.
Your easiest solution is to buy them prestrung, on hanks, and slide them onto the yarn.
Failing that, a bead spinner and one of those big-eye needles (which you should be able to find at craft stores–check the embroidery/cross stitch section).
Or you can sort of fudge a bead spinner with a small bowl or round-ish margerine container. Look at the animations at http://www.7echoes.com or http://www.beadcrochet.com that show how to use a bead spinner, and you can kind of see. By dragging the big-eye needle through the beads, it picks up more than you’d expect. I had a lot of physics in college, but didn’t believe it till I saw it.
Now, if your beads are proportionally big, that might not work as well….but I still recommend the big-eye needle…..
Jaywalker is definitely a viral pattern – I’ve made three pairs myself, and am drawn to it every time I use striping sock yarn!
A knitter’s way to make fancy eggs –
http://www.curlypurly.com/eggs.html
FYI – I read that the best day to hit the passport office, dmv, etc. is Thursday. For some reason, the lines are supposed to be shorter on Thursdays. Go figure.
Let’s combine everything here. Pysanky up those eggs, then string them and knit the world’s largest beaded sock.
I think you’re going to need a lot more eggs.
Love the Jaywalker.
But did I miss something? What in heck are the eggs for? I mean, personally I eat them, but I don’t treat them with vinegar and exacto knives…
I hope, you have some pets, so you could go to your vet, let him or her do something to your pet and ask , if he or she would be so kind, to give you a piece of surgical wire. that`s what i use, to get beads on yarn. you form a U with the wire, put the yarn through it, pull the wire through the beads and the yarn will follow.
hope you will soon feel better
claudia
I love knitting with beads. Floss threaders are by far the easiest for me. I also use the crochet hook technique. Each method gives a different look so experiment.
You can make a self-needle by snipping the end of your end at an angle, then coating it with clear nail polish or a bit of glue. This is less effective than using a bead needle, but it works. In addition to the twisted wire needles another commenter mentioned, Big Eye Needles do wonders; they are stronger and don’t flop around like the twisted wire. And you can seem them. (Big Eye’s can be found in bead and craft stores.) Last but not least, you can attach sewing thread to the yarn with a square knot, then use a regular sewing needle to slip the beads over the knot and onto the yarn. This technique is usually used when transferring beads that come on a hank rather than loose. Feel better!
Don’t tell me about passports. Mine got stolen in the robbery. I can get a new one only in the place of my permanent residence meaning the place where my parents live. It takes a month to make it. There will be some data containing idiotic chip in it. I resent the modern technologies….(Luckily, no chips in my ass needed.) The concerned office works only on Mondays and Wednesdays, six hours a day. Normal people work Monday through Friday, eight hours a week.
Luckily we are in Schengen from January 1 so I can use my ID for time being and the tomorrow’s trip to Vienna… but anyway. I hate offices.
I am guessing that you’ve decided to give up knitting and take up Ukrainian egg painting?? As if!
are you doing Hungarian Pysanky? Wax resist dyed eggs? Blowing out the eggs then (once they’re clean and dry) creating a clever egg net with beads and knit yarn?
Or just blowing them out, dying them, then filling them with confetti and closing off one end for tossing at people (seriously, there is a celebration like that in Spring).
First to Linda V.–my Bruce St. John Maher bead was $75 US, but I couldn’t resist. It is a stunning forest scene. I wear it on a rope crocheted with black size 15 charlottes. Yes, I am crazy.
For threading beads on yarn….big eye needle. Cheap at Michaels. Easy peasy, but deadly because it is pointed on both ends.
Very strange – tried to comment this morning but kept getting sent to a blank page.
Anyway, love the stripes on the Jaywalker (even though I don’t normally ‘go’ for orange).
And, yes, this is a most contagious sock pattern. Knit four pairs last year.
Are you serious? With the amount of wire that Joe has strewn around the house you can’t fashion a bead threader? Look in the basement…
If you are desperate to string beads, strip the paper off a twist tie and bend the wire into a “V”. Tuck the yarn end into the “V” and poke the two wire ends through the beads. Instant bead threader.
just so you know, this Knitter is totally clueless as to what you’re doing with the eggs. painting them bright colors and juggling them, maybe?
on the other hand, i totally understand your bead fetish. they’re small, shiny, pretty, and come in all shapes and sizes. living in southern mississippi (and northern louisiana), i am constantly having to justify my love for beads, “string” (mind you, if anyone calls yarn “string” they must suffer my wrath), and “sticks”.however, this Knitter stands strong. this Knitter wouldn’t fall into a trap-
“…say, those are some beautiful beads! forty dollars? sure! and that yarn there- how much is that?…”
-of spending millions on shiny and knittable objects. be brave, dear steph, be brave!
I just use an ordinary needle and cotton, put a knot in the thread so it has a loop. Thread the end of the yarn through the cotton loop, and push the beads off the needle, cotton, and onto the yarn.
I’ve done it with different yarn weights as well as bead weights.
Ultra super smooth eggs?? I wouldn’t hazard a guess!
Having had a cold for nine weeks (yup, nine, maybe it’s the pregnancy thing) I’m with you on the weakend condition thing. I signed up for two sock clubs this year–STR and Sundara Petals. What was I thinking? I don’t remember, the sudafed must have taken over!!
Use a thin piece of wire. Bend it in half, leaving an ‘eye’ to thread the yarn through in the middle and then twist the ends of the wire together tightly.
Or you can use glue to ‘stiffen’ about 3-4 cm of the end of your yarn (let it dry) and then with a razor blade cut an angled/pointy ‘tip’.
Be very glad you never got into beads… sigh. At least they don’t take up as much room as my fiber does.
Someone might have already told you this … I didn’t read all the comments … but dental floss threaders can be found in any drugstore and are cheap, cheap, cheap. They are thin plastic hoops and come maybe a dozen in a package. They are used to get dental floss between teeth that have braces on them. Go to the drugstore & make beading yarn [and life] easier on ya !
Oh ya … they really work too.
Well, if you were Ukrainian the next step would be getting out the beeswax and the kitska. Because who needs to blow out the egg anyway? That’s for wusses. Much more exciting to wait for the egg to dry out and hope for the best (no hockey-playing cats, no children with slingshots) in the meantime…..
I am also doing the Jaywalker socks. In yours, the pattern shows up more clearly. Mine is Regia Line Steps colour, and I get a narrow stripe every so many rows in the zig-zag pattern. It is going to be very pretty.
About the passport? There are advantages to living in the back of beyond, you know. I just mail things in, and they eventually get back to me. It beats standing in line forever and ever.
Glad to hear that you are feeling better.
Katherine
Number 6 nearly made me wet myself. I love that. (Don’t worry, I recovered before anything bad happened. I am at work, after all.)
Beaded socks! I never thought of that. Besides the Kitri socks, where the beads are on the cuff and not next to the skin, have you made other beaded socks before? If so, are they comfortable to wear? I have done the bead-store thing, having been an almost 13-year old girl myself once. I still have a bead stash, although it is small and none of them would likely fit on yarn that isn’t laceweight.
I haven’t read all the comments, maybe somebody beat me to this, but I can recommend a “tiered” approach: Put thread through a needle, then tie the thread to the yarn. THe needle will pick the beads up quickly and then they’ll just slide down the thread and then down the yarn. Voila!
My guess is that you’re going to dye some eggs and make Pysanky. I did that a number of years ago and became obsessed with it. When I have time, I’d really like to get back to it. I have all the materials.
I see Joan H. (and probably ten or twelve others) beat me to it, but I bet you’re making pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs). That would mean hot wax, dye, repeat ’til done, then melt the wax off (my favorite step) and blow the innards out. (Of the egg. Not of yourself.) It’s just about as addictive as knitting, but (with the dye and the open flame and all) not quite as portable.
Have fun, feel better.
Aww… hope you feel better soon and get your energy back, can’t wait to see what you do with the beads. Haven’t tried beaded knitting for myself yet.
Rebecca
I am sure someone has mentioned this but… a beading needle! They have it at the bead store… if you dare go back. Otherwise you can take a piece of thin gauge wire and fold it in half with the yarn in between. That’s what I did for my size 10 beads!
I once bought beads loose in a container. Then I discovered beads that are sold on string – I’m never going back!
Yeah…what are the eggs for again? Dental floss threaders would be PERFECT, though…and since my kids don’t seem to be using them for the hardware on their teeth…no…must not find another hobby…I mean, I just bought yarn with chiton in it–I’m committed to this one!!!
I’m reading at work, so I can’t go through all 171 (!) comments to see if someone else has said this already…
If you want excellent bead store customer service go to Sassy Beads on Bloor between Davisville and Eglinton. They’re fantastic.
ooooh ooh ooh, say it’s pysansky! please!
To string the beads, take a 3 or 4 inch piece of thin wire, fold it in half. Place the yarn where the wire folds, and twist the wire together. Instant needle.
I’m sure you have already lots of suggestions on how to thread beads onto yarn, but if you want pictures of one way to do it, you can look at the bottom of the following page:
http://www.parlplatsen.se/sidor/hantverk/sticka/sticka.shtml#Parlpatradare
All the text is in Swedish, but the pics are pretty self-explanatory. You make a loop out of thin sewing thread, use as thin a needle as you can, and make a noose with the thread to catch your yarn.
I hope you get your strenght back soon, those bead stores have a way of dragging you back again and again, and each time your resistance is a bit lower… I’m fairly new to knitting, so my yarn stash isn’t that big yet (although it is growing faster than my boyfriend likes – we live in a small apartment), but my bead stash… (on the plus side, beads don’t take up much space).
Cindy In Happy Valley: Ha! Thank you, I don’t feel so guilty now! Mine was lampwork from Margaret Zinser, http://www.mzglass.com. It is goregous, and Margaret was a delight to meet and talk to. I’m going to google the artist who made yours now . . .
Get a long beading needle. You didn’t get one? Oh my! Well, go back to the bead store and get one. Get a needle that is advertised as one big eye needle, or the one that has an eye that collapses as it goes through the beads.
Are the bead holes large enough to allow you to use the yarn you want to use? If so, just use the yarn to thread one of the long needles, and start putting the beads on your yarn.
Or you can tie a piece of thin string to the yarn, then string that string through one of the needles, and start stringing on beads, and gently pushing them onto the yarn.
Or, you can use a bead spinner. You don’t have one? Quick. Go to the bead store!
It should have some very long needles with it. One needle end will be curved. The other end will have a very big eye in it. You fill the bowl with beads, gently put the curved end of the needle into the bowl, spin the bowl, and watch as the beads make their way up the needle. It’s magic!
Too funny – I have that exact same bowl! I bought mine at Uwajimaya, which is a gigantic Asian grocery store here in Seattle.
My bowl used to have a mate – FYI, these bowls are rather less shatterproof than one might hope. (Stupid wood floor.)
I use quilting thread to string the beads, which is stiff and strong and works pretty well. You can use a scooping motion with the thread with the beads in your hand, and then transfer them from thread to yarn.
Beads…Ukranian eggs and of course knitting. I’m terribly jealous that you’ve actually gotten to the Unkranian eggs. I’ve wanted to make them since I was little (over 30 years ago) and a Ukranian woman gave me a couple of them. They were hard boiled and unsavable but I will never forget the look of them. Haven’t been able to find time or materials to make them since, although I have to admit I’ve had other priorities. Maybe when my small children are teenagers…