One of my favorite designers of beaded shawls put out a call last week for testers and I volunteered. I can’t show you or tell much about it til the pattern is released. You know how difficult it is for me not to share what I’m working on but that’s the way it has to be.
Yarn for Test Knit
The yarn is 65% extrafine merino/35% silk and it’s supposed to be fingering weight but it’s seeming more like heavy fingering weight.
You may be able to see the beads on top of the yarn. Here’s a picture of them in their tub.
Beads
The beads are Racailles by Miyuki, translucent pearlized color-lined blue, size 6. I generally stay away from the color lined beads and hardly have any of them in my stash but these were perfect for this project.
The pattern shown uses 585.6 yards. My skein has 656 yards so I figured that would give me enough, even with my swatch but I’m getting about nervous about my yarn. I think I’m going to be so very close, even though I went down a needle size, and if I had to guess, I’d say I’m going to run out of yarn.
I love it when things like this happen. I only have two skeins of this yarn. It’s from a German dyer and look at the two skeins I have.
Two Skeins
The colors are not exactly the same but they’re close enough. The one I’m using is Secret Oasis and the other one is Young & Stylish. OK . . that doesn’t fit but it is a pretty color. I’m working towards the blue center so the outside of the shawl will be blue. If I have to use a few yards of the outer portion of the skein on the right, that will be just fine.
What are the chances of having only two skeins from a dyer and having them be so close. I ordered “just because” and am shocked I didn’t have one skein of blue/yellow and the other skein of purple/pink or something crazy like that.
Then . . the beads. the pattern calls for 981 beads. I have three containers of them. It looks like a lot more than 300 beads per container. I ran out of the first container after having used about 255 beads (but a few of them are down in the cracks of my chair). I doubt there are 45 in my chair but even if there had been 300, I would still run out so I ordered more beads and they should ship today. By the time I get to the blue yarn, I may switch to yellow beads anyway.
Having a stash of beads is like having any other stash. As soon as I use a color, I love it so much that I want to replace it. Hobby Lobby as some beads but I wish I lived near a huge bead store but it’s probably good that I don’t.
Ava says
Your ingredients look like they will produce a lovely shawl. I have a creative bug subscription ($4.95 / month) that I’ve had for a couple of years. There’s a beginner beat project on the site. I should try it.
Sharlene Barrett says
Nice gradient yarns you have! Not sure how much it would be to ship to USA but you should check out Blue Brick Yarns in Canada. She is a wizard of gradient yarns. I saw her at a vendor fair in June and fell in love with her yarns. I was fortunate enough to get single ply with Merino, Cashmere, & Silk that she doesn’t carry online typically. Take a look and I bet you’ll swoon over her colorways.
Joyce says
When you do a test knit, does the designer give you any instructions on the type of yarn to use other than the weight and maybe fiber? (ex: any fingering weight wool yarn) I think it would be fun to be a test knitter, but then I wouldn’t be able to set it aside if another shiny project came along. I would have to be loyal to that project. ;^)
dezertsuz says
That is beautiful yarn color, and I hope it is as wonderful to work with as it looks. My favorite bead store is in Sacramento, CA. I’ve been there in person, and it is absolutely fabulous. They do online, too. There’s a nice one here in Knoxville, and I shop there sometimes, but their main clientele is jewelry crafters. A lot of the beads can be used for either. Now I really want to see this, so I hope the pattern testing process goes quickly, and it’s on the market fast. =)