Sometimes Inspiration  happens in funny ways - like when the recent collapse of a huge pile of "STUFF" in my studio created some beautiful combinations I would never have thought of. Sometimes it happens in a stroll through a beautiful store, or leafing through a book or conversing with a friend. The Internet abounds with Inspiration

and the fruits of millions of creative hours. Lately,  gorgeous, colorful, complex Graffiti 

has been WOWing me. There's  just something afoot, this Spring, that reminds me of the wild Hippie days of the '70's. The Creative Spirit is SO ALIVE..

 It's easy to be a bystander and watch it all happen, BUT, to take a spark of Inspiration and fan it into a flame with your own two hands is to know true happiness.............or is that hippieness......  

 

Peace and Love,

     Experimental beaded knitting swatches 

Have you ever added beads whenever you felt like it, instead of stringing them all ahead of time? It's the best way, for lots of reasons, but can be tricky when your yarn is too fat for the holes in your beads. All it takes is a tiny crochet hook (small enough to fit into the hole in the bead) and some beading thread (matching or contrasting).

 

Knit the beading thread together with your yarn, then when you'd like to add a bead, follow these steps:

1. place a bead on your crochet hook

2. with the crochet hook, lift off just the beading thread loop from your next stitch (take it completely off the needle)

3. slide the bead down onto the beading thread loop

4. put the loop back on your knitting needle, trapping the bead below

5. knit the stitch (both strands together)

 

If you have flowers or leaves that won't lay properly with this technique, do not fear!!!! I will show you what to do in our next newsletter. (Or, come on in for a free demo.)

 

 

It's another in my infinite series of entrelac"Fairy Dust" bags, but this one also incorporates "knit one below" to make the pink and green stripes at the top. It's a super simple technique that makes a beautiful stretchy fabric (unlike fair isle knitting). The flowers and leaves are crocheted, and the straps are I-cord.

Well, here's a tiny part of my studio - probably the only part I can get to without taking giant leaps over mountains of STUFF....

 

Don't you love those gorgeous books about famous artists' creative spaces. They're so organized, with vast, clean counters and every conceivable tool right within reach... Is there ever even an unfinished project in sight? (I can count 14 UFO's in the  photo above.)

 

What's your space like? Big or small, neat or not, we're fascinated with these ultra personal spaces where the creative work gets done. We would love to post your photos on our website or link to your site. If you're willing to share, for the good of mankind, please respond to floril@florilegium.com