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March 20, 2006
On The Fringe
I woke up yesterday in a frenzy so I did the only logical thing. I started a new project. Using some of my very own handspun I made another Odessa, without beads, AND a purse with a clasp!
The idea for the purse came from Starting at the Fringe by Freyalyn Close-Hainsworth in Spin-Off Fall 2005 issue. For those of you who are not familiar with Spin-Off, I highly recommend it. I started reading it because in almost every issue they have a really interesting knitting and/or crossover into knitting pattern. In this issue I was drawn to the "handspun" fringe detail on very small knitted purses. At the tip of every fringe is a bead. See?
I'd also been wanting to make a purse with a clasp so I went for it. Now I have a confession to make. When it comes to following knitting instructions, I am usually in such a rush to actually be knitting, I usually skim over instructions and find my own way. Same went for the clasp instructions. So the purse is not technically perfect but I'm going to keep working on it because I really like both the beaded fringe detail and the clasp.
And guess what I found next to the clasps. The beads I ordered a few days ago for a fraction of the price. Silly me, I made the mistake of looking for these beads in the huge bead display. Not by the teeny tiny clasp display in the embroidery section. Sigh. A sign no doubt that I must finish my commission. But at least I have the smaller beads. Note the difference in size? The hole is exactly the same and works great with sport weight yarn.
I need to take a break. My hands are hurting. Almost two hats and one purse are a bit much for one day. I don't know what got into me but I had to knit and I had to knit with rich, saturated color. As you can see, I'm almost halfway with yet another Odessa using some more of my handspun. The yarn turned out so soft. The fiber is from The Fold and the yarn from ME! I can hardly believe it. It's hand painted Blue Leiceister and the colors were just what I needed.
