Crocheted Yarn & Bead Necklace

At the January 2007 meeting, Karen M. showed us how to make these necklaces.




All evening, Karen kept saying that anyone can make these necklaces. You don't need to be an expert at crochet.

Ingredients :

• Crochet thread, monofilament line, 28 gauge wire, yarn or other stringing medium on which your beads, buttons and charms can be strung.
• Assorted beads, buttons and charms (pre-stringing is recommended)
• At least two different, three (3) yard pieces of “fancy” yarn. Eyelash works well for one of them.
• Crochet hook (s) appropriate to work with your stinging medium. (Karen will bring extras for those who do not have one)

In brief, here are the instructions (from Michele's notes):
1) String your beads. Take more thread or yarn than you think you'll need as the crocheting takes up more yarn than you'd think ...
2) Make a slip knot in your stringing medium and begin crocheting 4-5 inches of single crochet stitches.
3) Pull up a bead (already on the line) and crochet around it to hold it in place. Single crochet another few stitches and pull up another bead. Crochet around it to hold it in place. Repeat until you get to the end of your beads.
4) Cut the line and tie off the last crochet. Set aside.
5) Stretch out 2-3 yarns that are 2x as long as your crocheted bead string.
6) Fold the yarns in 1/2 and loop them together. At the center point, atttch to one end of your crocheted bead string. Use a safety pin to anchor your line and braid the yarns with the bead string, showcasing the beads and charms. (Remembering how to braid was the hardest part!)
7) Tie off at the end.
8) Attach a button for a clasp at one end. Create a loop at the other end, big enough for the button to pass through.
9) Fluff the yarns if using eyelash yarn.
VIOLA!

Tips from Karen :
* Use a button (shank type works well) as a clasp. This allows the wearer to double the necklace up as a choker.
* This is also a great way to recycle old jewelery.

Beyond neckwear, this has great potential for seaweed, garland, or any other number of embellishments.
--Posted by Michele

Conversations with Cloth January 2007

Happy New Year! We’re having our “White Elephant” Party on January 14th at 6:00 at Good Company (it’s a Sunday). Be sure to call Julie to RSVP if she hasn’t already talked with you!
Katy

Recap of November Meeting (November 30, 2006)
We met exuberantly with lots and lots of show and tell stored up from the last few months. Karen showed us her crocheted wire and bead necklace as well as a crocheted funky yarn and bead necklace that will be our January project! Marilyn showed us what “Paintstiks” can do, and we think this will make a good program this summer. Marilyn also had her jangly bead “hunting” bracelet to show, and Michele showed us her awesome completed thread scarf. She also showed us some jack o’ lantern wall quilts she’d whipped up with reverse appliqué and Soft Scrub discharge. Her “bubble boy” pictorial quilt of her son came for a visit…it’s quilted! Katy brought her work in progress from the Ellen Anne Eddy workshop she attended in October, as well as some pictures from her Ricky Tims quilt retreat in Colorado at the end of September. The silk waste “bits” she showed are called Bella Nonna petals, available at www.bellanonnaquilt.com.

Marilyn showed us how to make beautiful and EASY flower pins from silk cocoons. Michele offered some reminders on our blog—you can post to it by “invitation only,” so if you’ve lost Michele’s initial invitation email, contact her for another invite. To just read the blog, go to conversations-in-cloth.blogspot.com (yes, there’s no “www”). I post the newsletters there every month, sanitized to remove last names and contact information since it is publicly viewable.

Reminders and Announcements
We’re having our holiday party a bit late…join us Sunday January 14th at 6:00 at Good Company for dinner, laughs, and of course, our white elephant gift exchange. Bring a small wrapped gift (the funnier the better!). Preferably, this is something you find in your basement, but if you must shop, the limit is $5. The focus is more on GIVING a laugh than GETTING a gift! Please RSVP to Julie by Friday January 12th so she can reserve us a table.

Please remember to renew your membership for 2007 if you haven’t already ($10 covers newsletter mailing and a donation to the library in appreciation of providing meeting space). Katy can accept your dues at the party or the January meeting.

January Meeting (Thursday January 25, 2007) at the Menasha Public Library
Karen will teach us how to make her crocheted yarn and bead necklace. She assures me that this is “the easiest crochet stitch there is” and it’s appropriate for even a total novice. Supply list:

• Crochet thread, monofilament line, 28 gauge wire, yarn or other stringing medium on which your beads, buttons and charms can be strung.
• Assorted beads, buttons and charms (prestringing is recommended)
• At least two different, three (3) yard pieces of “fancy” yarn. Eyelash works well for one of them.
• Crochet hook (s) appropriate to work with your stinging medium. (Karen will bring extras for those who do not have one)

Please also bring your show and tell and your ideas for programs for 2007.

Upcoming Events
January 14, 2007: Dinner and White Elephant at Good Company, 6:00
January 25, 2007: January meeting, 6:00. Necklaces with Karen.
February 22, 2007: February meeting, 6:00. TBD.

Conversations with Cloth meets the last Thursday of each month at 6:00 at the Menasha Public Library.