Beads, Buffalo, Beetles and A Blessing!

You may ask what these things have in common and the answer is simple: absolutely nothing. However they do offer a brief description of my week.

Last week I shared all my dilemmas with my readers and fortunately they have since been resolved.

I will begin with the destroyer of my garden - The Japanese Beetle! Turns out that these little guys are having a great summer due to our mild winter and early spring. The good news is that they can be controlled but the bad news is that the insecticide that works the best also kills bees. Obviously, I will choose an organic method as I don't want to harm the bees - they are already struggling for survival.

The blessing came in the form of a kind repairman who came out on Monday and perfumed CPR on my ailing washer. It was the highlight of my day!

Beads and bracelets have become my knitting girls favorite pastime. In fact, they are knitting them faster than I can put them together! Here are some of their latest designs:

Madeline made this one out of red and orange beads.

Elena shared her design.

And Erica showed off hers.

Finally, I will share my Buffalo story. Last week, Steven Berg of StevenBe gave me a gorgeous hank of Buffalo Down and Merino Wool. For lack of a better word I have to say that it is fabulous! Although I've knit with luxury fibers before, this is one my favorites. Buffalo is a bit pricey but what most knitters do not realize is that it's a resilient fiber that stands the test of time. It's great for cowls, hats and mittens.

I found the perfect pattern for it on Ravelry called "A Very Braidy Cowl" and I'm having a lot of fun knitting it!

Are you wondering what the green yarn is for? As you know, there are many methods one can use to graft 2 pieces together. The method I am using on my cowl is done with waste yarn (I'm using leftover Fantasy Naturale). Once I've completed it, I won't bind off. Instead, I'll knit another few inches with waste yarn just as I did on the other side. I'll use the Faux Kitchener Graft and then unravel the waste yarn when I'm done. The seam will be flawless and I won't need to go back and adjust the stitches like you do with traditional Kitchener Graft.

For a video tutorial on how to do the Faux Kitchener Graft, click below.

Well, that pretty much wraps up my adventurous week...I wish you well with your knitting adventures!