Noro Iroha and beaded eyeglass holder

This Noro Iroha yarn has been sitting in my stash long enough now. It's 70% cotton, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon so would be excellent for my daughter only she is not into vests as I don't have enough of it for more.
The eyeglass holder was started last night from a kit of Toho that I bought in Tokyo last year before I had started beading and at that time the instructions made no sense. Now it's pure fun.
I was using a Clover tunisian crochet hook in metal for another project but had to go to knitting as the hook was very soft and really bent so it wasn't any fun to use it anymore. But it was a great hook otherwise. Anyone know where I can buy it again?

Caught some fish

I finally caught some fish.

first earrings

My daughter wanted earrings so this is my first pair from the Beadwork earrings book. I also finished a pair of socks for her using some Swiss yarn that got started at least a year ago.

hat

This is a hat using the Zilboorg vest pattern and leftovers. I hope you can see the closeup from the scan. It's a simple 6 row slipstitch pattern and could work with lots of yarns and colors. I enjoy wearing the vest and hopefully the hat but right now the weather is much too warm.

I'm busily crocheting a sweater in baby Grignasco yarn that I bought in Hongkong. I started the front in tunisian crochet and when the Clover hook bent on me, I switched to hdc for the back. I'll probably do something else on the sleeves.

My daughter arrived this week for a fast visit and was interested in my beading. I showed her a bracelet for class that I managed to do wrong twice. The joke is that she looked at the pattern and saw I had done the beginning wrong so now I have to restart from the beginning. I think she was very proud of herself for spotting my mistake and also enjoying th e whole thing too. More bead books arrived this week and I also found where my teacher took that bracelet pattern. It was a Japanese book that I happen to own. The instructions in the book are much easier than the teacher's were.

Ruffled rondelles

This was an unusual pattern in the Dec 2005 Bead and button by Maiko Kage of Japan. I made the 6 rondelles but had to remove one as it was too big for my wrist so now I have the start of either a pin an earring, or necklace, etc.

Class was not as interesting this week as we were assigned bracelets pretty much as in the first session of classes. The difference is that now we are using Beadalon nylon wire and adding embellishments plus using some crystals.

Teacher wouldn't tell me where the necklace pattern came from. Bummer. She also criticized my work which was fine with me. I certainly need help. The good part is that I'm making progress with the wirework. Beadstyle now begins to make a lot more sense to me. I still don't understand why they think it's simple. Not for me. I ran around yesterday and today buying some large crystals as I don't have any. We have two pretty good beadstores in town and both get their supplies from two different importers in Tel Aviv so there is a good selection. I try to avoid Tel Aviv, especially driving there.

Knitting: Yes I'm knitting a lot as now is the "winter" season here. I started the Zilboorg "Rosemary" sweater is the Liisu mohair/wool yarn. I really like this wool a lot as it has a very good strong feel to it. The Allspice vest was in the same yarn. For the pattern, I didn't like the way she does the Alsacian scallops as she changed Mary Phillips original pattern by knitting in the back of the stitch to twist it. But she managed to really complicate what is basically a simple pattern; so I dug out my Phillips book and am doing the scallops her way. I also had to rewrite the whole pattern due to my looser gauge so I'm now thinking about changing the sleeves to a raglan.

instructions and a whine

This a part of the instructions I got in class for the necklace below. If anyone recognizes the source please let me know as I would love to buy it. It's wirework, not netting.

Whining: Actually I'm in a great mood today. It's gorgeous outside and plenty of sunshine in my workroom. I just located a book with a pattern used by Zilboorg in her sweater I'm about to start and this pattern is much easier than hers. Yesterday I got FC easy crochet 2005. What annoys me is that every yarn in the magazine is Bernat but nowhere did it indicate that (not on the cover, not on the website, etc.) So I regard this magazine in the same way as I do the Lion brand stuff: with much loathing. Even though I do like Patons merino. I also got the fall Knitters and there is nothing I want to make, not even a hat. And they write I am entitled to one more issue still. More suffering to come. And finally yesterday I got the Sept/Oct Step by step beads in a plain white envelope. This must have been their second mail to me as the first one in a see-through never reached me; but meanwhile (hence the whine) I already ordered and received this copy from Beadbabe.

Well the mail today was considerably better; the new Bush sock opus. I want to compare it to the books I have here with similar patterns to see how they got changed and which ones I already have in my collection. I also got a book on beaded flowers French style and it calls for some kind of wire used by flower stores and I have no idea where to buy it either.

But in a few hours Israel is taking me out for Italian food at this place that really reminds me of Italy back in the late 50s. Life is good.

homework

This was my homework from bead class. It's the first homework I actually completed and the hardest one too. It took me almost the whole 2 weeks between classes as I had to go buy all the missing stuff. I'm still not pleased with the 4mm jumprings I bought.
If anyone recognizes this pattern, I'd like to know where it came from as I'd love to buy the book with it.
Knitwise: I'm working very nicely now on a butterfly pullover from Lori Ihnen's book of last year. I can only do about 3 circular rows a day as the fairisle design requires constant referral back and forth. I discovered in my supplies a great magnet kit from Clover that I bought in Hongkong. It sits on the pattern so I can at least find the right row. The fairisle pattern is 60 rows and I figure it will take me another 3 weeks. But after that, the rest of the sweater is just stripes and should really move quickly and then I will have a lovely sweater for me.
But I also went back into my unfinished sock collection and finished 2 of them after I gifted Israel with 3 pair of socks. He is so happy with them as they really keep his feet warm.
He kind of reminds me now of Woody Allen in the movie Annie Hall which I watched again last night. And I must be his Annie. I am as far removed from his culture and upbringing as is Annie from Woody. Instead of her singing I have my beads.

Zilboorg's Allspice finished

This was a lovely project and it went very quickly. The kit included 14-50 gram skeins of assorted colors and the pattern was a simple garter and slip stitch over 8 rows using 2 colors for 8 rows and then switching. Choice was mine. I also added pockets and buttons using different colors for each one. I bought the kit from Ellen of earthfaire.