Portlandia: Sock Summit edition (Put a bead on it!)

Dear Shayne,

One of the classes I took at Sock Summit was all about beaded knitting. The absolute highlight of the class was the instructor, Sivia Harding. I feel silly to use this adjective, but it's the first one that comes to mind... Shayne, she is magical. Just magical.

Over the course of three hours, she managed to pull from her bag roughly 40 or so beaded knit samples (including, but not limited to: shawls, socks, mittens, gloves, sweaters, scarves and legwarmers) that simply blew the crowd away. And Shayne, these were all her own designs. Not only is she prolific, but I just love the way she gently encouraged us: "It's easy," she said softly, "Just try it -- it's not hard."

That's Sivia for you, quietly encouraging everyone to simply add some beads to our knitting. As if it's no trouble at all. She convinces the class with her gentle style and her magical bag of tricks. Yes! I can add beading to my knitting! Yes, I absolutely can!

We learned to make a pattern for some gorgeous beaded mitts in class, and we received a pre-beaded skein to start the project:


I'm not sure I'll make those exact mitts, but I do feel empowered to put some beads on my knitting! The biggest hit in the class was her pattern for a gorgeous pair of gloves called Fluency. A. May. Zing. If you click that link, you'll see the fingerless version in the bottom photo -- I am totally making those. I've already bought the pattern and have the yarn... now I just need the beads.

As for the title of this post and the joke I just could not get out of my head... have you seen the show Portlandia? Totally hilarious. One episode makes fun of the current craft trend to put birds on everything: Put a bird on it! During class, I kept thinking, "Put a bead on it!"

Put. A. Bead. On. It!

And I will! Stay tuned...

love,
kelly