Shimmy

Ever buy a pattern off of Ravelry, read it as bedtime reading (yes, you do that) and fall in love with the writing?  No?  OK, maybe that's just me.  But I ran across Fringe with Benefits and this description right at the cast on: "shimmy bead" up to the stitch on the needle.

I've pre-strung beads (there's only a handful pre-strung in this pattern; the remaining are hooked on, phew) lots of times but never following a pattern that describes the process so well.  That darn bead does actually shimmy up the yarn.  (And if you're not careful, will shimmy right back down again, but we're all careful, right?)

After reading "shimmy bead," it was destined that I'd make Fringe with Benefits.  By happenstance (or my trip to Churchmouse Yarns last month), I had three skeins of SMC Tahiti in a new color, Wildfire:

It was a bright and beautiful day during our visit to Bainbridge Island and Churchmouse.  Or maybe I would have picked the brightest color anyway.  Hard to tell. My sister-in-law was along for the trip and I could swear she shaded her eyes during my purchase, but again, maybe I was imagining that.

For those of you who have nothing better to do than track all of my projects, you'll remember that I made this out of Tahiti that I nabbed last year in a color called Marble, a.k.a. black-to-white gradient

in what appears to have been a conservative streak, color-wise.

This particular Fringe with Benefits is destined as a gift.  I've photo'd it as best I can, though I think I'd have to be at least a foot taller to get the entire thing in one frame (I was standing on a stool as it was).  Here it is showing all but the really cool beaded edge:

Really cool beaded edge:

Close-up of beginning edge, including the shimmied beads:

I had such a good time making this design that I went back to Mindy Ross's designer page and picked out Reverse Psychology, which is now finished out of more Tahiti in a color called Bermuda (two island countries in one yarn name; can you beat it?).  When Reverse Psychology is blocked, I'll add some photos.  But Fringe with Benefits is hogging the blocking table at the moment. 

I've now begun a second Fringe with Benefits out of some Apple Tree fingering silk gradient (there happened to be a shawl-size skein in the Ready to Ship section that apparently had my name on it).  But I'm going to make this Fringe also reversible with some of the stitch patterns Mindy Ross used in Reverse.  Got that?  Concatenation of patterns.  Shimmy.  Today's knitting words.

LK