20-23.5.12 Reproduction trial of BeadMatrix Automn leaves Earrings

I don't remember how I came across these leaves earrings of Catherine Ross (BeadMatrix), but for sure I found them spectacular. Maybe it was through the Etsy beadweavers challenges.

Anyway, meantime that I am at home and I can rarely find the time to bead (yes, funny how in-obvious it became), I put them in my earrings wishlist to decipher.

They were more challenging than I thought and I still didn't solve how this beautiful creation was exactly beaded.

Here is my version, which is too curly to my opinion, but Omer loves it. There are several places which I didn't find the path to, such as the area next to the earwires. Still, I love the colors very much and just love this design!

Trying to reproduce a pair made me only appreciate more what a bright mind could design and create them.

19.5.12 Reproduction of Tamar (Pavie) Keny Very long Mandala Earrings

It's been some time that I have discovered Tamar's beadwork and Micromacrame jewelry.

Tamar is a friend of a good friend of mine, but I know her only virtually.

I found her tremendously talented and I remain speechless of the color combinations she has in mind!

Too tempted by her designs, I wanted to try her very long Mandala earrings.

I had a new shirt in black and pink dots that I wanted them to fit to.

The color combination I chose are very disappointing to my opinion, since they don't fit my skin color. They are really big as well. However, I like the presence look they give, but as I said, this is not the pair for me :-(
I should try another combo some day.

17.5.12 "Flame tree earrings" published in Kalmbach "Stitch Workshop: Herringbone Stitch, Basic techniques, advanced results"

This will be the third time now that the "Flame tree earrings" are published (1st, 2nd). Here on the cover page of the Kalmbach book I've just received "Stitch Workshop: Herringbone Stitch, Basic techniques, advanced results".

The article appears on pp. 45-47

3.5.12 Beautiful flowering cactus

I thought it was the 1st time I see this cactus flowering, but discovered that one year ago, it did the same.

The following ones were pictured on 10.6.12, one of the very few days in June this year where 4 of our cactuses were flowering at the same time, but not necessarily together. Some opened only in the afternoon. It makes a feeling of such a colorful summer!

28.11-3.12.11 Russian Hat for Beni's 60th Birthday

The project was done following  Eshchar's Blue Monkey Hat by Tara Murray with Double thread of Elza Yarn and Quadruple thread of Yasmin Yarn.

My brother in law suggested we offer my father in law a Russian hat for this birthday. That was a great idea and I warmly adopted it.

Here are the instructions in order to follow the version of the Russian hat I made, based on the Monkey hat pattern:

Rnd 9 – Ch 2, (hdc in next 7, 2hdc in next) around, join (72) 

Rnd 10 through Rnd 21 – Ch 2, hdc in each st around, join. (72)

Start on first earflap: 

Row 1 – Ch 2, hdc in next 18 (18) 

Row 2 – Ch 2, and turn, hdc2tog, hdc in next 14, hdc2tog. (16) 

etc… 

Row 7 – Ch 2 and turn, hdc2tog, hdc, ch2, hdc, hdc2tog. (6) This row will create the button hole. 

Row 8 – Ch 2 and turn, hdc2tog, hdc, hdc, hdc2tog. (4) 

Row 9 – Ch 2 and turn, hdc2tog twice. (2)

Fasten off and repeat earflap instructions for second earflap. The space across forehead 

should be 26 st’s wide.

Join in the back of hat and work sc’s evenly around the whole hat. 

In the front, between earflaps, work 9 rows of 26 hdc each. For the button holes, in the 7th row: hdc, hdc, ch2, keep working hdc till last 4 hdc of row. ch2 and work last two hdcs.

Omer modeling the hat

My father in law was happy to receive for his 60th birthday a set of binoculars, a comprehensive book on birds and this warm hat.

20-22.11.11 Eshchar's Blue Monkey Hat by Tara Murray

For the 6-12m size free Monkey hat pattern, I used a double thread of Berroco Comfort DK yarn and a 5 mm hook size up to round 12. I then switched to a 6 mm hook size from round 13 to 15 and started the first earflap row with 6mm, finishing the rest with 5mm only. 

For the ears, I just omitted the last round.

I love this smile!

31.7-12.8.11 Crochet Cables and Lace Broomstick Hat by Kristin Omdahl

Wouuuaaaou…. One Cotton thread skein was exactly sufficient for the hat (125m/50gr). 

This project is a truly charming and challenging design. 

I regret only one thing: the thread color I chose that makes me look so pale :-( 

I have learned so many things in this project. I managed after many trials to understand how to make the cable lace and it makes me feel really good about it. In order not to forget and also help others with the same difficulty, I have taken a short movie on how to do a module of the cable part from row 3 to 6.

In Row 9-120 I repeated row 3-6 15 times instead of 13, so to fit my head circumferences with the thinner thread I used as compared to the recommendation. It made this part 126 rows instead of 120. 

In the bottom edging I mistakenly worked on the WS, but it still looks fine. 

In rnd 1 of the hat body, I used a 20mm hook, which was an idea I took from MsCooper Ravelry member. 

I also skipped Rnd 4, since I had the feeling it would come out too high if I keep this rnd. 

Finally, after fastening off and pulling tightly with a yarn needle through the last row, the closure looked quiet ugly and not circular, but rather fluffy. Therefore, I added another rnd,just picking a loop in between each bundle of 4 threads, using 3 crochet hooks ( as if doing dp needle knitting) and then went through all with the tail remaining and pulling tight. This way, it looks much better.

Finally, the loop technique that was also new to me, together with the adaptations and the crochet cable technique that I’ve learned, gave me great satisfaction.