The season of sparkle

Regular readers may recall that I took a Butin Collar class with Laura Nelkin at Knitters’ Day Out back in September.  Thanks to that, a half dozen or so people on my holiday list are going to get sparkly jewelry.  My goal was to crank out most of those gifts over this long Thanksgiving weekend.  I’m a little behind, but I have finished three items and am into a fourth.

My mom likes red so this one was made with her in mind: I’ve got specific details about yarn and beads over on my Ravelry page if you’re interested in that sort of thing… This necklace is made with fingering weight yarn and it really is bigger and more substantial than the ones made with laceweight (duh!).  I should have taken a comparison shot.Another Butin Collar: this more somber color scheme is going to Cinda, whose favorite colors are black and charcoal gray.  This laceweight is left over from my Color Affection shawl.  The beads are a style called “inside color” – can you see how the outer layer is clear and only the inside is colored?  LOVE IT.This Ribband is for Pam, but I almost kept it for myself.  I do like green.  The laceweight is also left over from my Color Affection shawl, and I alternated two rows of green beads with one row of silver.  The Ribband can be worn as a single-strand necklace, a double-strand necklace, or a bracelet (wrap 3x or 4x). So versatile.  I wear mine a lot.  You can see the bead stripes really well here: I’m in the middle of another Ribband now – this one is going to my sister outlaw who is an artist and who loves ALL colors (she also looks great in bright, jewel tones).

Thanks to Jess for giving me the leftover laceweight from her … wait, I can’t remember which project and I can’t figure it out on Ravelry.  Jess, more photos on Rav, please!  This is the most cheerful shade of purple I’ve seen in a while.  It actually tones down the beads, in my opinion.

I’ve got a couple more of these cooked up in my brain and I hope to finish them in the next week or two.  I also bought the pattern for Mudra Cuff and I haven’t tried one of those yet.  Like Butin, it uses large and small beads (sizes 6 and 8).  Can’t wait to try that one, too.

I’ve also been at my wheel over this break.  I finished spinning the singles of my Fiber Optic gradiant roving and will set it aside to ply later.  Next I need to spin the contrasting solid color.  I want to spin it right away in hopes of consistency (that’s why I’m waiting to ply the first bobbin).  They will become a Spectra scarf, which I hope to knit over the winter break.

What have you been knitting over this long weekend?