The bead makes the Beeton; the button makes the glove.

Yes, there will be a podcast today tomorrow. Let’s just get that out of the way right up front. In fact, I shouldn’t be posting at all, as the podcast timer went “bing” about 42 minutes ago. Time’s a wasting.

However.

Will ya look at that. MORE KNITTING!

I know. Sometimes I am amazed, myself.

First up, Driving Miss Daisy Gloves, photography by Tonia (who’s home today with a very stiff upper back, and who would have rather been resting than taking photos, but there is no rest at all for the weary) modelled by yours truly. Yes, that is my new iPad, displaying the current incarnation of the pattern. (I’ll be revamping the layout on this pattern later this week.)

I knit these from Lion Brand Baby Alpaca and they are like BUTTAH. I knit the fingers longer than I usually do, leaving just the fingertip exposed. I think this is a reaction to the return of a standard chilly Welsh spring, after a month of glorious summer-like weather. The weather was so nice, for so many weeks, that I put all my winter clothes away. I think the extra long fingers are as much a response to that, as they are a sample garment for the Creative Glove Design classes I’m teaching in a scant few weeks.

So, the left glove is done, all but the button, and the right glove is, as you see in the top photo, sans fingers and about halfway there. I began with two full balls of Baby Alpaca, but gloves take such a small amount of yarn (another reason I love knitting them) that I might… just *might* be able to squeak the second glove out of the rest of one ball. I’ll keep you posted.

The button choice for these gloves, always an important decision, was made even more so by the pale colour of the yarn. My friend, Katie, who visited last week, pored over my button box with the sort of intense concentration that only a fellow button hoarder is capable of. Katie had never seen my button stash. She was impressed.

What you see on the glove in the third photo is the button short list, which includes a range of blacks, browns, and even a red. I thought I had made my mind up completely but, well, today anyway, I find myself undecided. It’s an important decision. The button really does make or break these gloves. I think it’s worth taking the time to get it just right.

Following Driving Miss Daisy off the needles, meet the new Mrs Beeton. In preparation for the classes next month I’ve knit a sample garment (again, using Lion Brand yarns; merino, and their kid mohair and silk) and I cannot tell you how glad I am that I knit this pattern again. Here’s why:

First, it’s one of the older patterns in my design library, and the pattern was not as well laid out as it would have been had it been designed today. In preparation for the beaded knitting classes I’m teaching I totally revamped the pattern. The pictures are now HUGE, and you can see every stitch, and the pattern is much easier to read than the old layout. Plus, it looks just great on the iPad. I love it on the iPad.

The real reason I’m so chuffed with Mrs Beeton today is that I’d kind of forgotten how delightful it is to knit with beads. Seriously. It’s one of the cheapest ways to add a little panache to your knitting (a tube of seed beads will set you back all of $3) and it’s so, so easy. Plus, beaded knitting has such a great weight to it. It’s substantial. And it sparkles. What is not to love? Nothing!

But know this: Which bead is as important a question as which button. Do not rush the selection process. The beads I chose this week tone perfectly with the kid mohair and silk yarn. They are a subtle choice. You can miss them altogether until the light catches them, just so, and they begin to sing. I love this about them.

If all that isn’t reason enough to break out the yarn, and start stringing beads, just listen to the upcoming podcast for details about an awesome tool that makes this project even better!

I really am turning on the mic now. Talk to you soon!