It's Alive!

It worked! It totally worked! I can't believe this little idea of mine, however simple, actually worked out! I had the idea a couple of months ago to knit jewelry from I-cord, but I wasn't sure what kind of yarn to use or how to execute it. I'd seen Judi & Co. Rayon Corde' in a yarn store here or there, and I always thought it was pretty but couldn't imagine what to knit with it. Then I saw the Superfestive Lantern pattern in the new Mason-Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines book. That project really got my wheels turning about putting the idea of I-cord jewelry with this mysterious, but stunning, yarn. I also ran across this scarf in Ravelry, which only further deepened my interest in the yarn. I began the hunt for it, but soon I discovered that it had virtually disappeared from almost every shop I'd seen it in before. Even Ravelry only lists one vendor that carries it! So I emailed Ann to inquire as to where she got the yarn for the book sample, and she graciously offered to give me the remnants of what she'd used for the lantern in the book. Fantastic!

The yarn lay untouched for the last several weeks as I debated about the best way to get my I-cord jewelry out of my head and into the physical world. Thank goodness for my recent urge to purge! In my sorting and tossing, I came across a necklace and bracelet craft set I'd purchased months ago at Wal-Mart. The clasps are magnetic, and one of the ends on each comes off so you can string beads onto the wire (see picture in previous post for details). I'd bought it with the intention of making beaded jewelry, but when I got the set home, I realized that the wires were too big to fit through the holes on the beads I'd wanted to use. So I tucked the jewelry hardware away, hoping to find a use for them later. When I found them the other day, I thought immediately about the Rayon Corde' yarn!

To accomplish this necklace and bracelet set, I simply cast on 3 stitches and knitted an I-cord, capturing the wire in each round. After the I-cord was long enough, I secured the ends, threaded the tail on a tapestry needle, and ran the tails through the center of the I-cord. I love how they turned out, and I'm excited to have something unique and beautiful to wear to show the world I'm a knitter! I have some ideas to branch out from this original idea, but they will have to wait for now. I'm very encouraged that this idea came to fruition so nicely. If you'd like to read more details about my I-cord jewelry, please head over to my Ravelry project page.

I had a bit of trouble with the edging on my Spiraluscious Cowl last night, but it was all user error. I finally got the hang of it but ran out of steam only about a third of the way through it. It's too bad because I really could have used it today! It was SO cold! Hopefully I'll be able to finish it tonight. We've got some pretty frigid weather days ahead of us here.