the suri plan

Y'all are so sweet, I just have to say. I really appreciated everyone's kind & supportive comments on my mopey Monday post. (Except Jessica's - she has a little problem with projecting her desire for another baby onto others - but that's neither here nor there). Hi Jess!

Last week at Stitch & Bitch I brought my drooly silky snuggly Brushed Suri alpaca yarn and my pile of beads with the intention of getting started on the beaded Suri scarf for my mom. I had planned to thread the beads onto the yarn, knit them in on the ends of the scarf, and put a little dazzle under the Xmas tree. Incredible luxurious softness + a subtle bit of glitter = Favorite Daughter status. Right? I should think so.

Alas, it was not to be so easy. Right from the start I knew in my heart of hearts that those beads were not going to thread onto that yarn - the yarn is too fat and hairy. I knew, but I chose to pretend it might work, even as I held the beads up to the light to examine the precise size of the hole, even as I tied sewing thread onto the yarn in a vain attempt to facilitate sliding, even as I yanked and tugged and eventually broke the yarn... more than once. Oh, optimism. How it has tricked me so many times.

The knitting comrades at SnB made several helpful suggestions, including using beading silk as if it were a carry-along. That seemed like a really good idea, so I stayed up late last Wednesday night trying to make it work, but the problem with that was a lack of friction. The Suri, she is so silky, and the beading silk... well, the name gives that one away. The two just wouldn't get together, so I wound up with strings of beads hanging on long loops of white silk like baby spiders launching themselves away from the scarf (you remember that scene in Charlotte's Web, don't you?). The effect was memorable, if not exactly wearable. I wish I had taken a picture (sorry).

So then my debit card started vibrating and it occurred to me that if I just ordered some more yarn, my problems might be over. Okay, so here's the new plan: lace weight alpaca! Yes! Surely I'll be able to string the beads onto lace weight alpaca yarn and use that as a carry-along! Sadly Blue Sky Alpacas doesn't make their lace-weight yarn in the same colorway, so I wound up ordering some Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud, in two different colors. Which one do you like better with these beads and the Suri?


on the left: gray beads or pinkish? center: pinkish lace yarn or grayish? on the right: the suri.

I still haven't made up my mind about the colors, so please send me your ideas. I'll let you know how the carry-along idea works. In the mean time, here's the latest progress pic of the Socktoberfest socks (I am really ready to move on to some color after this pair is done):