Beads

During the design process I try to map out where I’m going with a design, how many rows and stitches, so that I can make sure I have enough yarn.

With this design I needed to do the same thing for the beads. I had the gold beads already, quite a few of them. I went online to remind myself how many 6/0 beads there are in a gram, about 15. Then I weighed what I had. I did the math twice for the number of beads that I needed and the first time came up with a huge number, Around 5oz was needed. Then I did it again and I had enough in my tube and a half of beads. Yay! The knitting, and beading, continued.

I was doing fine until I got to Course 4 and each beaded row requires 80 some odd beads. I’m looking at the half tube I have left and thinking this isn’t going to be enough.

I once again got out the calculator and the number of 6/0 beads per gram and figured out how many I need to complete this shawl.Way more than I have. So that big number that came out to almost 5oz was correct…

To the store I went. I took my half tube with me because it had all the info on it that I needed to choose my beads. The first beads that I found, that matched the gold were the same size tubes I had in my hand, they only had 2, I needed 3. Also they were almost triple the price of these other tubes, why? They were a special cut of bead. I knew what I had bought before wasn’t a special cut, just run of the mill beads. I put the special ones back but no gold in the run of the mill section. Then I looked some more and found larger tubes of beads, but still no gold.

I decided to shift to silver. I have enough gold beads left that I can “fade” the colors together and make it look like it is a design element.

As a designer you’ve got to be prepared to shift and pivot. I know that “pivot” is a word that is being used a lot these days, but it’s true. It reminds me of something my pastor in Aurora, Colorado taught us, “blessed are the flexible, for they will not be broken”. If you are ready for something to shift or change and you can pivot with it, the stress level in your life will be reduced. I’m not saying to compromise and just go with the flow all the time but being flexible where you can will give you the energy to be inflexible when needed. That went somewhere I didn’t have in mind.

In stitching and in life, prepare for change, be flexible and be blessed!

Happy making!