How it all started: My bead and yarn journey
I attended a beaded tassel making course and was introduced to world of Czech pressed glass and Japanese seed beads and I was hooked. I had already been collecting mostly Italian glass; Murano and lead crystal cut glass vases and ashtrays by this stage and was blown away by these tiny Japanese seed beads and Czech pressed glass shapes. Online shopping was in its infancy in South Africa and there wasn’t anywhere to purchase them here. My first foray into the wonderful world of beads was through Bead Cats in the USA. [Carol Perrenoud & Virginia Blakelock were the main driving force to fire up the beading industry in the USA. They had one of the first mail-order bead businesses in North America. Since there were not many Bead Stores in the 1980’s, the two women toured the country in a 1975 Cadillac limousine making beads available to a growing number of enthusiasts as well as teaching.] Through a friend’s family member visiting SA I was able to bring in some pressed glass beads and 2 different colour mixes of Japanese drop beads and the rest is history.
My yarn journey like many other “yarnies” started when I was about 5 years old. I was very fortunate to have a grandmother and 2 great grandmothers to teach me how to knit, sew and embroider. I learnt how to crochet many years later, but knitting was my first fiber love. I took a 20-year hiatus from knitting thanks to the saga of 2 hand knitted sweaters been put on a time out mid project. (this is perhaps a story for another day). In around 2010, I hauled out the verkakte sweaters, frogged them and upcycled the yarn. My reasoning was if I didn’t catch the knitting bug, I was no poorer off. Needless to say, the bug bit hard. During my Rip van Winkel impersonation the knitting world had evolved into something totally new. Stunning indie dyed yarns, the most breathtaking fibers were available, both natural and manmade (none of those poly yarns that squeaked when you knitted with them and turned into saunas when you wore them). Knitting techniques that had been completely overhauled and all the new needles, notions and accessories to go with those yummy yarns and fibers.