Help Save the Bead Museum!!!!

The Bead Museum in Glendale, AZ is in danger of closing after 23 yrs.

We can’t let this happen!!!! As an amazing national (and international) resource, this would be an enormous loss to the bead community as well as to historic and cultural reseachers. This is only museum in the world dedicated to the preservation and research of beads and beaded artifacts. The Bead Museum’s collection rivals( and in several instances surpasses) cultural anthropology and archeology exhibits in the Smithsonian or Peabody museums. The museum’s most rare beads are 40,000 years old.

To find out more about the museum’s situation, read here. From the Bead Museum website: 20 ways you can help it from closing. Their website mainpage has a paypal button you can click and send a donation. Also, the wonderful people at Interweave has made it easy and quick for everyone to make a $5 donation thru their website to help keep the museum doors open.

I’ve been to the museum the one time I was in Phoenix. It’s really amazing museum and resource for jewelry artists. I encourage all my readers to help save the Bead Museum by doing what you can, and helping to spread the word.

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It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]

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Have you read?