I wear a lot of black. It is a versatile color that is easy to dress up or down. It also serves as a great base for a dramatic piece of jewelry, a colorful scarf, or some great shoes. In fact, red is one of the best colors to spice up a black ensemble, and I wear these two colors together often.

Today, I decided to pull out a little black number: a three-quarter length knit top with a knit skirt. Comfortable, easy, and relatively all-weather (it is cold in my office, and it is hot/rainy outside) and I wore my black glasses (my favorite frames, by far) and a special little necklace I just put together.

This necklace was inspired by the work of textile artist Anni Albers (who also did some jewelry pieces). I bought the jewelry kit at MoMA during my last trip to NYC, saving it specifically for the metallics month of Project Spectrum. It is simple - made with a plain metal beaded chain and silver bobby pins. Yet, it is pretty dramatic, like a sunburst… and it looks pretty smashing with black.

Simple jewelry appeals to me the most. I like clean lines and shapes. While I truly appreciate and respect the artistry in wearable beaded art, I often am the most happy with a chain and a few beads (or bobby pins, in this case).

**Interesting side note: I was intrigued where the term bobby pin actually came from, and my little search lead me to this Word Detective post, stating that bobby pins were so called after of the classic “bob” hairstyle that many women wore in the 1920s. The pins were used to curl the hair and keep it out of the face; thus “bobby pin” was coined.

What kind of jewelry do you like?

My mom says "cute as a button" a lot; or the corollary "cute as a bug's ear" (you know, weird "Southern-isms"… I don't even think that bugs have ears, do they?)  So these little sayings stick out in my head.  But really, it is true.  Buttons are cute.  I love them. 

I saw this tutorial a few months ago and wanted to try it with some black and gray buttons I found last year at the thrift store.  The directions were a little ambiguous, so I "winged" it.  The final result: 

Alternate View

Unlike the tutorial, I used buttons of different shapes and sizes, so it looks different.  I used beading string (from the craft store) a crimp bead, and a regular clasp closure to secure all of it together.  It jingles when I walk, so you can hear me coming!  I like this one, but I see room for improvement.  I have some plans for some other button jewelry…  I met a crafter on Flickr who puts together the coolest button art and jewelry - I love .tomate's work! (see more of her wearable button art set here)

I have quite a button collection; I have inherited some from my grandmother's old button tin, as well as purchased many of them second-hand at thrift shops and yard sales.  I have purchased a few of them new, most specifically for knit projects, or more button jewelry. I arranged these in bags according to color - and I just used my whole black and gray stash for the necklace, so I will have to replenish those.

My favorites among the thrifted and inherited buttons

Simple and round, fancy and shiny - buttons always catch my eye!

I have also been inspired by another Flickr friend, Cosette of Cosymakes, who uses buttons and embroidery in her handknitting.  Much of the yarn that Cosette uses is repurposed from old garments, and she makes the knits beautiful again with simple stitching and button embellishments - I am particularly fond of her hats!

Inspired by the lovely colors for this month's Project Spectrum, I started an embroidery kit that I got on clearance at a craft store last year.  The colors are a light cream color, with a slight pink tint, and dark chocolate brown DMC floss. 

This is the DMC Linea Embroidery kit, which included this silk scarf with a light fringe and pre-printed lines for the stitcher to follow.  This is particularly helpful to me, as I have not embroidered or stitched in several years, and needed a good reminder of what goes into it.  I enjoyed doing this simple running stitch, and may need to pull out some of the books I bought a few months ago to re-inspire me for embroidery and crewel work! (Remember Colorful Stitchery and The New Crewel? Not to mention the Stitch-It Kit that I got last Christmas… all are sitting patiently on my craft bookshelf!)

I am waiting for that day when Kris encourages me to quit work and school, because he wants me to have more time to craft

On the cusp of Project Spectrum August… and I really just could not wait to start on my brown lace socks!

That is four repeats of the mock cable cuff, and through Row 10 of the lace pattern.  It is nearly impossible to make out in the photograph, but there are some embossed leaves there!  I have a confession:  this is my first charted pattern.  While I have knit a few cabled things, I have knit virtually no lace.  Sure, I think it is absolutely breathtaking and gorgeous, but I just could not get the hang of it before.  However, this chart is going well… at least up to this point! Maybe more lace charts are in my future.

I don't know how I missed it before, but it appears that Jody is working on the same socks (in a suggested tweedy wool too - she is such a good girl!) - and it looks like we are around the same point in the chart… so see hers for the detail ;)  Also, Strikker Kris made them last year in a great purple tweed.  I am using the Three Waters Farm Merino Fingering Weight, purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. 

Although I started knitting on the browns, I still had some purple projects in mind before July finished - I completed my postcard pal's card (I know, I am late - thank goodness Suzanne lives so close!) and will show it after she receives it.  And in the spirit of stashbusting, I used the leftovers from my March beading project for a late July project - it seems that the line between pink and purple is pretty thin in this shade.

Resting atop the Post Arts section …

And I sported this purple handcrafted necklace (not crafted by me, unfortunately!) out this weekend - My sister Sarah brought this purple shell necklace back from Oahu after her trip in March. 

M and Auntie Lolly

PS-Do you want another round of Project Spectrum?  What do you want different next time?  When do you want it to start?  I started a discussion thread on the Flickr Project Spectrum page, but all comments and suggestions about how to make Project Spectrum better are also welcome here.  Please let me know because I am making plans now!