Shiny Things
I am a pretty dull person in the jewelry that I wear compared to some of my more fashion conscious friends. They adorned themselves with name brand clothes, shoes, purses and finally shiny things. By shiny things I mean jewelry. Now don't get me wrong, I love jewelry. I have jewelry of all expense levels (mostly inexpensive levels) and I love the stuff, but I don't wear it. I used to though. I used to have a ring on each hand, a watch, a bracelet on my wrist, a necklace and of course I have double pierced ears, so two pair of earrings on at all times. That all came to a screeching halt back in 1997, when I enrolled in culinary school. The rules for no jewelry were hard and fast. I found it a bit tedious to take things on and off on a daily basis so eventually I was worn down and stopped wearing everything except a watch. I even took off my wedding rings for that period of two years where food sanitation and safety were an issue. I totally got out of the habit until three years ago.

The timing of all of this is rather ironic. I learned to knit three years ago and when I started knitting I put on my wedding rings, put back the double pair of earrings and I started wearing a pearl necklace that was a gift from my oldest son while he was stationed in South Korea. The funny thing is, not only did I start wearing jewelry, but knitting did too. I learned that in knitting there are pattern repeats and to avoid having to count constantly, you use a stitch marker. I was smitten. I started collecting all sizes and shapes of stitch markers.



Stitch markers can be just like jewelry. Some are plain and large...
Others are plain and small... And others come in various colors.Just like my person, I decided that my knitting needing something cuter. By cuter, I mean more colorful and fun. There are so many stitch markers out there that I got a headache looking at all of them. I felt a bit silly ordering little tiny shiny knitting jewelry and with shipping and handling, was not worth the money to me. I don't do a lot of Internet ordering and probably could have coupled the stitch markers with something else to make it worth the s&h, but I didn't need to.

Enter my good friend Sue Eckman Von Ohlsen from Minutiae. Sue is a Master Knitter whose talents are not restricted to just knitting, but some fabulous bead work. Her craftsmanship is on display on a monthly basis at TKC. There is a Stitch Marker of the month rack near the register that will attract anyone who loves shiny, pretty knitting jewelry. The markers are not expensive, and are made from Swarovski crystals. The first year Sue's theme was the birthstone of the month. This is how the stitch markers look in their packaging.

Here is what they look like since I have been collecting them over the last 13 months.

I was lucky enough to be gifted these little beauties... So if you are like me and love shiny knitting jewelry, dash by The Knitting Corner and give the markers a look.