Gemstone of the Month: Rock Crystal

Posted on 1 April 20171 April 2017 By Sue

April’s birthstone (in the precious stone range) is the diamond, but diamonds are not everyone’s cup of tea, nor within everyone’s budget. But you can give as a gift a lovely clear sparkly stone that is affordable and pretty without taking out a second mortgage: the rock crystal.

This macrocrystalline form of quartz is named crystal from the Greek word for ice, as it was believed that rock crystal was eternally frozen. It’s chemical composition is silicon dioxide, with no other chemical additions to give it colour. It is found all over the world, but the most important deposits can be found in Brazil, Madagascar, the USA and the Alps.

At Granary Knits, we have recently been adding some rock crystal items to the shop.

A single stitch marker, made from a rock crystal bead which has a lovely crackled interior, is available as both a knitting and a crochet marker.

A set of clear rock crystal marker are a welcome addition to the range of gemstone stitch marker sets currently in store. This set features five markers with three, four, or five crystal chips.

And finally, some smooth clear nuggets of rock crystal fashioned into beautiful earrings.

December at Granary Knits

Posted on 6 December 2016 By Sue

This month’s new listings feature lots of new stitch markers, a brand new stitch marker set, and some fabulous earrings.

First of all, thank you to all my customers who have bought the Dreaming of the Sea and Sun Moon and Stars marker sets; it’s wonderful to see that themed sets of stitch markers have struck a chord with people in many countries. Today’s new stitch marker set is called Deep in the Forest. I love trees, the stillness in a forest when you can almost hear the earth breathe, the rustle of small creatures in the undergrowth, the earthy smell of woodland after rain. I have tried to capture this feeling in Deep in the Forest, a set of six stitch markers featuring gemstones and glass beads in shades of green, and charms that represent the elements of a forest that I love.

Gorgeous greens from the Fancy Jasper, Aventurine and glass beads, earthy tones from the Smoky Quartz and the Jasper again. This set is available as both knitting and crochet markers.

There are lots of new single markers, too, some with a 5 for the price of 4 option. Continuing the forest theme, there is a large solid acorn marker and an owl marker. And a stylised tree etched onto a round charm with a reverse stating Save our Planet, a sentiment I’m sure we can all subscribe to!

Linked to last month’s sea themed stitch markers comes a large decorative dolphin, a beautiful charm, ideal for those who like a larger stitch marker (or perhaps a project bag charm!)

Another large stitch marker added to store today is the beautiful spiral goddess, a real beauty.

The final two markers added this week are a pretty combination of charms and gemstones. The Lotus Flower is a popular and familiar symbol and I love searching out new forms of this icon. This double-sided charm has an opening so that a bead can be inserted into its heart. I have used blue banded agate in this marker, with lots more lovely gemstones to choose from if they prove popular!

The Hamsa Hand, or Hand of Fatima, is another favourite symbol, and I have found a charm which again has a hole in the centre just right for a small gemstone bead. This one feature Lapis Lazuli, one of my favourite gemstones, glinting with specks of golden pyrite. The beads in both the Lotus and the Hamsa are free to move, and turning them is a great way to meditate whilst you are knitting or crocheting.

New items of jewellery are always fun to design and make, especially those pieces involving knitting or crocheting with wire. And adding gemstones is just so satisfying! The Moonstone Flower earrings were no exception. The pale grey Moonstone I have been using has an exceptional glow in its depths as well as a beautiful sheen. These were crocheted using 99.9% pure silver wire and each earring has fifteen glowing milky grey chips in its five petals.

The last item for today features a gemstone new to me: Kambaba Jasper, also known as Crocodile Jasper. It comes from Madagascar, and has a very distinctive colour and patterning, not unlike the skin of a crocodile, in fact. As with all Jaspers, it is a spotty stone, although the spots here are rather larger than, say, in Dalmatian Jasper. The main colour is a moss green, with the spots and streaks in black or very dark green. These chips are square cut, giving the earrings a contemporary look.

I hope you have found something to delight and inspire you in this week’s new listings. Keep checking back for new items, or follow me on Etsy to get all the latest updates.

New in Store Today

Posted on 6 December 2016 By Sue

Over the past month I have been busy developing lots of ideas for new jewellery and stitch markers. I released the first couple of new stitch marker sets a few weeks ago – Dreaming of The Sea and Sun Moon and Stars – and they have been very well received.

Last month, I released the next themed set, Deep Blue Ocean, and I think it is gorgeous! It features dark blue and brown Tiger’s Eye, an intriguing stone with the same luminous striping as the more common brown/gold Tiger’s Eye; Amazonite, a fabulous turquoise blue gemstone; Mother of Pearl; and Blue Banded Agate, the colour of the Mediterranean. But that’s not all. Fish swim, Dolphins sport, and Whales flip their intricate tails as they breach and dive.

Cat and Moon is a new single stitch marker that has already proved popular. A shiny crescent moon hangs in the sky, and sitting on its edge is a cute little cat, tail curled around the curve of the moon. This is a pretty marker for either knitting or crochet, and comes with a special offer – buy five of this marker for the price of four.

The third new item is a Knitting Queen single marker. This is similar to the Knitting Diva marker already in the shop, and joins Yarn Ball, Yarn and Needles, and Knitting Diva as the specifically knitting-related charms that I offer. It also has a five for four offer.

The final new item released in November is a sweet piece of jewellery, a necklace featuring a curved bar suspended on a chain. The bar features a beaded rainbow. It is offered in both Silver Plated and Sterling Silver versions, and joins several other rainbow influenced pieces in store.

There will be more updates soon. To stay up to date, either follow this website, or follow me on Etsy.

Gemstone of the Month: Citrine

Posted on 1 November 20165 September 2016 By Sue

Citrine is the birthstone for the month of November. It is a quartz, and its chemical composition is silicon dioxide coloured with iron. It is not as flashy a gemstone as lapis lazuli, or malachite, or emerald, but it does have a quiet beauty all of its own.

It ranges in colour from light yellow to golden brown, and is only found in a transparent form. Natural citrine is rare, and most commercially available stones are actually heat-treated amethyst or smoky quartz; heat-treated stones nearly always have a reddish tinge to them, enabling the discerning to detect that the stones are not true citrines. Natural citrine is found mainly in Brazil, Madagascar and the United States, with minor deposits in Argentina, Myanmar, Namibia, Russia, Scotland and Spain.

Citrine makes lovely delicate unusual jewellery. See the Granary Knits store for these and other designs.

citrine_knitted_earrings_box — Knitted onto silver wire, citrine chips make an attractive and unusual accessory

Exciting New Products

Posted on 1 August 2016 By Sue

Here at Granary Knits we have been busy designing and developing a new range of jewellery – for you rather than for your knitting! Pendants, earrings and bracelets are first on the list of items to be added to the GranaryKnits Etsy Store; but anklets, shawl pins, and lots more bejewelled delights are in the works.

Here is a preview of what is to come!

beads and semi-precious stones

Posted on 26 April 2016 By Sue

I have been fascinated by beads since I was a child. When I was little, the coolest thing we girls had was a collection of beads each. We would take them outside to show our friends; sometimes we swapped beads if there was a particularly choice one in a friend’s collection, but mostly we just handled and admired them. The fascination has never left me, even if I no longer play swapsies with them!

Garnet beads made into drop earrings using enamelled copper wire

Garnets, Amazonite, Malachite, and Blue Banded Agate

Abalone shell, semi-precious cabochons and nuggets from my Mum’s collection of gemstones

Various tumbled nuggets from my Mum’s collection of gemstones

My Mum used to make jewellery using semi-precious stones and I joined in, loving the smooth surfaces of Tiger’s Eye and Carnelian, and delighting in the rich colours of Lapis Lazuli and Garnet. I still have the remains of her stock of gemstones and love looking through them and handling the cabochons and nuggets. It is fascinating to learn that the same basic material, for instance beryl, altered by the addition of a range of chemicals and minerals, turns into Emeralds (chrome has been added) and Aquamarine (coloured by iron). Of course, the chemical additions were made millions of years ago and under high pressure, and that fact in itself is wonderful! Beryl is also a semi-precious stone in its own right, being available in a lovely range of pastel colours.

Blue banded and purple banded agate beads

A few years ago I decided to learn beading in order to make myself some interesting jewellery – I love earrings and have a huge collection. I made bracelets, earrings and necklaces, learned to wire-wrap and to create drop beads ready for hanging from ear-wires. The skill in wrapping wire and making beads into something that could hang elegantly has stood me in good stead when I decided to start designing knitting stitch markers.

Tiger‘s Eye and Turquoise chips made into stitch markers

Having been a knitter my whole life (and a crocheter since my teens), I have always been interested in the construction of knitted materials, and when I found out it was possible to knit and crochet with fine wire and add beads just as you do with woollen yarn, well there was no stopping me! It is a bit more fiddly than knitting with yarn, but very satisfying to make a small object, such as ethereal earrings or a delicate bracelet.

2016-04-16-09.53.15.jpg.jpeg — New Jade chips crocheted into an earring

Recommended reading: Gemstones of the World by Walter Schumann. 5th ed. Sterling NY, 2013.