Check out our tutorial on how to use this wonderful tool here.
*****
Verna is the designer of the amazing Fire Dance Circle Shawl and has been working closely with the Lacis company to create the perfect tool to aid in adding beads to her knitting.
And finally here it is! (Note that the first photo here shows it quite magnified.)
The Verna-X comes in a few sizes and styles but these are the ones that Verna herself prefers.
The Large is the 1mm one. This is a stainless steel straight needle, 1 mm x 7-1/2" with a blunt point and an in-line crochet hook on one end and a curve on the other to allow it to be used with a bead spinner. This size will work perfectly for 6/0 beads with fingering weight yarns. Stops are provided for each end.
And the Small one is 0.8mm and made of the same materials and the same basic shape, this time 0.8 mm x 7-1/2", again with a blunt point and hook on one end. And again, it will work well with a bead spinner if you so choose, as well as being a marvelous tool to add beads to stitches as one gets to them in knitting. This size was created for 8/0 beads with lace weight yarn as well as 11/0 beads with cobweb weight yarns. It will actually hold 125 of the 11/0 beads. Again there are stops provided for these. (Note that the finer needle is slightly more expensive.)
We also got in special storage tubes that are great for protection when they aren't in use. Each Verna-x order will include a storage tube for your tool.
Verna includes some great data on this Ravelry page.
And this what what she wrote to me to explain why she is so very pleased with these straight ones, as compared with the first ones she had designed, which had a crook in them:
"I just load the beads over the hook end. It takes a little care to avoid spraying beads but works fine for me, and saves me pulling the stopper off the tail. The straight needle is easier to manage while beading. The crook can interfere with positioning the hook to catch the yarn. It also prevents turning the needle before withdrawing it, and I turn the needle before withdrawing it to avoid it snagging the yarn."
These work for most knitters to help make beaded knitting a much smoother activity.
And Laura Nelkin has also released a great how-to video on using these tools. You can access it by clicking here .
Delighted!