Let's Hubble…...

That is the title of Melanie de Miquel's new book and also the name of a new stitch she developed.

It takes a lot to develop a new stitch.  A lot of due diligence to see if it has existed previously, if it has design versatility, if it will have staying power.

I think Melanie did a good job of working through these challenges and her book Let's Hubble is the result.  The book is a nice size, and has the advantage of a covered spiral binding which allows you to lay the book open when using it.  I love that.  The illustrations are large and nicely done, leading you through  the basics and moving onto some variations and projects to use your new skills.

At first glance people have thought it resembled right angle weave, but there are no shared side beads and it has a much more open and lacy look.  There is a need to be careful with your tension to make sure it doesn't have too thready a look or get puckered from too much tension.

After my first few rows my next question was, can I make it structural?  I've tried and yes I can.  It also has huge embellishment possibilities but I wanted to be careful not to embellish so heavily that I lost all the charm of the lacy quality.

I've also begun to think of a multitude of design possibilities which I find to be a good thing.  When I can start to think in a stitch I think it bodes well for me using it well into the future.

Photos?  Well not quite yet.  The piece I am busy developing will be an exclusive retreat piece for a while, but as soon as I finish I intend to move onto some of the other ideas that are floating around in my head.  Then I'll be ready to share.

In the meantime, I highly recommend Let's Hubble.  Yes it's a tad expensive at the moment as it has to come over the ocean.  You'll find a few U.S. bead stores are carrying it.  I bought it from the U.K. and I'm happy I have it.

There is a Facebook page here if you'd like to look into it a little further.