Bead Biz

05/01/2026

Getting ready for ! Come at us this weekend!

03/05/2026

A report by the Museum of Art in Public Spaces showed that 484 monuments in Denmark depict historically significant men, while only 43 are of women. Louise Moerup decided to point out this difference by knitting clothing to make the women stand out.

Women in Denmark, dismayed by unequal representation in public art, stitched together a protest campaign.

10/23/2025

Come to and learn some Beautiful Beaded Bind Offs

Sunday, November 2, 2025, from 12pm - 1:30pm

Description: Come learn a couple of different ways to add beads in your bind-off. Jean Elizabeth will demonstrate ways to add beads to your bind-off then you will practice them with her there to help you every step of the way. You will love how these techniques make your pieces even more beautiful! So many possibilities in so many different ways. Shawls, hats, scarves, gloves, socks. A few beads at the end can easily add a little sparkle to so many projects!

Skill Level: Basic

Ages: Any age with skill set - cast-on, knit, knit front and back, bind off

Cost: $42 plus Material Fee: $30

Materials Provided: 1 mini-skein Merino fi*****ng from Chicken Coop Dyeworks, 1 tube Bead Biz Japanese long Magatama seed beads (color choices available), Fleegle beader .8mm, big eye needle, instructor will email instruction pamphlet

Materials for students to bring: 2 pairs Size 2-4 needles straight or circular, scissors, small bowl for holding beads

Register here!

https://shorturl.at/ogPo7

10/23/2025

Jean Elizabeth is teaching this cool Twisted Raindrops Bracelet at on Sat. Nov. 1 from 3:30 until 5!

Description: Wear a string of shimmering raindrops on your wrist. This knitted bracelet is fun and easy to learn. Learn to knit with beads and make this amazing bracelet.

Skill Level: Intermediate

Ages: Any age with skillset: must be familiar with knit, purl, cast on, bind off, pico stitch

Cost: $42 plus material fee of $30

Materials Provided: (color choices available) 1 mini-skein Merino fi*****ng from Chicken Coop Dyeworks, 1 tube (approx. 25 grams) Bead Biz Japanese Long Magatama Seed Beads, 1 .8mm Fleegle Beader, 1 Pattern

Materials for students to bring: Size 3 circular or straight needles, scissors, small bowl for beads

It's quick, easy, and very fun!

https://www.easternstatesexposition.com/p/fiberfestival/workshops?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23102130635

10/19/2025

Come learn a free new ways to use bread in your knitting!

We all deserve a little sparkle! Join Jean Elizabeth Glass for her Beautiful Beaded Bind-Offs workshop at The Fiber Festival of New England. It's the perfect finishing touch to your projects.
https://www.easternstatesexposition.com/p/fiberfestival/workshops

05/31/2025

Ever wondered about when the knitting machine was invented, and whose idea it was? It may be older than you realise.....Victorian? Georgian? Stuart? No!

It is known that Elizabeth I favoured silk stockings but it is rumoured that she owned stockings knitted in Guernsey. The high quality work could command high prices with a pair of stockings setting you back £300 in today's money.

In 1589, Elizabeth was approached for a royal patent for a knitting machine invented by a clergyman called William Lee of Calverton, Nottinghamshire. Whether due to the coarseness of the end product or out of a benevolent regard for her subjects' employment, Elizabeth declined to grant the patent.

A Victorian writer claims that William had a romantic interest in a compulsive knitter and, bored of waiting for her to finish her knitting was inspired to invent a machine to speed up the whole process. After his disappointment with his own Queen, William took his invention to the French court to make his fortune, taking a further 8 years to perfect the machine to manufacture silk stockings. By the early 1600’s the technology of the machine was known, copied and reproduced so that by 1620’s the use of a knitting machine was well established.

The booming knitting industry led to the founding in 1612 of the Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters, an institution that is still thriving today, having been formally incorporated by Oliver Cromwell in 1657. The Company offers a Bursary and Awards programme, encouraging the next generation in the practices and techniques of framework knitting.

And then, some 500 years later, Tudor influence is reflected in an amazing knitting pattern book by Alice Starmore called Tudor Roses. All the patterns are based on the lives of 14 Tudor women and are works of art in their own right.

Thanks to Timothy Taylor, author of Conversable Economist for the information on William Lee.

Do you prefer machine knitting to hand-knitting? How long do you make friends and family wait, while you finish a row or count stitches? 🤣 If you make them wait long enough they might invent something revolutionary 😄

05/03/2025

So much

Eta in North Tent and it's breezy warm and squishy!


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05/02/2025

04/28/2025

is coming! Come see us North 18! We'll have all of these beautiful and kits and tons of to choose from.

We will also have a special guest! Lisa Bass from will be in our booth with loads of squishy goodness just waiting to be paired with amazing beads.

May 3 & 4 rain or shine at the Howard County Fairgrounds.

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04/28/2025

It's almost May, and that means it's time for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival!

We will have tons of new and kits available, and, of course, a ton of brand new !

There will be Tsocks and goodies and amazing bags for you to bring all your goodies home with you

But wait! There's more!

This year will feature one of our favorite dyers!

Lisa Bass from White Birch Fiber Arts will make a special guest appearance in our booth and bring lots of squishy goodness along with her! Have you always wanted to have every choice available for your beaded creation?
Now is your chance!

Come visit us at North 18

May 3 & 4, 2025
8:30AM – 6PM Saturday
8:30AM – 5PM Sunday
Rain or shine!
Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD