When my students express concern that some of the projects in my book feel intimidating, I respond by telling them that the knitting techniques I use are almost always those with which they are already familiar, requiring just two sticks and a string. It is often in what I DO with the finished pieces of knitting where the magic lives. I like to call it KNITTING MADE CLEVER. There’s an expression that says “No one wants to see the sausage made,” implying that the process is often less attractive than the finished product. But in the case of this bib-style necklace, “Meander II,” I thought it might be fun to show my fellow knitters the “innards” of this “sausage” before it became a finished necklace. The jumble of knitting you see in the “Before” photo is a VERY long, multi-color, knitted tubular strap with beads knitted in on both edges. This strap is then stitched together in a meandering switchback, like a road down a very steep mountain, with some wonderful turquoise beads stitched into some of the spaces. So you see? It’s all in the manipulation of the fabric: Knitting Made Clever! I’d love to hear what you think of it.