And I am a knitting bookaholic.

I have bought a few (cough snort sneeze) dozen knitting books over the past few years. They call to me from the far corners of the bookstores and magazine racks, begging me to fondle their pages and dream of caressing their patterns and ideas in the dark of the night alone in my bed.

In the process of feeding this addiction, I have discovered that people are knitting with some very interesting materials. In several books people are knitting with torn t-shirts. In another book, I read about knitting with plastic grocery bags. In yet another, knitting with wire.

So, this is my latest knitting conundrum. Can I knit with Mardi Gras beads? And if I can, what could I make?

What if I used the hugest, most giantest needles around? Could Mardi Gras beads be knitted into trellises for morning glories, muscadine, honeysuckle or sweet pea vines? Could Mardi Gras beads be knitted into large rectangles to replace the wire fencing that was damaged in the storm? What about a shower curtain? (OK, maybe it won't keep the water off the floor, but it could be the decorative one outside the functional liner.)

Hmmmm. I might have to go to the "yarn" shop tomorrow while in New Orleans.