The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 3

Finished up Clue 3 this evening, watching a very funny movie called Matinee.  I am so loving this pattern, although I have made a couple of modifications for the sake of symmetry.  I was having problems getting the beads on the stitches for a while.  I was using the crochet hook, but I had to use a 0.6mm crochet hook to get through the size 8 beads, and getting the yarn through without splitting it was not easy.  But then I remembered a method that I used when I first started adding beads to knitting - a needle and thread.

That big silver spring thing is called a bead stopper and it keeps your beads from sliding off the end of the thread.  It is just a spring, with the outer loops bent out.  To get a bead onto your stitch you simply thread the sewing needle through the stitch, then loop the needle back through the bead, slide the bead down the thread and onto the stitch, put the stitch back on the knitting needle and then pull the sewing needle out of the stitch.  No splitting of yarn, and you are far less likely to lose beads in the cushions.