Craft Enabled, Domestically Disabled

Oh, the joys of eggs.

Today I took a workshop in Ukrainian egg-dyeing. Which was..tricky. It's pretty much along the lines of resist dyeing- using wax to block out bits of color, then dipping the egg in a layer of color, then adding more wax, then more dip, etc., etc. I wouldn't have figured out that that was how it was done.

The annoying thing being (as you can really see on the right) is that once wax accidentally drips, it's STUCK there, forever, can't get it off, big ol' blotches. Ugh. I don't know how the pros do it.

And then there's the fun of trying to get the wax off by warming it with a candle. Which is how I broke the other egg I was doing. *sigh*

Tricky, tricky stuff.

The half-and-half halter is half done!

One side's done. And it looks like it might actually fit the tit. Woo! So exciting. On the right is me starting up making the other side of the tank.
You'll notice when I put them next to each other that one side is definitely Much Brighter than the other. Oh well, what can you do?

The joys of making up a pattern on the fly.

Now I'm on to the tricky part of the top: how the heck do you do a halter that holds in   big ol' boobies?
My attempt at that so far is involving the technique of short rows. I have no idea if this will actually WORK, or if indeed I'm even doing it RIGHT, but something's gotta be done to accomodate, and I can't seem to find a halter top to wear underneath the knit one to make sure things get held in (my search at the Gap was woefully unimpressive).
I guess we'll see.

Working on the half-and-half ribbon yarn idea.

I've done the ribbing on one side of the top so far, and I really like how it looks.

Course, figuring it out from here what to do is going to be difficult.

Building and rebuilding.

I redid the original necklace I made with this wrapped rose pendant, mainly because I got ahold of some nice coral that went with it better. It's a vast improvement.

Continuing with my fascination with goldstone... I found a new bead store in Folsom this weekend, and picked up some cute little goldstone drops. I had to incorporate them into my previously-made goldstone necklace. I also found some gold bar beads that I threw in, which freed up enough goldstone chunks to make myself a matching bracelet.
I found so many pretty green beads at that store that I had to make something with them. (Plus they um, go with my new swimsuit.) I couldn't find a decent pendant there, but I already had this great dragonfly bead. It all goes together perfectly!

And the wheelchair poncho is done.

Pardon my asstastic photography- these were done around midnight the night I finished them, bad lighting in the apartment, no one around to take the shots, etc., etc. But you get how it works, especially how long the back piece is supposed to be.

Instructions on how to make it:

(a) Buy six skeins of Cascade 220 yarn (or just get a lot of worsted weight yarn of your own preference, doesn't matter). I used three colors. Gauge is seven stitches across and six stitches high  = 1 square inch.

(b) This pattern is knit flat, but I ended up having to use size 8 circular needles in order to make it wide enough- it didn't fit on my straights.

(c) To start either side, cast on 168 stitches in Color A. Knit for 2 inches in garter stitch, then switch to color B. Knit color B in stockinette stitch for 2 inches. Then switch to color C and knit 2 inches in garter stitch. Then switch to color A and knit 2 inches in stockinette.

(d) If you are knitting the back piece (which should be about 8 inches long- stops around the back where a chair back might go), stop at this point and bind off.

(e) If you are knitting the front piece, continue the pattern as set, alternating garter and stockinette rows, until you have six 2-inch rows of each color completed. It should optimally end slightly below the end of the person's waist. Bind off.

(f) Pin together the two pieces for 10 inches at the start of each long side, leaving a large hole for the neck. Sew the sides of the poncho together, creating a blocky shape.

Feel free to alter this around if you like, making more sloping shoulders, changing the stitches, using more or less colors, making it less wide (I was making it for a man's shoulders), whatever you need to do.

Haven't updated in awhile.

The poncho for Dad is done and photographed. Alas, I finished it after midnight last night and *had* to go to bed, so it's not online yet.

I am all excited to move on to designing my own top. Whee!