Here is…

Quickly now, since I’ve got something to do on a deadline that I forgot all about. I constantly speak to Joe about the advantages of reading the family calendar that hangs in the kitchen so that he can know what’s going on around here and damn if I shouldn’t have taken my own advice. Especially before the bank guy showed up at my house for an appointment and a rather surprised me had to have a conversation with him in a dirty living room, bra-less and unwashed. Idiot. I’m sure I made a grand impression. (The only good news there is that I only had to move two knitting projects for him to have room to put his papers on the table. Could have been worse.) After he left I checked that calendar and …well. I’ve got things to do.

Here is me on the TV yesterday, not looking like too much of an odd duck.

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(My hand is up in that twit-like manner because I am knitting, which sort of looks less elegant than I imagined it would.) I managed to be mostly coherent (I stumbled once or twice, which isn’t too bad considering the rising gorge of my own terror screaming in my head.) I watched the tivo of it and I seem incredibly dorky to myself, but Joe’s mum said I was good and the girls didn’t refuse to go to school today, so the dork must be something only I can see.

Here is the almost finished phase of the eggs…

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after they have been through all of their dyebaths, including the final black. You can see that they are quite dingy, with all the wax clinging to them.

Here is me melting the wax off the finished eggs.

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You hold the egg near (but not in) the flame of a candle long enough for the wax to melt, but not so long that the egg inside begins to cook, since the final step is poking holes in the eggs and blowing out the contents. I have very good evidence that you can practically burst a lung trying to blow cooked egg out of a wee hole. As the wax melts in a little area, you wipe it off. The final sheen of wax is removed with lighter fluid, which…in a miracle of chemistry I don’t understand at all, leaves behind the dye, but also removes the original pencil lines UNDER the dye.

Here is the very, very nearly finished eggs…

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These have now had the wax and pencil removed and a thin layer of oil based urethane rubbed on. (Tip: you’re going to want gloves for that part. Really.) Now all that remains is to poke holes in the tops and bottoms and blow the contents out. (That’s a grand opportunity to break them.) When they are dry inside I’ll affix a ribbon or some such and the will be personalized ornaments for the tree. (Um. Next years tree. Running a little behind.) Nifty…yes?

Here is the yoga mat bag.

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Just a few centimetres to go. It’s the one from Knit Wit, and in the original pattern was knit in stripes out a bazillion colours of Mission Falls 1824 cotton. (You can see it on the cover of the book if you click. I had A) no burning desire to knit cotton, it bugs my hands. 2) No burning need to weave in so many ends that you would be ill to think of it. and C) No Mission Falls cotton. My cop-out knock off (adapted to knit flat.) is being knit in Noro Kuryon, to almost the same effect. The straightforward back and forth of stockinette on straight needles is the perfect counterpoint to bugging my eyes out by candlelight working on the eggs.

Here is… Well there’s no picture, but here’s me whipping off to move my knitting off the dining room table and maximize the professionalism of the next appointment. What the heck, I may even go look for my bra.