The Magic of Maho

The most interesting things always happen when you least expect them. In this case, after a night of bad life decisions which yielded cupcakes at 3 o’clock in the morning and plans to walk to Maho a few hours later, I didn’t expect the morning I received… to say the least. =D That’s not to say it wasn’t interesting.

So for all of the people in the following list, a walk to Maho is a must.

- Do you have low self confidence? Not quite satisfied with the way your body looks? With all of the looks you’ll be getting, you’ll be wondering where all these men were hiding before this walk happened.

- Are you tired of your monogamous relationship? Your guy just not lavishing you with compliments anymore? Take a stroll through the market and you just might get the admiration you so deserve.

- Ever wanted to cause an accident? Or just witness a car wreck? Walk along the worst bend by the golf course and wait. Every car with a man is an accident waiting to happen. Once that head turns, nothing and no one is safe.

- Feel unappreciated? As if you’ve been forgotten? A few steps along the cracked concrete pavement by the grassy knoll of the golf course and you’ll know that your existentialist existence has been affirmed.

If you haven’t had enough, take a walk to Porto Cupecoy the next morning, bright and early, and you’ll wonder why you ever had self image issues. Appreciative glances on “The Friendlist Island” are definitely a pick me up after late nights and foiled plans. ;-P

Lucky Star Origami Earrings

Lucky Star Origami Earrings
















I love these little earrings. After seeing them on Etsy, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a few of my own, especially since I have tons of stars lying around. The blue ones I couldn't resist since the design is for the star sign, Sagittarius. The purple ones are little pandas and the pink ones are of a little girl in different costumes.

They're quite easy and with a little practice, are quickly produced. For the knitterly inclined, instead of attaching to earring wires, the stars could be placed on jump rings in needle appropriate sizes for stitch markers. =)

Materials

Size 6/0 seed beads in two colors
Origami Lucky Stars
Earring Wires
Head Pins
Nail Polish/Modge Podge or some sort of decoupage medium
Ceramic Cleaning tool or something sharp
Round Nose Pliers
Chain Nose Pliers
Side Cutter


1) Use the triangular blade of the ceramic cleaning tool to poke a hole in the bottom of the lucky stars.




Poking a hole








Hole on the bottom of the star






2) Place a bead on a head pin.











3) Use the head pin to poke through the hole at the bottom of the star. The head pin should emerge at the point of the star opposite the hole. It may take a little maneuvering for the head pin for poke through the top.










4) Paint the stars with at least one layer of nail polish or decoupage medium, waiting for each layer to dry before applying a new layer. Depending on the paper, it may bleed. This step protects the stars from getting waterlogged, although showering with the earrings is not recommended.


The top coat I used. (I’ve never actually used it on my nails…)







5) String on more beads, or stars, as you like.

Alternated red and clear seed beads.










6) Take the side cutters and cut the head pin approximately 1 – 1.5 cm above the last bead/star. Excess can be trimmed accordingly.










7) Using the round nose pliers, take the head pin, making sure it is flush with the top of the pliers. Place the pin at the diameter of the final loop desired. Wrapping around the round nose pliers at different places will give different size loops.










8) Bend the head pin at the top of the bead/star to prevent them from moving up.














9) Begin making the loop by wrapping the head pin around the pliers. If it looks as if there is too much wire, take the side cutter and trim off the excess before continuing with making the loop.



Beginning of loop.










10) Finish the loop.














11) Open the newly formed loop using the chain nose pliers. Do not pull the loop open, just lift the loop to create a space.


A better tutorial of steps 6-11 is available athttp://www.firemountaingems.com/beading_howtos/beading_projects.asp?docid=691E



12) Attach the earring wire and close the loop.


Open loop with earring wire.







13) Finished earrings

Diamond of My Heart Shawl Pattern

So... After much dithering, playing around with Excel, and realizing my charts looked exceedingly wonky, Diamond of My Heart is finally up for download. This is my first ever knit pattern.

It came about as my former roommate and I contemplated designing our own shawls after seeing all of the other pretty yet simple shawls available on Ravelry. I have no preference whether the pattern is "easy" or "hard" while my friend likes something of a challenge. So, this is for those who like a little bit of both.

The main body is a simple diamond eyelet stitch while the edging requires a little bit more attention due to the addition of hearts. This is a shawl for all those who think that diamonds are a girl's best friend.

Pattern Link Diamond of My Heart

Larger Version of Chart 2 With More Hearts

The sample was knit on US 6/4.0 mm 24" circular needles in Misti Alpaca Lace Canada - Colorway Blue Mist Melange and used less than 1 skein at 437 yards/50 grams.