No, I don't knit with power tools, but today's pictures involve both.
First, knitting:
A pair of fingerless mittens in progress. Size 1 needles, taking a bit of time to work these, but I'm sticking with the size because I want them to be thin for indoor use. The pattern? It's a mash-up of stitches taken from the book "101-Designer One-Skein Wonders". I'll be sure to make notes of how I made them and put pictures here with directions when they're complete.
Second, scrabble charms & power tools:
From the original 15 I started with, I managed not to ruin these 11. Epoxy Resin on top makes them look so nice, I'm pleased with that, but I wasted a lot and have to either make more tiles next time or mix less resin. While pouring it on, I also applied too much to a few of the scrabble pieces and they stuck to the tile they were curing on. Tile cracked and bits stuck to the backs. In come the power tools. /Tamdoll's* definition of power tools: Anything that plugs in and can cause you bodily harm./ I pulled out the Dremel and went to work reading the manual. I don't usually do that, but I was pretty terrified of using it. On came the safety goggles.
Lesson #1 - the safety goggles that came with your kids Grossology book are good for nothing.
Next, the face mask to filter the dust out.
Lesson #2 - do not answer your door looking like this. DO NOT.
Turns out the tool was simple to use and harmless, too! Even dust flying everywhere and pieces of stuck tile shattering weren't that daunting. It was quite a relief & I think I'll have to try using it again! I don't think a power tool is necessary for this type of project, but I had so much dried resin in places it shouldn't be, that I had to use something to quickly grind it away. It worked and now the silver bails are glued to the backs, waiting to dry. Which leads me to:
Lesson #3 - try not to breathe in glue fumes. Dizziness and nausea are NOT pleasant.
I will definitely be making more of these because I had fun doing it, but in the future, I expect I'll be shopping a bit more for ""things I can make".
*Tamdoll* -I started using this name online waaaay back when I was only making dolls and it's stuck. Been spending so much time online and getting my kids interested in what I'm working on, that lately, even they've started calling me Tamdoll!
have you tried the diamond glaze stuff?
ReplyDeletehow toxic do you think the process is? I have to be careful of fumes, etc, because I have birds, and I don't have the "ideal" basement space set up yet.
I have diamond glaze but I wanted something really waterproof for this (and had the resin on-hand, don't remember what I bought it for so long ago). There were lots of precautions - http://www.eti-usa.com/consum/envtex/envinstr.htm - I did it all infront of an open kitchen window, but think a fan would've helped, too.
ReplyDeleteThese came out really nice!
ReplyDelete