Winter is almost here...

With fall well underway and the cold weather already here, I decided it was time to bring out my Deities' winter clothes. With the cold Canadian winters I had always wanted to try and knit some scarves for my Deities, however my attempts never quite worked out. These sweaters and scarves were knitted for them by one Mataji last winter. If anyone with experience knitting would like to share some tips please leave a comment.

Sri Sri Radha Manohara

I was fortunate to be able to visit ISKCON Montreal and have darshan of Sri Sri Radha Manohara. These life sized deities are stunning, I believe they are the largest Radha Krishna deities in North America. View the gallery below of lordships Sri Sri Radha Monahara, Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Sri Sri Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra, as well as Sri Sri Gaura Nitai from ISKCON Ottawa.

Nityananda Trayodasi Darshans

Their Lordships Shri Shri Gaura Nitia and Shri Shri Radha Ksira-Chora Gopinatha looking stunning on the Appearance Day of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Darshan of my deities from the festival can be found in my gallery.

DIY Deity Jewellery: Necklaces- Part 3

Multi-tier Necklaces

These necklaces are easy to make and the technique can be modified to add or subtract tiers. This style creates the look of multiple necklaces but because it is a single piece you don’t need to worry about different necklaces getting tangled, making dressing really simple.

Supplies:

1. Polyester Sewing Thread
2. Extra Fine Beading Needle
3. Seed Beads
4. Decorative Beads (5 crystal bi-cones and 6 glass beads)
5. Scissors
   Step 1: Begin by double stringing a generous length of the sewing thread on to your needle and tying a stop bead (simply tie a knot around a seed bead) towards the end, leaving a 3-4 inch tail.
   
   Step 2: String on 8-10 seed beads followed by a crystal bi-cone, then string on more seed beads to the desired length of the first necklace.
   
   Step 3: Next, string on one glass bead, a crystal bi-cone and three seed beads. To create the pendant, pass the needle back through the crystal bi-cone and pull the thread all the way through.
   
   Step 4: Complete the second side of the necklace with the glass bead, seed beads, crystal bi-cone and the seed beads. Then securely tie the ends of the string together.
   
   Step 5: Now to create the second tier pass the needle back through the seed beads and crystal bi-cone. Then you can begin stringing on your seed beads adding a few more than you did for the first tier to ensure this necklace will sit below the first one. Continue with the pattern as you did for the first necklace and securely tying off the thread.
   
   Step 6: At this point you could finish your necklace with two tiers, or you can repeat step five with more seed beads to create a third tier.

Some examples of these Multi-tier necklaces: Laddu Gopal’s and Radharani’s three tier necklaces were made using different patterns and beads for each tier. I really like these simple two tier necklaces as they make dressing my Gaura Nitai really easy.

Sri Krsna Pushya Abhisheka!

Shri Govinda after his ghee and flower petal abhisheka on

Sri Krsna Pushya Abhisheka!

The Hari Bhakti Vilasa says that on this day one should rub ghee on the deity of Sri Krishna. Pusya of course means nourishing, and this act of devotion, with ghee, which is very nourishing is equivalent to the results of an asvamedha sacrifice. Srila Prabhupada once explained the festival in the following way: "Krishna was just a toy in the hands of the Gopis, so one day the Gopis decided that we shall decorate Him. Pushya Abhiseka means a ceremony to decorate the deity profusely with flowers, ornaments, cloths. After there should be lavish feasting and a procession through the streets, so that all the citizens should see how beautiful Krishna appears."

Source: http://www.salagram.net/parishad100.htm

DIY Deity Jewellery: Necklaces- Part 2

Chokers or Belts

I first came up with this technique making belts for my Radha Govindaji. One day I was dressing them I tried one of the belts as a choker and it looked great, so I recently made some more specifically designed as chokers. This design is for chokers for my Jagannatha and Baladeva, but the technique is so versatile it would make excellent belts or could be modified slightly to make chokers for smaller deities. Supplies:
1. Sewing Thread (I find polyester thread works best)
2. Extra Fine Beading Needles
3. Cord (I used heavy cotton string from my garland making kit, but you can also use embroidery floss in a matching colour)
4-6. Beads: For this design I used pearls, seed beads and glass bi-cones
7. Scissors

Step 1: Cut two lengths of the cord and tie 2-3 knots in the center of each length, thread each of the beading needles (make sure you have a generous amount of thread on each needle) and poke each needle through the knot in one piece of the cord and tie the ends of the thread securely together leaving a 2-3 inch tail (you will need this later).

Step 2: String 4-5 of the pearls through both of the needles. Then on each needle string a seed bead a pearl and another seed bead then another pearl through both needles. Repeat this pattern to the desired length, keep in mind that you want an even number of segments as you want an odd number of the hanging segments. In this case for five hanging segments there are six of these “base” segments.

Step 3: After you have completed the required number of base segments, string 4-5 of the pearls through both of the needles and poke each needle through the knot in the second piece of cord and tie the thread securely together.

Step 4: For this design there is only have one set of the hanging segments so one of the needles can be cut off at this point (if you wanted more hanging segments you would keep the second needle and just repeat the procedure for the hanging segments). Next, pass the remaining needle through the 4-5 pearls and the seed bead and pearl of the first base segment.

Step 5: To make the first hanging segment string on three seed beads and a glass bi-cone and another seed bead, then pass the needle back through the glass bi-cone and string on another three seed beads.

Step 6: Now pass the needle through the pearl of the next base segment, and continue with the base segments for the length of the necklace/belt. When you have completed your last hanging segment pas your needle through the 4-5 pearls at the end and securely tie off your thread using the tail you left earlier and trim off any excess thread.

Here is some of the jewellery I’ve made using this technique.

Photo 1: Radharani’s orange choker was made by varying the length of the hanging segments and overlapping the second set of hanging segments.
Photo 2: Baladeva wearing the choker described in this post.
Photo 3: Govindaji’s belt is one of my favourite pieces made with this technique, here the hanging segments were done slightly different by weaving the needle through the base segments.

Storing Deity Jewelery

Over the years I’ve tried a number of different options for storing my deities' jewellery and have found a system that works best for me. I've tried small plastic zip lock bags to store the jewelery sets that were then placed into larger zip lock bags with the matching outfit. However, the problem with this system is if you want to mix and match different jewellery you have to go searching through all the sets. As such, the system I currently use keeps all the jewellery easily on hand so it’s easy to find a specific item when you're dressing your deities. The system basically uses storage boxes you can find at any craft store. I use one with large compartments (designed to hold spools of thread) to hold the larger crowns and mukut pieces. This container also has some larger compartments (I believe designed to hold sewing scissors) that come in handy for storing flutes and other accessories. I also use similar containers with smaller adjustable compartments to store the necklaces, bracelets, and smaller crowns. When selecting your storage container look for one that has a lid that closes tightly, this will help keep the jari (metallic thread) work on the crowns and mukut pieces form tarnishing over time. Additionally, I find the inside of the lid comes in handy for storing peacock feathers. I just use blutack to stick them to the inside of the lid so when I need them they're ready to use.

Even with this system I’ve found it difficult to keep track of the small bracelets. This can be a bit annoying when you're dressing and you can't find the other piece of a pair of bracelets. This is especially a problem with the elastic ones, with the bracelets that open and close the two pieces can be linked together to keep the pair from getting separated. To solve this problem I've recently begun storing the bracelets on safety pins to keep the matching pairs together.

Stay tuned I’ll be posting more techniques for necklaces in the coming weeks. A few readers have requested instructions for belts and turbans and I will be working on those as well. If you have any requests feel free to email me

Deity Worship Seminar Recordings

Shri Shri Radha-Vallabha (ISKCON Melbourne)

I just finished listening to the recordings from the seminar Nrsimha Kavaca Dasa gave in ISKCON Melbourne and they were really insightful. Nrsimha Kavaca Prabhu is the ISKCON Deity Worship Minister, has many years of experience in deity worship and has successfully conducted deity worship courses in Mayapur since 1999. You can download the recording of the 2 part seminar here: http://www.iskcon.net.au/2008/10/02#a6468, I highly recommend listening to them as there is lots of insightful information given in the seminar.