Done!

I finished a few projects today and I feel great about it. Being done relieves me.

The first was a quickie -- cloth napkins. I had some time after mixing the pizza dough (recipe from _Animal, Vegetable, Miracle_), and I had been going through my fabric stash earlier because I was organizing (shocking, I know). I found a thin flannel that "N" of GAIN had chosen about seven years ago for PJ shorts. Unfortunately, there was not enough to make his size. This fabric has been hanging around for-ever. I measured a gifted napkin from my thoughtful sister at 16" x 16" and figured out that I have enough fabric to make two napkins, leaving a nice size remnant behind. I already had the blue thread out, and the lines on the flannel made cutting super easy.... We used them this evening with our pizza.

I also finished my woven wastebasket. I was really held up without supplies. I needed a full sheet of newspaper (a double spread). I found a Sunday paper in my in-law's garage -- score! I now have a finished wastebasket, completed with spray varnish. I feel fairly clever.







I now have one project left, and again, the lack of supplies are holding up progress. I need a sturdy, very thin cord to make a wrist strap for "A" of GAIN's telephone. I did not realize that this project was on my list of things to do until yesterday, but that's OK. "G" of GAIN's quilt has been on the list for months now.

Weaving

While we were at the State Historical Museum this morning, "I" of GAIN had a nice talk with a group of weaving and spinning ladies. We were going through the "Mud" exhibit and the ladies had a break from lec-dem-ing the herds of school kids that day. They were surprised and pleased to know that Ella had a loom like theirs. They also had many examples and pictures to show.

The photo shows someone using a drop spindle. When she said that Ancient Egyptians had drop spindles, "N" of GAIN proceeded to recite all the historical cultures he could remember that also used a drop spindle.

We got to feel some exotic fibers like musk ox (extremely soft) and long hair rabbit (really warm and cuddly) before a group of school kids came through. We are going to build on this experience at home by hand spinning cotton and wool and comparing their strengths as spun and unspun.

Weaving and Rain Barrel

"I" of GAIN had mentioned that she wanted to use her loom last month, then forgot to use it. I was reminded of her desire when I got an email newsletter from Berroco Knits on Rigid Heddle Weaving. So I got her set up and she wove some cloth yesterday.

I bought the loom at HEED's last Buy-Sell-Trade, brand new from a gal who just never got around to having her kids use it. My kid has used it. It is pretty easy to do once you take the time to set up. I had seen a home made loom in a kids weaving book. (I love the library, by the way.) It looked very cool, but took up a lot of space for something we would not use every day. I couldn't toss the loom in a wooden trunk like all my knitting stuff. This small loom is a good intro to weaving in my opinion, and tells me that a larger loom would probably do well in our house. Not a large standing loom, though. If our current loom is a preemie, then we might be OK with a toddler.

Weaving does not require the memorization and manual dexterity that knitting does. It does take concentration and a long attention span. And an adult if questions arise. She wanted to make a piece of fabric that was wider than her last project (a belt). Her finished product was wider, but shorter than intended -- I was gone when she ran out of yarn on the shuttle. No one knew how to help her, even though everything you need to know is in the book that came with the loom. So the work was cut about 6" shorter than planned. But the fringe (some of that leftover 6") is really nice.

I am putting a photograph of my two rain barrels here. I talk about them enough that I thought they deserved some blog time,' which is my analogous term for 'press time.' They are connected and I love it. I fixed the leak on the barrel seen on the right. I'm waiting for the next rain (maybe this weekend?) to see how it holds.

You can see the sandstone in the foreground that "N" and I moved and re-placed. Haven't decided if the stones will stay this way. "N" just started working with leather. He was introduced to the craft at camp. While I went to buy more grit for our rock tumbler at the local hobby store, I found a leatherworking kit on the next shelf down. The best part was that every item in the store was 30%. The worst part was that the business owner is retiring, so the store will be gone.

Off to work on my third entry for the 100 Species Challenge.

Weaving

"I" of GAIN was very proud of her weaving project that she made at her dual enrollment art class. I shopped this evening at a local home school buy sell trade event, and got a book and loom for $1 for her. She was quite excited when I showed it to her. Crafting is in the air.