In the Swing of Things...

Today you will start to see where I am going with the dome. It will only take one more day to finish it.

I am just sorry that the cherry wood that I used for this project doesn't show up well in the photos. Yup. It's a board with holes in it. I cut the board 1 1/8" wide and 2" long. Then I sanded it and drilled four holes in each end, evenly spaced.

I threaded two pieces, of about 18", of Perle cotton through each hole and left about 4 " on the bottom side. Then I did an overhand knot as close to the board as I could make it on both sides of the holes.

The next step will probably be a dead giveaway as to what the project is.....I macramed the bottom with three square knots, each tied over two core threads, in a triangular shape and tied them off with a separate piece.

Then I flipped it over and worked on the top side in a pattern of square knots, half hitches and a braid at the top.

I did the same pattern on both sides. When I was finished I hung them on a branch of the tree. Again, I used a wrap finish to attach it to the tree.

I don't know how it happened, but the focus landed on the far side of the swing.....I couldn't just have a plain old rope swing on such an elegant base, could I?

As you can see, I got the texture on the tree itself. Then I painted it with washes of burnt sienna , eucalyptus and trail tan.

I used dried Heavenly Bamboo around the base of the tree well and covered it with leaves and flowers.

Then I bribed Tessie to pose in the swing. She likes it, but won't be using it much. She absolutely refuses to let me put the dome over the top when she is on the swing. She claims she can't breath....OK...No dome....No swing.

She is now making noises that she would like a tree and swing on the roof of the townhouse. I have visions of big holes in the roof, workroom, bedroom and on down to the living room....I don't think that the house would take the weight of a full grown tree and soil. We will have to think of another way.

I promised her that she could use it for a few hours without the dome. I am working on that part now, so no worries for her.

This last step is going to make or break the whole thing. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it in reverse order.

Come back tomorrow for the final chapter.

See you then.