A Rose and Kumihimo.....

OK.....I am sidetracked once more....

First, after the five drops or so of rain that we had last night, Tessie and I found this on the back patio this morning....Her very own rose. People brag about growing roses as big as their heads. Pure exaggeration....Tessie brags and it's true! She is complaining that it's too big. The heat is getting to the leaves, unfortunately.
Now about the other subject of the title...Yesterday at Wednesday Witches, Joan was doing something that I have wanted to try for a long time. Kumihimo. It is a Japanese way of making braided cords. As I watched her try it for the first time, I decided that I had to have a go at it myself.

She had a circular loom that she had purchased at the Gem and Mineral Show in January. She has much more willpower and a lot less free time than I do. I wouldn't have been able to wait all those months to try it.

When I got home, I started searching the net for information and photos of work. It is really fascinating what people can do with this. I put the word in flickr search and got hundreds of photos of jewelry and other applications that people are using the cords for. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=kumihimo If you go here, be sure to grab a cup of coffee and a couple of muffins to sustain you whilst you look...I never did get through the whole thing.

I won't explain how it is done. There are websites all over the place with information and instructions.

Since I didn't want to go out looking for some place to buy a loom, I made one. There are also all kinds of instructions on how to make them. Some people even make them from round stools, by drilling a large hole in the center of the seat....I didn't go that far....Yet....

I made mine from a layer of cardboard for stiffness and two outer layers of fun foam glued together with white glue. It probably won't hold up long, but it will hold up until I get a real one.


Here is what I produced so far. I just used some old over dyed Perle cotton that I had lying around. It really didn't take long to do it and the learning curve is very fast. By watching Joan and then watching a woman on You Tube instructing, I got it right away. At least the simple 8 cord version. It can get much more complicated by adding more cords.

Tessie grabbed the end and started whining...."Can't you make it smaller?" I want some."

The learning curve will have to extend to smaller and smaller....For now I am going to practice some more in big.

This is like potato chips....Never just one...

See you tomorrow.