Learning Curve

This morning I stained 150 pieces of flooring....One end anyway.  I wanted to let them dry before doing the other end.  Easier to handle that way.

So....What to do in the meantime?  I was really out of the mood for workroom cleaning.

Then I thought of a U Tube video that I ran across the other day whilst looking at Kumihimo videos. 

Maybe I should have titled this entry "I Love Lucet"... I can hear the groans from here...

I went back and put in "lucet" in the U Tube search.  I was surprised to find quiet a few instructional videos.

Being interested in all sorts of needlecrafts, I have seen them before, but never tried to find or use one.

For those of you that don't know, a lucet is a very old tool for making square braid.  It claims to go all the way back to the Vikings. 

First I needed the tool.  By looking at the first video, http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lucet&oq=lucet&gs_l=youtube.1.0.35i39l2j0l8.2262.3635.0.7691.5.5.0.0.0.0.141.624.0j5.5.0...0.0.p63MSj50fBM I guesstimated the size of it against the person's hand.  I came up with a tool about five or six inches long and maybe three inches across.

I drew myself half a pattern, folded the index card and cut the whole thing out. 

I found a piece of scrap walnut and cut it out.  Then I sanded the edges.  I drilled a hole for the cord to go through and called it finished.

If you follow the first one on the U Tube page, it is pretty easy to learn...I am not good at tension yet.  I used a piece of hemp cord.  I think it would be easier with something smoother.

The piece that you see took me about 15 minutes to do.  I don't think it is too bad for a first try.

It's kind of fun to see the cord happening.  One of the videos suggests that it could be used to make shoelaces. 

Of course, now Tessie wants one.  Her size...That will have to wait until later.  Right now,  I need to go stain the other end of the boards.

See you tomorrow.