Happy Birthday Seth and April!

Every year about this time, we take the kids out to dinner for their birthdays.  Seth is eight days older than April.  So somewhere between the two we celebrate.

I don't expect to get any minis done today.  Too busy getting things ready.

First of all, I tangled both of their card envelopes.  As you can see, I didn't get the other end of the flooring dipped.

Next I will show you the progress on the lucet...I think that I am getting better at it.  I went back and watched a few more videos on U tube.  The more I watched, the more I got the rhythm of it.

I do think that it would work better with a better lucet, but for learning purposes, this one works fine.  There is even one video that shows somebody working with a piece of plastic cut in a crude V shape and that even works!

Anyway, Tessie will have to wait until tomorrow to have hers made.

To fill in the gaps, I will show you my latest tangle.  I did this one especially to fit the frame that it is in.  this is a great way to fill frames that I have sitting around doing nothing. 

At least it keeps me awake whilst watching TV at the end of the day. 

I have to go get ready now.  Outback, here we come.

See you tomorrow.

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.