I made a dozen spinning sticks for my spinning class by cutting hardwood dowels, sanding them, then adding a small cup hook and finishing them with butcher block conditioner.
These are useful starting tools for teaching spinning wool. There is more connection for the student with the twist from turning the stick going into the fibers to lock them together and learning to control a long draw. They are also much less expensive than a purchased spindle or spinning wheel and very easy to make.
I put a few canna leaves in a bucket of water and weighted them down with a rock with the intention of rotting away the non fibrous material. This process is called retting and is what is used in the process of getting linen fiber from flax.
I’ve read that flax only needs a few days of water retting, so after three days I dumped out the water (which was brown but not smelly) and rinsed the canna. There was no appreciable difference. Hm. It appears that canna needs more time than flax. Not surprising since canna is a much more robust plant than flax. I need that bucket, though, so I will find a different container to attempt to retting again.
I made a second pair of fingerless gloves in November 2018, with the body of the gloves knit, the edges crocheted, and embroidered flowers added to the backs of the gloves.
I’m not sure of the practicality of white wool gloves, but the embroidery sure looks nice against the light background.
I have a squirrel that I can hand feed pecans! She stares at me from the tree outside until I take her out a couple pecans, then she will take one from my fingertips and eats it while sitting on a knot on the tree. Here is a video.
Yes, her right ear is mangled. I suspect she had ear mites and scratched it up. And yes, I know she is a female, and has had kits. When squirrels are stretched out to feed on corn it is easy to tell gender.
Pinner aprons were a popular clothing protection addition from the late 1700s to the late 1800s. The bib added above the waistband was pinned to the top of the dress, hence the “pinner” name. I made mine from 100% cotton gingham fabric, which has a checked pattern made by weaving together white and dyed blue thread, not by printing. I sewed it on a Singer model 66 treadle sewing machine (1916) using 100% cotton thread. I cut all the pieces by calculating size and following the squares on the fabric, and did not use a pattern. To keep the edges from unraveling, I hemmed each piece before assembly.
I made the apron because I wanted (needed) pockets with my 1860s period outfit. I did not gather the apron because my walking skirt from Historical Emporium doesn’t have gathers.
The apron worked as intended, and aside from the problem of putting tiny holes in my shirt from the pins, the bib stayed in place, honestly better than straps stay on for me.
