This is more of a craft Throwback, rather than a picture from the past. The potholder loom was a craft I did when I was young. All those loops! I bought two sets for my kids years ago, and they sat unused. I was recently scrolling Pinterest and saw a diagonal design that used a technique I had never seen. I had to try it. I dug out a kit from the craft closet and set to work figuring out how to do it.
Photo description: laying out brightly colored knit cotton loops on a standard potholder loom, laying on loose loops.Photo description: weaving started on the potholder loom with purple and red loops that twist around each other and are hooked at a 90 degree angle instead of straight across. Harrisville Design box as the background.Photo description: weaving finished and showing a strong diagonal line with green, blue, and purple on one side, and red, orange, and yellow on the otherPhoto description: same potholder with the edges finished and removed from the loom showing a definite cup effect from the extra tension added by the 90 degree twist. This potholder later relaxed and laid flat.
This is a neat technique. I did learn that I need to pay attention to which way I twist the two colors around each other and keep it consistent. I switched directions a couple times in the project and it can be seen in the final product as an inconsistent line.
So there are Turks head knots, and long Turks head knots. Yes, this is what I have been looking for. I found a video tutorial, dug some hemp string from my stash, a pencil from my side table, and dug into weaving. The learning curve on this knot was made easier since I’ve been working on Turks head knots. The most time consuming part is tightening the knot because it is made from a single strand that winds around and around (and around), and the loose loop needs to be traced all through the knot. These are not quick projects, but they are so rewarding.
Photo description: tripled long Turks head knot on a #2 pencil made from natural colored hemp string, sleeping calico cat as the background
I tripled the knot, meaning I wove three strands parallel to the first grid. (My nautical and knot tying terminology is rubbish.) The knot isn’t perfect, but is stable enough to remove and replace, so it can live on, even if the pencil is sharpened down. Pencils of the house, beware!
I love my little mossarium, and keep looking for tiny things to add: little plants from the yard, lichen, birds. Birds! I cut out flying bird silhouettes on my Cricut from black cardstock, and hung them from monofilament attached to a wire mobile.
Photo description: more card stock black bird cutouts than I needed in four sizes on a green Cricut mat
I used 22 gauge black coated copper wire to hang a fishing swivel on the inside of the terrarium.
Photo description: small fishing swivel connected to black wire with a closed loop
I made a circle of wire with a cross bar and loop, and hung it from a banana stand so I could balance it as I added the birds, which had monofilament strung through the body area. I only needed seven of the smallest birds I cut, the rest will be saved for other projects. I used super glue to tack the line onto the wire because I didn’t want the line to slide along the wire, and I didn’t want to add weight by making wire loops.
Photo description: tiny bird mobile hanging from a banana stand, terrarium lid in the background Photo description: mobile in place in the terrarium lid, showing the wire circle hanging from the fishing swivel attached to the peak of the lid and the birds hanging downPhoto description: terrarium lid in place over the moss covered mini landscape
Here is a 5 second video of the birds “flying”. I put the terrarium on a small lazy susan, so when I turn it, the birds turn at a different rate, and will continue to spin briefly when the turntable stops. The swivel doesn’t spin as freely as I would like, but this is a happy start.
My husband spotted something unusual coming up out of our crossvine, inverted pitcher-like purple flowers that were very different than the crossvine’s peachy-orange vessel flowers. The iNaturalist app gave us the category “clematis and leather flowers”. Searching leatherflowers, the purple leather flower, Clematis pitcheri, was a visual match. We certainly didn’t plant it, but it is quite welcome!
Photo description: two purple leather flowers coming up between crossvine leaves
For those curious, the flower is quite robust, and the curling tips feel very much like leather (as a leather worker, I feel confident in that assessment.) I did not dissect a bloom, but if it continues to do well and produces more than just three flowers, that will be a future project.
I cleaned and washed the terrarium a third time. When rebuilding this round, the chunk of wood that kept sprouting mold was not included in the build. Instead I turned to our backyard, which is mostly clay and marvelous to sculpt. I put a layer of glass pebbles down in the base, added some activated charcoal, then put down a compacted layer of dried sphagnum moss. I used the top part of a champagne flute (the bottom broke off rather jagged, but it went down into the moss, so no danger of cuts) as a form, basically a glass tube in the middle that would be a “pot” for my jewel orchid to ensure it had room to grow and didn’t get soaked, as I tend to overwater.
Photo description: Bags of rocks and stones on the left, the base of the terrarium showing the glass pebble and charcoal base layer covered with sphagnum moss, and the top of a champagne flute on the right, all on a outdoor cast aluminum table
I gathered clay soil from different areas in the backyard, where wild moss was already growing, and built it up around the glass tube. I found my stash of labradorite pebbles, some of which I tumbled, some were raw, and added the smooth stones as steps, and the rough rocks as “boulders” in the sculpture. I then used a spatula to gather small sheets of moss from different areas in the backyard, trying to find different looks, and laid them over the clay base.
Photo description: moss sculpture in progress outside on the patio table with labradorite, moonstone, and stone mushrooms on a moss covered clay form with a hole in the center held open by the glass tube formerly known as a champagne flute
I really enjoyed this build. The clay soil was easy to work with because we have had a very wet spring, and the moss molded well against the clay. I made a spiral staircase because I like spirals. I filled the center tube with sphagnum moss and put the jewel orchid at the top. I found small plants in the yard in the shade that I tucked between sheets of moss as well.
Photo description: moved the build inside, out of the sunlight, this shows the opposite side with a labradorite “boulder” sticking out of the mossy hillPhoto description: another side of the mossarium hill showing one of the labradorite stepping stones showing a blue schiller effectPhoto description: my favorite view, straight down from above the mossarium build showing the sculpted spiral Photo description: not a great photo of the complete mossarium with lid, I need to get out my polarizing filter and good camera to combat the glass glare with the terrarium lid in place, mister to the right, which is an old eye glass cleaning bottle, and left over bags of stone on the left
I’m hoping that the third time is the charm on this mossarium. It was a fun build.
Critters and Craft 