Category: Craft

Toothpick spinning

On By CarynIn Craft

I have a spinning demonstration coming up and I want to have small give aways that promote and encourage people to try spinning. While it is possible to spin without a spindle by rolling fiber along your thigh, tension management is more difficult. Tooth picks resemble small spindles, especially for cotton, and are inexpensive. Can I spin using a toothpick?

Photo description: combed cotton spun into thread using a 2.5 inch toothpick

I started with combed cotton, and was pleasantly surprised that while spinning the toothpick in one direction with my fingers I could spin. It isn’t fast, but it is possible. As the cop of thread built up, though, it was harder to spin the short toothpick.

Photo description: Teeswater long wool spun on a 4 inch toothpick

I tried a longer toothpick and some longer staple wool, and found spinning much easier. A small bit of wool also goes a long way when making thread! My plan is to make small bags with a fluff of wool or cotton, a 4 inch toothpick, and a small card with basic instructions and a link to a video.

Awkward but functional

On By CarynIn Craft, Garden

One of my hanging plants started leaking from a crack in the bottom. I’m not entirely sure how a hanging pot cracks, but it definitely wasn’t leaking plant water last week. I had a spare pot, but it wasn’t hanging, so I attempted a macrame pot holder. I used cotton macrame cord leftover from a different project, and divided it into six strands. I folded these in half and secured a loop in the middle with a knot. I then used macrame style square knots to make the net part of the hanger. It took a few tries. I found that I need to leave enough room from the loop to the first knot for the pot to slip through. The knots aren’t perfectly spaced, but they are functional, holding the oval shaped pot securely. I finished the bottom by gathering all 12 strands and lashing them together with a separate strand of cord.

Photo description: very basic macrame plant holder for an oval pot

The zebrina plant looks sad because I had to cull 90 percent of it to get it into the hanger. I took cuttings from the culled sections to root out. This plant regularly goes from sad and spindly to lush and full, so I’m not worried about it.

Pushing limits

On By CarynIn Craft

I took my Cricut cutter to extremes to cut a photo mat. The material is a little thicker than recommended. I used the deep cut blade, a 12×24 inch mat, more pressure, and a setting that traced the pattern twice. It didn’t quite get all the way through the mat board, so I used a safety razor blade to finish the cut.

Photo description: using a safety razor blade to finish cuts in mat board, the matboard cover lifted a bit when removed from the Cricut mat, but it is on the back

The resulting mat has spaces for 16 2×3 inch photos for my youngest’s school photos. All the commercially available mats only had 13 spaces, kindergarten through 12th. I needed spaces for preschool too. I bought mats larger than the frame, which allowed me to trim down the outside with my paper cutter and make sure the Cricut cut rectangles were centered.

Photo description: finished mat over the original 13 space backing to show the new divisions, my paper cutter and my Cricut on the floor because that is the only space that can accommodate a 24 inch cutting mat (not pictured)

Inside vs Outside

On By CarynIn Craft

In April I gathered some iris leaves and let them dry inside on a drying rack.

Photo description: freshly picked iris leaves on a mesh drying rack
Photo description: same iris leaves after five months
Photo description: dried iris leaves gathered from outside in September

I was surprised at the color difference between iris leaves dried inside, and those left to dry outside. The inside leaves are so much darker, but the color is more uniform. The outside dried leaves are more golden, but with streaks of black. What isn’t surprising is the grasshopper bites on the leaves left outside on the plant. There isn’t much grasshopper activity in April, but as the summer rolls through, and most of the other greenery turns brown, the grasshoppers go after the iris.

The next step is to see if there are any differences in how the leaves weave up.

Smarter with flax

On By CarynIn Craft

I started a twined loop-and-twist bag from a flax kit from Sally Pointer, historical educator. With the flax strick from the kit, I drew the fibers from the middle, which created horrible tangles of tow flax at the ends. (Tow flax is shorter lengths of flax, line flax can have strands over three feet.) When I ran out of long line flax, I attempted to continue with combed tow flax, which is doable, but I really like twining with long line flax, so I ordered another strick from a local company. I was smarter with this bundle of flax fibers, and actually read the flax passages in “the Practical Spinner’s Guide” book series. I separated out a section of the new flax, and put the rest aside.

Photo description: flax strick (top), twined loop-and-twist bag in progress (middle), smaller section of long line flax untwisted (bottom)

There are several methods of dressing flax to reduce tangles when spinning or twining, I chose to tie a ribbon around and drape the section over my shoulder. I sit on a high backed chair when I twine, so I can keep tension on the fibers by leaning back.

Photo description: section of flax tied with a ribbon to keep the fibers neater

I’d like the bag to be big enough to hold a pound of wool or so. The expansion capabilities of the loop-and-twist bag are quite extraordinary.