I’ve posted before about Howard Feed-n-Wax and how much I love it for the ease of use and beauty it imparts to wood. Here is another testimonial with my Befra Willy Spinning Wheel.
I did replace the hooks on the flyer assembly as well. They weren’t broken, but I have an idea about how to wind the spun yarn more smoothly and larger hooks may help. More on that later.
I recently visited my folks, who have a new laser cutter, so I had to give it a go. I had sketched up a design before I visited of a new idea for a dishwasher magnet, then I got carried away filling the space with simple yarn shuttles, weaving needles, and even a drop spindle whorl.
The laser cutter is like a Cricut cutter, but on steroids. The cuts were smoother than I expected, and really don’t need clean up. The engraved dragonflies actually have some depth, which is neat. The dragonfly design is one of mine that I pulled from archives to test out (because I could). There is some learning curve, and experimentation with power and speed is necessary for the best results. It was overall a fun project. I do have some assembly and testing work ahead of me.
This Throwback Thursday doesn’t go quite so far back, we’re going to December 2021. I made a tapered French style rolling pin for my Mother-in-law and decorated it with painted daisies. I took some in process pictures, but because it was the holidays and I was in a whirlwind, I forgot to take final pictures. My MIL graciously sent me pictures of the rolling pin recently, so now I can share the project on the blog!
In June of 2007 I did a wood and epoxy coaster study for Father’s Day.
I used a hand held router setup with my rotary tool to carve the recesses and feet on each coaster.
My Dad sent me a picture of the fish coaster, 17 years later, and the coaster has held up well living in a display case. Interestingly, the blue “feather” I drew on the hook has faded.
When my eldest discovered she had hands and the beginning ability to control those wiggly digits, I made her a set of blocks from my wood pile. I made them from different woods, and in different sizes, because it gave them different weights and feel. I was all about the “different texture experiences” practice of parenthood. I rounded the edges and finished with a matte clear coat, to help with grip.
I have to admit, I rather liked arranging them on the table as a center piece.
