Stick Woven Doll

Tonight I had some fun making a woven doll with the stick weaving method. It's nice to finally learn something with stick weaving other than making long items like belts and scarves. I see so many creative possibilities with this.

Backstrap Loom

Yesterday I took my loom kit to the archery range in Santa Ana.  I'm glad I did because we were there much longer than I planned on and I got quite a lot done. This is the first striped sash I've made.  It's my best one yet. I found out this type of loom is called a backstrap loom because you wear a strap around you and tie the belt to it so you can get the right tension.
At one point a squirrel was under the bench right by my toes but it scooted off when a bike went by.  Once you are tied into the loom it's not that easy to jump up and do things and I couldn't quite reach my camera.
Nothing beats crafts on a nice day under a shady tree in my book.

Making a striped belt on my backstrap loom.

Using a comb as the beater.

I made a simple shuttle out of a basswood rectangle and the loom out of popsicle sticks and basswood slats.

Weaving is fun.

San Tiago archery range.

Popsicle Stick Loom

Barbara's son just got his 2nd tooth.

My friend Ren invited me to a craft group on Facebook. That was nice of her.  I shouldn't have named my group Fayme Crafts because I'm the only one for the most part posting crafts to it, when I wanted it to be a group that everyone could post to.

On Saturday I took my loom to the Arroyo Seco with me and talked my head off about it.  I made a belt. The hardest part was keeping myself parked in the chair. I kept leaping up to play Frisbee, talk to new people, run to the bathroom, hold Barbara's cute baby and eat.  I never get much done there, for all the schmoozing. But I did finish the belt. Now I need to start a new project on the loom.

Barbara's son is learning to walk.

Me wearing the headband I made on the loom.

Barbara took these photos of me using the loom.

Almost done with the belt.

It was Erick's first time. He's making a longbow.

Popsicle Stick Weaving Loom

Yesterday at the library I raided the children's section and came away with a great book that shows how to do various summer camp style crafts.  After my friend Lynn showed me how her big loom worked last weekend, I was thrilled to find directions for a loom made out of popsicle sticks. It acts just like a heddle, took only a few hours to make including letting the glue dry, and I've already made a neck scarf and I'm halfway through a belt. I'll take it with me to an archery gathering I'm going to tomorrow so I can work on it some more. I was doing it outside but the sun is setting so I stopped for the day and forgot to take photos.  I'll get some tomorrow for sure. You could even make this loom for free is you save your popsicle sticks.  I used some other wood I had laying around for the top and bottom frame.  Then I had to use some fine sandpaper to keep it from snagging the yarn.

The book is for children and when you have small hands you can easily push the ball of yarn back and forth.  My big hands were a bit more challenging so I made a bobbin (shuttle) from a rectangle of basswood. I can see it would work better with the corners rounded but that's a task for another day.  The book also says to use your hands to tamp the yarn, but I found a wide tooth comb in the bathroom that works a lot better.  So with a few improvements, I'm off and weaving and having a great time.

Walking Stick

I got up early to work on my walking staff.  Not quite early enough though because it was already hot out. I used a bigger draw knife this time and got some of the branch nodes smoothed down.  I think it's time to switch to a scraper so I don't take off too much wood.
Then I came in and spent an hour sorting out knitting projects.  I put them all in a big cubical box to get them out from under my feet.  I hope it doesn't become out of sight out of mind though.  I was sick the last two days so I don't want to overdo it today. I thought I'd rest a little and work on blogging before you guys all forget who I am.

Gourd Rain Stick Part 2 Almost Ready

It seems like it took half the day but I'm finally finished with my gourd rain stick. I am uploading part 2 of the tutorial even as we speak. By tomorrow the glue will be dry and then I'll be able to use it to make music. I love percussion instruments. It's the gateway instrument for so many.

Rain Stick Tutorial Part 2

Today I'm working on part 2 of the Gourd Rain Stick tutorial. Only I didn't like how there was too much of me on the video so I have to reshoot it in a minute. The rain stick sounds good though and that's the point.

Yesterday I tweaked my left hand making the fascinators. I don't know if it's CTS, arthritus, or just a stress injury, but both my wrists hurt almost every day. So I'm really going to have to take it easy today.

Gourd Rain Stick

I gave my gourd rain stick about 10 coats of spray finish today and left it outside to dry. The can said to let it dry 24 hours, so maybe tomorrow I can put the beans in and glue it all together and finish the tutorial on it.

Thursdays Projects

Today I made a list because I find I get a lot more done that way. There is just something about checking things off of a list to keep me moving along. It's only noon and I've already cut the nubs off the rain stick gourd and dyed the exterior. I've finished the black interior of the horse gourd and as soon as that dries I can sew the sisal on.

I also stocked up on blank t-shirts and got those into the washer to pre-wash them before putting paint or anything on them. Last time I didn't bother with pre-washing and stamped on them anyway, but it's always better to pre-wash any sizing out of the shirt and preshrink them as well. And when inspiration strikes I'll have shirts ready this time instead of having to wait for the washer and dryer to run. You know how it is with motivation; you have to run with it or it goes away.

Learn About Stick Weaving.

Here is an article I wrote on Stick Weaving. I bring it up now because it's the perfect project for summer camps, homeschooling and summer vacation days that are getting boring. Inexpensive and a good way to use up partial skeins of yarn from past projects or donated yarn that doesn't quite suit your taste.