Beech Pin

Here is the first completed shawl pin. It's from a beech log that my brother salvaged from who knows where. As you can see the wood has beautiful grain. Andrew is currently in his "man cave" aka the garage turning some more pins. Each pin has a unique shape to its top. You can wear the pin with the oval or just the pin. They both look nice.

Making Wooden Shawl Pins

As promised I have some photos of the shawl pin making operation. Andrew started with a pile of assorted types of wood that he has accumulated over time. He chose Red Maple, Cedar, Chestnut, Beech, Walnut and Mulberry because of the beautiful wood grain that you will be able to see in the finished piece. He then rough cut and planed the wood into usable lumber. I asked for oval shaped rings for the pins to fit through so he then cut ovals. After he did the rough cutting and shaping on them I did the fine sanding and applied tung oil to protect the wood and make it shine. Now he is working on the actual pin to hold the rings in place. This is done on a lathe and takes a bit of concentration. In another day or so you will be able to see the finished pieces. I'm keeping one of each kind of wood for myself and others we will use for gifts.

A Productive Day

We got up early this morning with the intention of heading out to a wood carving show. That didn't happen. Andrew decided he wanted to do some woodworking himself (stayed tuned-hopefully later in the week I will have photos of this project) and I got a burr about how dusty the house was and the rest is history. We moved every piece of furniture in this place and vacuumed and dusted every square inch. I washed all the bedding-spread, skirt and all. I threw all the bed pillows out and rooted through and set aside for camping all our old towels and then I went to Kohl's and bought new. Luckily everything was on sale for 60 % off and I also had a 20% off coupon. What a deal and the coupon is good until the end of next week so I will be going back later for more goodies. The bed pillows had to go because my allergies are at their worst and I wanted to get rid of anything that could be contributing. After that adventure I started on the rabbitry. Everyone got their cage cleaned and their little selves groomed. In all of this I had to take a couple photos of Indiana Jones because he just looks spectacular and I can hardly contain my excitement at what a nice herd sire he is going to be. He is out of Pixie and Evander and he has her sweet personality. Everyone else was happy to be held and groomed and they each got a leaf of kale as a treat afterward. What was Daisy doing today you may ask-well mostly sleeping on the couch. She got a fresh bag of Eukies and a greenie which she woofed down probably without even tasting it. And as a final note Otterbein Football lost to Mount Union this afternoon-drat-I was really hoping for a win but of course Mount Union has been undefeated for years but still it was a nice dream... Women's soccer has won the OAC tournament (whowah)and now advances to the NCAA tournament. Those gals are kicking butt and taking names. Cross your fingers. I would love to see them go all the way to number 1. They are a good group with a great coach.

Voyagers Toque

My husband and I are avid canoeists and he wanted an authentic toque such as the Canadian voyagers wore. After doing some research and obtaining a Tully's book (through OC interlibrary loan) containing the pattern I was able to knit him one. In the photos above he is wearing it in two different way. An adaptation of this pattern is what I used for all my hats. There are a lot of patterns for hats that are called toques but there is only one "real" toque.

The following is an excerpt from a website I found: Toques make excellent cool or cold weather caps. There are many styles and methods of wearing these hats, and we refer you to the Voyager’s Sketchbook by James A. Hanson for more references on ways to wear the toque and on other types of hats worn by the French. Two styles of toques are noted in journal accounts: the single and the double cap. A single toque resembles a simple modern stocking cap, while the double toque resembles a deflated football with one end stuffed into the other to form a double layer. Depending upon how deep you stuff one end into the other, it is possible to adjust the “drop” or “bag” of the double toque… The distinct fashion statement of the toque was the “bag” of the cap, which is the leftover portion that hangs from the head.



Some styles of wearing the toque, often shown in period sketches and paintings
A pattern for knitting this correct style of toque is available in Mark Tully’s “The Packet II” (M. Tully 2000 The Packet II – Being Another Collection of Patterns, Articles and Essays of Particular Interest to the 18th-Century Re-Enactor. Ballindalloch Press. Baraboo, WI).

Duluth Pack sells a toque that comes in several different colors. It is pictured below in red.

The Legend of the White Buffalo

My aunt in Colorado is the bookkeeper for a gentleman and his wife who have several businesses including a wild game ranch where they raise white buffalo. When we were out there this summer Janet brought me a large bag of their wool. I washed, spun and knitted it into a scarf. It has a bit of a course texture but is lovely wool. The native Americans revered the white buffalo. I found this website which tells the story. The animals themselves are quite an imposing sight-its no wonder the native Americans were in awe of them.

A Day in the Country

I had a wonderful day in Eastern Ohio visiting my friend Lisa. (She's sporting a fashionable purple cast on her arm now- a result of our disastrous visit last weekend). Anyway we went to lunch, talked rabbits, rambled about her farm and visited with Tank-her Great Pyrenees. It was another beautiful fall day. Photos (taken with my cell phone-blah) of Lisa's sheep and Phazana and Cameroon. I just ordered a new camera that I can carry around in my pocket for such occasions. It's a Nikon S50.

Andrew went to Prairie Oaks for a paddle down Big Darby Creek with his co-worker and friend Mac. They were looking for dragonfly larvae and silver side minnows. They had a great time too.

An Antique Yarn Winder

I recently was given an antique yarn winder. My friend Jane, who owned it, told me the nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel" was written about the noise that the winder makes while in use. I did a web search and came up with several different theories on the song's origin. I also found this-" It refers to the noise made by a yarn winder, which is an accessory to a spinning wheel. Children turned the winder,sang the little ditty, while momma operated the wheel. A worm gear moved a thin piece of wood as the winder turned and "poped" when a mesured length of yarn was accumulated on the winder." I thought it was interesting. My winder needs a couple minor repairs and then I plan to put it to good use. There is not a whole lot going on around here today. I plucked a couple rabbits and Andrew worked in the yard. It a beautiful day outside. Guess we are going to have an Indian Summer after all.