The Craftiest Workshop

It has been nicer this week with daily temperatures getting warm enough in the afternoons that I could comfortably be outside without a toque or gloves. For me, doing wood projects in the garage or outside, is so much better when your hands don’t get cold.

I worked on my twig bunny first gluing down some burlap on the cardboard insert from my frame. I collected a bunch of small trees that the power company had cut down across the road. The branches off of those trees were a perfect circumference to use on this project. I took a bunch of branches into the greenhouse and used the counter in there to snip small straight sections of branches with my pruning shears. I laid them out on a sketch I had done of a bunny shape. Once I had all the pieces to fill the shape, I took them carefully back in the house and glued them down on the cardboard covered in burlap. I know it still needs some adornments, whether that be a bow tie or fluffy tail, but I haven’t decided what just yet.

Another project I worked on was cutting an insert for this wooden box we had found at the shelve & share. I had burned the words onto the box months ago with the idea to have Chris’s stained glass succulent placed into it. I thought just filling the box with glass beads would work but the succulent got half buried and also wouldn’t stay upright. I cut a piece of 2×4 to put inside the box, just enough that I could tap it down about an inch. I eyeballed the middle of the board, drilled a bunch of holes with the drill press and then used a hammer and chisel to create a groove for the glass to sit in. It was rough but it wasn’t going to be visible so it got the job done. The last step was to place the glass succulent in and surround it with clear glass beads.

The mornings were still cool this week so I decided to sit and do some knitting. I wanted to try knitting some eggs with the different pastel yarns that I have. Thin baby yarn seemed to work the best to keep the eggs fairly small. I reduced the number of stitches and increased the size of needles for thicker medium weight yarn.

Size 3.0mm needles

Cast On 8 St

Row 1: knit

Row 2: kfb 8 (16)

Row 3: knit

Row 4: “k1, kfb 1” repeat to end of row (24)

Row 5: knit

Row 6: “k2, kfb 1” repeat to end of row (32)

Row 7-15: knit

Row 16: “k2, k2tog” repeat to end of row (24)

Row 17,18: knit

Row 19: “k1, k2tog” (16)

Row 20,21: knit

Row 22: k2tog; repeat to end of row (8)

Row 23: knit

Row 24: k2tog 4x (4)

Row 25: knit

Yarn over and pull stitches one at a time up and over the YO and off the needle. Cut the working yarn and pull the cut strand out through the stitches and pull tight.

Use the tail from the cast on to close the egg. Find a bottom stitch on one side and connect to top stitch on the other to have a more hidden seam. Once the egg is almost closed, use fibre fill to stuff it. You don’t need very much for each egg. Continue stitching till you meet the other piece of yarn. Tie a knot and cut off the ends.

My first egg on the left. I didn’t seam from bottom stitch to top stitch so it looks like a ridge. I overfilled it. I also ended on 8 stitches instead of 4 stitches so the top is not as pointed.

The last project I worked on this week was for the expected arrival of my great niece or nephew. I made one of these for their older sister, Raya, after she was born with her name, birthdate and birth weight on it. It is cut from some 3/4” maple hardwood flooring pieces we had leftover from our house in Trenton. Just waiting on baby’s arrival to add the pertinent information.

Other than that we are excited for the spring thaw and we go out daily to see how much the water has risen in the tree line and how much the snow has gone down. Still a long ways to go but with highs over 10°, it should progress fairly quickly now. Happy Spring everyone!!