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Day 14: Distraction techniques

Day 14: Distraction techniques

by Rachel Bainton | Mar 18, 2018 | Basket, Greenwood Craft, Process, Willow Basket, Willow structures

Yesterday was cold.  It rained, and there was occasional driving rain, along with a cold, gusty wind.  Against all the odds (it’s March – surely Spring must spring sometime?), today was even colder.  It was ridiculous.  It snowed, the white stuff gusted...
Day 12: Basket cases

Day 12: Basket cases

by Rachel Bainton | Mar 11, 2018 | General, Greenwood Craft, Process, Willow Basket

Warning….  Today’s blog is rather factual and informative – perhaps even dry!  I won’t be offended if you read no further.  In fact, you probably only want to keep on reading if either: a) You think that at some point in the future you might...

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Egg and Spoon Crafts

3 days ago

Egg and Spoon Crafts
This is the comic strip I put together for the last issue of Emmet Van Driesche's @Spoonesaurus magazine. Just in case you didn't know, this is a real life printed quarterly magazine all about spoons. (Cool, huh?)Lately, each issue has been focused on a theme, and the last theme was "Axing".Normally, my design process is pretty solitary; if I'm on Riseup Andcarve, I might try to brainstorm some ideas, and Doug is very patient with mulling things over with me. But the kernel for this strip came into being while at Spoonburn this year. It started with Georg talking about his "Axe box", which, with a German accent, sounds very much like XBox.And from there, the idea was born that the comic strip would compare axing with gaming online. The only slight problem with this concept is that while I might know a reasonable amount about axing, I know nothing about gaming.Luckily though, I was surrounded by people who did have some esoteric gaming knowledge, and were prepared to support me through the tortuous route to creating the strip. Special thanks go to Andreas Heijdendael, @final_or and James Robertson. Your patience and willingness to disrupt your carving for me is greatly appreciated. ...

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Egg and Spoon Crafts is in England.

4 days ago

Egg and Spoon Crafts
When I processed the blanks for these flippy flippers, I got one thing wrong. I had in mind that straight grain was very important for the blade, and went for the straightest portion of growth rings at the outside of a large log.Later, when I re-read Johannes Engell Kamber Aarø how-to guide in Spoonesaurus, he clearly guided me towards using a radial split (with the blade edge oriented radially from the centre of the log) rather than tangential. The logic is that there will be less movement as the wood dries in a radial split, so all the effort getting the blade flat won't be in vain. The result of this is that the blanks I made give a narrower blade than I originally planned, and the increased depth gives more crank on the handle.This is one of the things I love about carving... the material, or the decisions you make when processing the material, push the design in different directions. I'm also loving the chance to vary the handle (chunky is definitely better) and the slots (rounded holes are very challenging with a ring porous wood like ash).On to the next. ...

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Egg and Spoon Crafts is in England.

4 days ago

Egg and Spoon Crafts
This morning we had blue skies. Now we have thunderstorms. I love growing sunflowers. ...

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Egg and Spoon Crafts

4 days ago

Egg and Spoon Crafts
I made a flippy flipper last year, following Johannes Engell Kamber Aarø how-to guide in the Spoonesaurus magazine. We've used it ever since, and I've been keen to make more. I promised myself before the first of this year's gatherings that if I encountered some large diameter wood I'd focus on flippers. But woodpiles are enchanting things, and I've been lured away to other projects. The same would no doubt have happened at The Hoolie at the weekend, but for a large ash log in the charcoal pile. It had some colour in the grain and looked promisingly straight. Other stuff happened, but on Sunday, Jamie cut me a chunk to take home, and I blanked it up yesterday. This morning I was properly excited to be finally realising my promise to myself. Obviously it is ash, so a little harder than preferred. And I did stab myself. But I'm still delighted to have carved another flippy flipper. ...

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Egg and Spoon Crafts

6 days ago

Egg and Spoon Crafts
I was lucky enough to win this basket made by Angie in the raffle at @greenaspirationsscotland. It'll be coming to festivals next year as a handy treen carrier to take to the catering stations for all the delicious food we're served, and then converting to a useful tray/table for camp fire eating. ...

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Week 10 This week has mostly been about plastering Week 10 This week has mostly been about plastering. The @atticltd guys have been prepping everything and the plasterers are chasing behind them. Different trades have such different experiences of similar work. Plasterers are so close to the finish line - they get to start the transformation from building site to livable space. The end of the week also saw the velux windows going in upstairs, and the sun tunnels downstairs. Light!
I'm finding motivation hard to find at the moment. I'm finding motivation hard to find at the moment. But I saw the sky when doing a taxi run to the metro station, and couldn't resist taking a stroll to see it better. I'm counting that as a win.
Week 9 This week has mostly been about plasterboar Week 9 This week has mostly been about plasterboard. Covering insulation. And snow. And chilly working conditions. The @atticltd lads got kitted out in gloves and hats and got on with it. And we got some window frames. But not glass yet.
Week 8 More wiring, floors, stairs, cladding, stud Week 8 More wiring, floors, stairs, cladding, stud walls, insulation, insulation, insulation and even a couple of windows. It felt like a big week of progress. Starting to get tantalisingly close.
Week 7: I am soooo looking forward to the time wh Week 7: I am soooo looking forward to the time when this is a distant memory; when the place is finished, and familiar, and established. So that when these images pop up in my feed, I struggle to remember where they were taken. I know it'll happen. The house we're currently in had bare floorboards in the hall for over half of the time we've been in it. I don't mean stripped polished bare, I mean dusty gappy bare. And the walls had channels cut into them with pipes heading up the wall. Bare brick, edges of plaster, always faintly dusty. You get used to it. Well, maybe you wouldn't, but I do. I quickly get to the stage where I don't really see it anymore. I remember a few years ago, an image of Sandy at about four popped up on my feed. He was playing with cars or trains or something, and it looked like he was on a building site, with bare brickwork, dusty floorboards etc. It took a moment to recognise our hallway. Work this week has included lots of plumbing, electrics and roofing. And we worked out where the rooms are going to be upstairs.
#RiseUpAndSwap2024 Thanks @manny_bogabuilds! What #RiseUpAndSwap2024 Thanks @manny_bogabuilds! What a great size cooker and server. This will definitely find a place in our kitchen. It's beautiful cherry - all the way from Nevada, USA.
I'm still carving, just not getting around to phot I'm still carving, just not getting around to photographing. And the low light levels don't help to inspire me with that. But this is an eating spoon in oak, supplied by @robertclavin, and started yesterday at Spoon Club. The cambium layer on the handle is heavily inspired by @benoit_schoeni. I deliberately left the blank thin on the handle so that I wouldn't be able to carve back to clean wood once I started doubting myself.
Week 6: This week, we lost our old front door and Week 6: This week, we lost our old front door and gained a new front opening. We also lost a lot of light into the old hallway where the front door was but gained some more light from a window that's going to be above where the staircase is. We gained a floor level in the new extension, so it's easier to visualise the space. And we got a new doorway into the living room. Work has started on putting the roof on the extension, and also on getting all the plumbing in place. The hardest thing this week was losing access to the house when the builders aren't there. Because we don't have a door at the moment, they're boarding it up when they're not working. It feels weird not being able to pop in whenever we want.
This is the blanket that Mum started for my brothe This is the blanket that Mum started for my brother when he moved into a "big bed" at around age four. It's older than me, but was never finished and has spent all the time since then in its component parts in a bag. He finally got it today as a birthday present after @minxiet managed to piece it all together.
Week 5 So much change this week. The bulk of the Week 5 So much change this week. The bulk of the roof went on the ground floor extension, and that gave the @atticltd boys access to get the centre steels into the loft. Then suddenly there was a dormer built into the loft space. Now the dormer has windows and is covered with a waterproof membrane. The other half of the roof has its tiles back on. In the extension, we can see the space for the lantern, and we've got the start of a structure for the floor.
I seem to have made some sort of quince candy. I' I seem to have made some sort of quince candy. I've also made quince jelly, and a prototype membrillo (a sort of firm jam that can be sliced and eaten with cheese). This is our first crop from one of two quince trees in our new garden. It's exciting to think that this will become a tradition in the years to come, and that in future years I'll be making it in our new place.
Week 4 @atticltd have been busy, and the weather Week 4 @atticltd have been busy, and the weather has been kind. This week has seen work start on the loft space. All the tiles are off, the membrane has been replaced, the steels are in, and the floor structure is in place. Outside, the external walls of the extension are built, and openings for windows and doors are decided. It is soooo exciting to see it progressing week on week.
#ruacspoonchallenge69 Six or Nine in action with s #ruacspoonchallenge69 Six or Nine in action with some hospital crumble and custard. This is one of those journal posts that is primarily for me to look back on in years to come. I spent a poignant piece of time the other day looking back through my Instagram posts, and wallowing in reminisces. I was reminded of a lot that I'd forgotten. I've fallen out of the habit of posting, and therefore out of the habit of journalling, and I feel it both as a loss now, in the opportunity to reflect and process, and also as a loss in the future, as I lose the tangible link to this moment in time. When you're in the habit of writing a journal, you often don't know how the events of a single day will resonate with the perspective of a life lived. Perhaps the days and events that we anticipate being more noteworthy are the ones that actually aren't so important. The simple actions or conversations or encounters that are recorded as routine are often the ones that shine most brightly when they're revisited. The simple actions of today have included the delight of ordering everything on the hospital menu, and the persistence of a nurse in trying to persuade the kitchen to fulfil it (she failed, but it was funny). We've also shared jokes while sequestered in a small hot room for three hours during a drug infusion ("Knock knock", "Who's there?", "Europe", "Europe who?", "You're a poo too"). Small things, but worth remembering.
Week 3 Rain stopped play for most of the week; the Week 3 Rain stopped play for most of the week; the lads only got on site for one day. But alongside that, the stove was fitted, paint colours were considered, and we *think* we've decided on kitchen stuff.
Sandy has been expecting to need glasses his whole Sandy has been expecting to need glasses his whole life. I got my first pair at 16, and Doug was a similar age. Both of us are short-sighted, and now Sandy is too. He had that wonderful experience today of suddenly finding that everything was sharp. Oh, and those chevrons - they're important too.
Week 2 More digging. Foundations poured. More dig Week 2 More digging. Foundations poured. More digging. I'm aching for things to start looking like they're building. But at the moment, it's all about getting the groundwork right. @atticltd
I've been meaning to do this for ages. Over 20 ye I've been meaning to do this for ages. Over 20 years ago, the plastic light pull was fitted. At the time, I thought about getting a turned wooden pull for it. But didn't. For the last eight years, I've had the skills and tools to carve something. But didn't. A few weeks ago, the plastic broke. I still didn't. Earlier this week, Doug suggested that he was going to drill some random plastic top to make a replacement. Apparently, that was the motivation I needed. Take this as your prompt to do something simple that you've been putting off. I hope it gives you even a fraction of the pleasure that using this is going to give me.
The roses have gone a bit feral this year. The roses have gone a bit feral this year.
Week 1 This week has seen work start on making the Week 1 This week has seen work start on making the bungalow we've bought into a home fit for our future; the @atticltd guys have been busy! When the week started, we had a garage, kitchen and bathroom. Now it's more like a shell. But it's a shell with potential. The trench is dug for the foundation of the extension at the back of the house, an unneeded chimney has been taken down, skip loads of bricks and rubble have been removed, and there are a couple of pyramids of earth to be shifted from the front drive. Alongside all this, the living room fireplace has been removed, and a place made for a stove. It feels so exciting to be underway.
My entry for #ruacspoonchallenge69. Predominantly My entry for #ruacspoonchallenge69. Predominantly creatively motivated by the 69 image, less so about how they'd fit together in transit. So these two fit together best while lying down - in this case on a newly repaired and returned chopping board (thanks again @atelier_lutzke - it's already being used). Show and Tell tomorrow. 2pm for those in the UK. See you there?
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