Handmade Bean Pot Cord Loom

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Sunday morning I woke up wanting to make some knitted cording, but I wanted it to be smaller than my Knifty Knitter cord loom makes. Some days I’m not real patient and Sunday morning was one of those times, so ordering a new loom wasn’t an option. I didn’t feel like going shopping, so I decided to make one of my own. 

Making a loom is somewhat simple if you have the right materials.
We have finishing nails which work well for loom pegs.
And after an hour of brain storming and rummaging through my craft supplies, I settled on a wooden bean pot candle holder for the base of the loom. I figured it’d be easy to drill and put nails in.

My husband is a good sport whenever I have an idea for a new creation. He’s always right there to help. I rely on his knowledge of what I call ‘Guy Stuff’ when it comes to using power tools or building anything.
We went straight to work on it at 5 am…

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The finishing nails were originally 2 inches long and way too
long to use, so my husband cut them down to about 1 1/8 inch.bpcl2

I drew around a penny and drew a star in the middle to
use for a pattern for the placement of the nailsbpcl3

We marked where the nail pegs go.bpcl4

First drill or bore out the center hole to 1/2 inch,
then drill small holes for the nail pegs,
Lightly sand any splintery or rough spots,
make sure the center hole is smooth.

Carefully tamp the nail pegs in place.

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It took about 30 minutes to get my little cord loom made.
I got some yarn and began to use it immediately.
I was pleased to discover that the upside-down bean pot shape fits
in my hand almost perfectly & made looming the cord more enjoyable.

My new cord loom turned out better than I’d hope
(and saved me some money too. I like that. 😉 )

I hope your weekend was a pleasant one.
Wishing you all a week of successful
and fun creating & crafting.
🙂

spcr1

Star Redwork

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1-17-2014rwMy Star Redwork is dedicated to the many dreams and wishes I made on stars throughout my life.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ‘First Star at Night’ twinkling alone in the evening sky without immediately saying the wish-refrain and making a wish. The silliness and fun of it makes me happy… (plus you never know when your wish and life might line up to make a super cool synchronicity. 😉 )

“Star light, star bright
First star I see tonight,
Wish I may,
Wish I might,
Have this wish, I wish tonight.”

“I wish a bright and cheerful weekend
for all my Blogging Buddies and Readers.”
ecstar
spcr1

January Wreath

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IMG_7482My blogging buddy Charlotte is an amazing talented lady. For the past few years she’s set up a challenge for the year to make a blog post about each month. In 2012 she posted gorgeous doll quilts, in 2013 she posted charming aprons. This year she’s chosen ‘Hope Chest’ as her theme. Each month she’ll post about an item or items that she adds to the chest. Charlotte’s first addition to the chest for this year is a set of Lovely Redwork Dishtowels. I highly recommend that you go and see her Redwork. It’s so neat and pretty. While you’re there, surf through her blog posts for a journey into wholesome farm life and also see her gorgeous quilts.

Charlotte’s idea of a challenge for a monthly post inspires me. I’ve decided to set a challenge for my self for the year. It took a bit of brain-storming to think of something, but I think I’ve came up with a fairly good idea. I enjoy making wreaths and have wanted to make some to change with the seasons, so it’s not that big a leap to make a wreath to celebrate each month. I look forward to making the wreaths and hopefully it’ll help keep my blog active after I finish my Redwork. Some month’s I may post more than one wreath.

My January wreath, pictured at the top of this post, is made with Red Heart yarn on a Knifty Knitter cord loom and some flower looms that I don’t know what their name is.
IMG_7474Several of my wreaths will be made using these looms. I really enjoy making the cords as time fillers and the flowers are just fun to make.

sewmiconThank you Charlotte for being my inspiration.

🙂

Wishing each month of this year to be a happy one for you all.
🙂
spcr1

Shell Redwork Block

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1-14-2014rwThe first time someone showed me how to put a shell up to my ear and I could hear the ocean, was the first time I knew there’s truly magic in the world.
After that, I wanted to go to the ocean and listen to it in person. But the ocean was a world away and just a dream for a poor little country girl. The ocean was only for sailors, rich folks and movie stars.

As I grew up, I was overjoyed to learn that anyone could go to the ocean. All it takes is saving money and planning… and that’s just what we did… for many years we made the beach our home for vacation each summer.

It’s been many years since out last vacation there, but we plan to return someday to the tropical dreamland of palm trees, shells, sand, waves crashing, dolphins and enjoy the many enchantments of the salty shores.

Here’s wishing you all a magical joyful day.
🙂
isle
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