Crafty Business

We have been trying to "lay low" this spring as I heal from a concussion and Rick battles with sciatica and Achilles tendon problems.  To that end, we have chosen to finally relax in our home and to get back to some of the crafts that we enjoy.

Each day we try to take at least two walks, we complete some cleaning or maintenance on the house, and then we relax in the afternoon by partaking in things that we actually choose to do rather than have to do.

We both love to read, so our Kindles or other books are always by our sides.  Reading in the hammock is so relaxing... if we can stay awake!

I am working on some Christmas ornaments that I cross-stitch and then frame.  I have made an ornament for Owen for every Christmas of his life.  I have a special series that I do with the year on the ornament to mark when he received each one.  I am working on one for the year 2024 right now which will probably be here before we know it!

I have woven a few things on the loom including some outdoor placemats made from heavy-duty poly cord, and I have used some "loom waste" and scrap yarn to weave some simple bookmarks that I have been giving away to family, friends, and neighbors. Rick is planning a set of placemats also, so that will be the next warp to go on the loom.

Rick has continued with his craft of weaving magnificent Nantucket baskets.  He has finished weaving the largest of a nesting set of baskets, but he still has to finish the handle and rim.  Since that is NOT his favorite part of the construction, he has moved on, for now, by starting to make the staves for a second basket.

The largest Nantucket basket needs to have the rim
and handle attached.  Then the whole thing will get a
couple of coats of varnish to keep it clean and strong.

The staves are all hand-shaped with a small, very sharp plane.  Since the task is messy, he uses his workbench in the garage; however, standing for hours at the workbench does not work well when one has a sore back and a sore heel.

"Why don't we buy a shop stool for you to use at the workbench?" I asked.  Rick immediately did what he does best: he logged on to the Internet to search which stools got the best reviews, which stools were available, and which stools were within our price range.  He settled on a stool that we could purchase at Lowe's, so a couple of hours later, the box containing the stool was in our garage.

The stool was one of those "easy assembly" types as long as you were related to an octopus and actually had eight hands to hold all of the pieces at once.  In the end, we made just our combined  four hands work, and Rick now has a pneumatically adjustable stool that he can sit on while he works at his workbench.

A simple Kobalt stool will make working at the workbench
less of a back-breaking chore.

We are happy that we are able to enjoy our more simplified life.  Our time is mostly our own, and we can work at our own pace on most tasks.  We both worked hard all of our lives, and being able to slow down now has been our goal of retirement for many years.  With all of the remodeling that we have done on both houses, getting to the relaxing phase just took us a little longer than we originally anticipated.