October 2017

Frame for Liam's Abstract Art

Finished framing of Liam's small abstract oil on wood
Our son Liam created a little oil on wood abstract piece. I liked it enough to make a frame for it.

All items on hand, including the shadowbox back, which was painted with a can of charcoal grey I had on hand, along with some nice clear cherry left over from another project. After painting the back, I liked the look of the natural cherry against the painted backdrop, so I left it that way. It really makes the painting pop, I think. I'm very proud of Liam's artistic skill, especially his amazingly mature use of color.

StartDate: 
Thursday, October 12, 2017 to Saturday, October 14, 2017
Finished project?: 
Yes

Crochet Blocking Board

Completed crochet blocking board
My sister asked me if I could try making a 'Crochet Blocking Board'. This is a tool for flattening and straightening squares of crochet-work. It's comprised of a flat board with a grid or array of holes drilled in it accompanied by a set of dowel pins that are used to stretch the crocheted piece while wet. 

There are a ton of examples of such blocking boards for sale on Etsy. My sister pointed me to a couple of them, but this was the example she sent. She thought they were a little expensive, especially for the size, and was hoping I'd make her a little bigger one. I, of course, went overboard and initially designed and laid out a 24" square board, but . . . 

  1. It was too big for her to work with
  2. She had flown down from Ohio to Georgia to attend DragonCon, and I was planning to give it to her then, But there was no way she could fit a 2' square board anywhere in her luggage.

So I cut it down to 18" square, which . . THANK GOD!   Because if I had gone ahead with my plan for a 1/2" on center grid of holes at 24" square, I'd still be drilling holes a month later.

As it was, I did go with the half-inch on center hole grid. I gave myself an inch and a half border, but that still resulted in a 31 x 31 grid.   Yes, I drilled 961 holes.   Those Etsy blocking board don't seem that overly expensive to me anymore. 

StartDate: 
Saturday, September 9, 2017 to Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Finished project?: 
Yes