Flashback #1: "O! What a Tangled Web We Weave!"

I am posting a series of fun "Flashback" posts from my old blog.

"O! What a Tangled Web We Weave!"

Aug. 25, 2007

As my first show n' tell, I wanted to do something that was uniquely me. Something that would make everyone who knows me nod and say, "Yep, that's Cora!"... or it could make them cower in the corner and pretend they don't know me. That's entirely possible, too. However, I couldn't think of something like that, so I went with this.

I came home from the fair inspired to take up a new craft. After all, spending 8 hours a day in the Home Ec. Department will get to you. I decided I wanted to do something easy... like spinning! Ah, spinning. There's nothing to it, really. You put your foot on the foot-press-thing, which drives the wheel, which turns a string, which, in turn, turns the thingamabob. The thingamabob turns the doohickey, which makes the fuzzy stuff into yarn. See? Clear as mud. So, armed with my vast knowledge, I began. This is all by myself, mind you, no adult supervision.

I carded the wool, which I know how to do really well. I learned how to do that while we were watching Galaxy Quest with Susan and her kids a few years ago. Then, I hand-rolled a short piece and tied it to the starter yarn. I was off! It went pretty well at first, except that the string on the wheel kept popping off. Tightening fixed that for the most part. I figured how to get the wheel spinning constantly. Then, I realized that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

That's what it looks like when the smaller gear (turning the spool) does not turn fast enough. Obviously I learned that through trial and error. Mostly error.

That's what it looks like when you abandon the project.

The moral of this story is: If you're going to take up a craft that your mother stopped doing a few years ago, ask her if the device is broken FIRST, instead of waiting for her to come home and tell you it is!