May Leftovers 2025

 

Playing with rocks.
I love my job.

I am finally letting go of my toothbrush cover from 199?

I crocheted a little bag to hold soap scraps.
It does work very well (too thick, I think).

Birthday celebration at the Maloof Foundation.

Flag of Lombardy
Learn something new every day.

Good Idea

When the kids were little and we lived in a NY college town there was a school supply store (if memory serves me correctly, and it is possible that it doesn't). As part of the store there was a recycle section where people could leave egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, fabric scraps, and things a classroom might need for projects. I loved finding a place for things that might get used again and I also loved finding things I wanted to use with my kids.

A couple local friends told me about something similar in Pasadena on a much larger scale and the three of us headed to Remainders for an adventure.

There were many aisles of treasures.

Sewing treasures, paper-related treasures, 

yarn treasures,

not so many science treasures, and even

a few free treasures.

I thought large rulers was a funny name for a yardstick.

Unfortunately, I have all the treasures I need. I managed to spend $1.38 on a couple items. The best part was learning where to take all my treasures when they need a new home.

Happy Homemaker Project

Some people garden and can their crops and some sew their own clothing, but I did my part by reusing soap scraps.

I collected them for months.

I grated them, added a little water,

and melted it in the microwave.

I put them into containers and let them dry.

I have not tried them yet. They don't look very smooth
but if they get my hands clean then that is good enough. 

Fads

Last weekend my son had a friend sleepover and they used a Rainbow Loom to make bracelets together.  The next day he played with a friend and made a bracelet with him and his brother.  On Sunday he played with another friend and made a bracelet with his friend, the friend's brother, and the friend's sister.  How many craft fads reach boys and girls?

my fishtail bracelet

I've heard that some local schools have banned the sale of them, but last I heard our local school is open for business (five cents for a simple bracelet).

my son's wrist - more typical

Guess who is asking for his own rubber bands?

Ms. Nostalgia Cleans Up

The art studio has become the rec room and it needed some sorting and thinning out.  That's a challenge for me.  I had no problem getting rid of dried out paint, but wasn't ready to let go of the finger paint paper yet.

I feel comfortable passing on the car seat gallery.

I threw out (!) tapes made from cds, 
but kept the ones I like to listen to in the car.

Isn't the magnetic foam still useful?

These were in a bag we kept in the car.
I tucked them away with other toys I pull out when kids visit.

Not useful, but it still made the cut this round.

Since I didn't take a before picture I am not going to show the after picture!

Whittling

Finally!  Chores done, safety rules read and discussed, and the knife was his!

This is the knife I bought in Denmark

Finally trying it out.

shavings

At the Viking Festival some people were selling items they had carved, but one fellow was selling projects he had started, leaving the easier bits for someone else.  Perfect!  The wood is soft and it seems like a good project to finish.  I'll let you know how it goes.

IFF Workshop

Over three months ago I wrote about visiting The Institute for Figuring and how I hoped they would move to Claremont.  They still haven't done that, but we did make our second trip there because I was invited to lead a workshop.  It felt like Mark Spitz asking me to teach people to swim.  I overcame my fear (and sense of awe) and said yes.

The director had acquired the amazing book by Knud Vaegter, chosen paper, and photocopied a few templates.

The sample hearts I brought were set up in the room with samples from previous workshops.

Workshops participants started by being given properly cut paper and being shown a basic heart.  They were given as much time as they wanted to get figure it out.  I was impressed by their willingness to work at it and their ability to figure it out once they were given the first step.  I was also impressed with their willingness to try very challenging patterns, but I realized they didn't know they were very challenging.  I loved seeing the participants joy and satisfaction after they completed a heart.

Even though traditionally hearts are red and white (like the Danish flag), fluorescent orange, pink, and green were offered along with black and white.  The contrast was fabulous!

I didn't think to take pictures during the event, but here are a few hearts 

(the ones with black were made by other people).

The director loved to look at the inside, which did look fascinating.  The traditional shiny paper is colored on one side and white on the other so it doesn't show the same inner life.

Some Claremont friends weren't able to join me so I will host a local workshop.  Maybe one of them will host one on a different topic, like making our own crocheted coral reef.