Spinning and Dyeing of Wool

The last project we did in this class was learning how to use a spinning wheel and how to dye wool using Koolaid. The first step of dyeing wool is to wash the wool until it becomes felted. We didn't have the use of a washer in the classroom, so we got stuck using a hand crank Wonder  Wash. We cranked the wonder wash for about 20 minutes until the wool became felted. We proceeded to cut the wool into squares for the class and used pipets to drizzle Koolaide onto the felted wool. After doing this, you put it in the microwave for several minutes. Once it has microwaved, you are left with dyed wool. After learning how to dye wool, we were then taught how to operate a spinning wheel, which proved very hard for most of us. It's hard to keep rythm while feeding wool into the spinning wheel. Don't think I'll be making my own yarn anytime soon!

Blankets for Baby's

Today we added the sewing machine as one of our many skills we've learned during this class. I had never used a sewing machine before, though I've always watched my mawmaw use one. At first, it was confusing just learning how to thread the machine, but the actual sewing was a piece of cake. We decided to take our sewing skills past sewing little pieces of cloth together. We decided to make baby blankets for children in China who are suffering from the col of the winter months because their families cannot provide them with one. It feels good knowing I did something that's going to provide comfort to a child.

Cross Stitching Software

Today we learned an easier form of making cross stitch patterns. All you have to do is download the software, upload an image off the web, and there ya go. This software allows you to pick any image you find on the internet that you would like to cross stitch, and puts it into a stitching pattern for you. It allows you to be more creative with what you chose to stitch.

Scrub-a-dub-dub

Soap making was an interesting experience. It involved melting the actual clear soap, then adding the scent and color to it. I did burn my finger during the process, a dumb error on my part, but making soap is more dangerous than people may think :) My group ended up making soap in the form of a pig and fish with a lavender scent. Above are some pictures of amazing soap creations.

Cheese Anyone??

Let me start by saying cheese is possibly one of my favorite foods on this earth. I eat cheese on EVERYTHING! So when I heard we were going to be making our own cheese I got very excited. We were going to make our own Queso Blanco Cheese. We started off by mixing skim milk, cream, and vinegar in a mixing bowl. We then microwaved the mixture until it started to boil. We then took the mixture out of the microwave and poured it into a pillow case. Yes, I said a pillow case. The pillow case was used to seperate the curds from the whey. They whey drips out of the pillow case into a bucket, while the curds of cheese remain in the pillow case. Once this step is completes, scoop out the curds from inside the pillow case, add a little salt, and there's your cheese. It was soooo delicious!

Thing's That Make Crafts Easier

    
    There are so many forms of technology/software in existence that speed up "crafting" and other leisure activities. Some of these technologies include knitting machines, sewing machines, and even DIGITAL sewing machines.
    First let's start off with the sewing machines. I love sewing, but now that I have been taught how to use a sewing machine it's 100 times easier and faster.  I was just recently introduced to a digital sewing machine. I was AMAZED!!! The fact that you can plug your computer up to this sewing machine, upload an image, and it's done sewing it within minutes! I'm gonna have to invest in one of these.
    Next let's talk about the knitting machine. Myself, being a struggling knitter, became an extremely happy person when I learned of the knitting machine. All you have to do is thread the machine with your chosen yarn, and oush a little gadget across a board, instantly producing rows of knits. While it would take months to hand knit a scarf, hat, socks, or a sweater, it only takes about half an hour to make one using the knitting machine.

Historic Bethany's Alexander Campbell Mansion

    
     
      This mansion, home to Alexander Campbell and his family, was built in four stages from 1795 to 1840. It may not look like the typical mansion now, but back in the day it was considered to be one of the most beautiful mansions and to be invited to stay in it was a big deal.
      In 1795, technology wasn't readily available even for the Campbell family. There were no ovens, no washers or dryers, no TV, no air conditioning, no electricity, and no plumbing. But the things they did have to make up for what they lacked were incredible. They used oil lamps for light, fireplaces in every room for heat and to cook food, chairs with holes cut out which were used as a toilet, and homemade cooking utensils such as dough rollers and butter churns.
      Of the items found in the home, I thought the homemade toilet was interesting. We are so used to having plumbing and a toilet where all you have to do is push a handle down and everything just disappears. We forget to think that back then, it all went into a bucket and you had to empty it out. Another thing I thought was neat was the recliner. I wasn't aware that they had reclining seats back then.
      A typical day in the Campbell house probably consisted of a lot of worshiping, seeing as how Campbell was a teacher of religion. Alexander would sit in his parlor and right sermons, while the kids either helped out around the house, played the family piano, or played outside, and Campbell's wife helped prepare the meals that the family ate as well as knit the families clothing.

Fly Tying

Fishing is one of my favorite hobbies. Having grown up in West Virginia, it's not uncommon for me to go to a creek, lake, river, or pond, cast a line out and fish the day away. Many of my favorite memories are of my dad and I fishing on the banks of the Mud River or camping with my family at Beach Fork and having our usual fishing competitions. I can hear my Uncle Dale now lying about the size of his fish! Even though I have gone fishing countless times with my rod and reel, I have not however been fly fishing. I've always wanted to go and I plan on going this summer. One thing that amazes me about fly fishing are the types of lures. One thing I learned when making these lures is how they are each individualy hand made. I couldn't believe the complex work and the amount of time that goes into making a fishing lure.

Cross Stitching..Finally Something I Know How To Do!!

After all the hassels with knitting and photoshop, we finally did a craft I know how to do, cross stitching! I remember when I was little and still in grade school, my Mawmaw Helen taught me how to cross stitch and I absolutely loved it! She was such an excellent teacher when it came to teaching me little arts and crafts. We'd just sit there and cross stitch. I felt like I was a grown up, being able to do something she was doing (even though I was only stitching little letters, while she was doing complex pictures). Now, however, being much older I am able to do complex pictures just as she does. Now that I really know what I'm doing I can't wait to go sit on my Mawmaw's front porch and cross stitch with her :)

Photoshop 1 Emili 0

Ok, so let me start off by saying I HATE PHOTOSHOP!!! Most of the time I think of myself as being technology savvy, but I must say I have never tried to figure out something more complicated than making a digital scrapbook with photoshop in my life! I'm sure it's fun when you know how to do it, but it's not my cup of tea. It took me half an hour to figure out how to set a background color, and let's not even say how long it took me to put a simple picture on there. I think I'll stick to making a traditional scrapbook with construction paper, tape, and glue :)

The Frustrations of Knitting!

My J-term class began knitting a couple days ago, and boy am I lost. As I watched my professor knit, I thought, "Well that's not hard at all." I learned fast that that was indeed not the case. There are too many things going on at once for my brain to grasp! Push the stick through this loop, then push the stick up, then push the stick off the other stick, then do it over again. I actually wasn't doing bad until I hear her say, "Ok, now I'm going to teach you the purl stitch," which is basically doing everything the opposite way. That's when it all went downhill for Miss Emili. I decided to start over with the whole project and I am currently in the process of knitting a scarf. We'll see how that goes...Thank you knitting for giving me such a headache!

My First Stick Weaving Experience

       The art of stick weaving has been around for centuries, brought to America by our ancestors. Stick weaving has become a lost art, forgotten about, hiding in the shadows of all the technology of the present day.
       Though older generations such as our grandparents are very skilled in weaving (seeing as how many were forced to use weaving as a way of clothing), I myself, an eighteen year old college student was not skilled or even aware of the craft.
        As I walked into my J-Term class for the first time, Everything Old Is New Again, I was prepared to learn the lost arts such as weaving and knitting. Our instructor began by showing us how to prepare our four weaving sticks, first by drilling small holes to thread yarn through (threading the yarn through the holes was actually the hardest part of the whole project), and second by sharpening the opposite ends of the sticks. After preparing our weaving sticks, we were taught how to begin the actual weaving.
         I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to weave. Once I got started I became increasingly more comfortable with the movement of weaving the yarn through the sticks. Though many of my peers decided to weave scarves, I decided to weave a head band/ear warmer with camouflauge colored yarn, perfect for my early morning hunting trips! From start to finish, it took less than an hour.
         Now that I have been introduced to the art of weaving, I see myself continuing the activity long after my freshman J-Term class is over. It's fun, entertaining, and I found that it's even great for keeping you busy during commercial breaks!