Weekend fun

 

I tried something new this weekend. I made donuts for the first time. They were delicious. I did learn a few things. First, don't overfill the pan. The hole disappears, and they look kind of funny. Solution... I ordered another pan and pastry bags to fill the pans. Second lesson learned: spooning the batter into the pan is very messy! Third lesson learned: reading donut recipes can be lots of fun!

Remember the bejeweled trees I've been making? I've used tons of pearl head pins making them, and my favorite ones come on these little plastic disks. My sister Janet and I have gone through a tremendous number of these pins. We were just tossing the little plastic disks. One day, Janet said there must be something we could do with them. That got me thinking about what I've learned from making Dorset buttons and Teneriffe lace.

Daughter Alison is finishing up her master's degree in counseling, and we were talking about art therapy. I suggested warping these little plastic disks that her clients could use for weaving. Alison is giving a presentation to a group of counselors this week and asked if I would help her prep for the presentation. It only takes a few minutes to warp these little disks with crochet cotton.

A counseling session is typically scheduled for an hour. I needed to make sure that the activity wouldn't go too quickly. It also needs to be something that can be picked up during a later session.

I started weaving with embroidery floss, and then I switched to worsted weight yarn. The first side took me an hour and a half to weave.

For the second side, I used only worsted weight yarn. The process of weaving with a needle and yarn was very soothing, and I love the end result. 

I hope Alison's presentation goes well. Now that I know what can be done with these little pin disks, I may have to start collecting them. Does that mean more bejeweled trees are in my future? I think so!