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The last 10 days have been eventful. The unusual (for this area) Winter storm is just about done, and things are getting back to our version of normal. Meanwhile, I've been sewing. I've been playing with thread color and decorative stitches on the sewing machine. The white with green thread is the largest of the recent bowls and may be my favorite. I love its simplicity. These two have a lot in common and are more dramatic than their green cousin. About the same size but a bi

... a how NOT to guide. (LOL) I am participating in a rope bowl challenge in a FaceBook group. The challenge requires dyeing either the rope before sewing or the completed project. I chose the later and chose to coffee dye the bowl. Here's what I did. Boil water with a large amount of salt. Salt is a fixative for the dye. Place three large handfuls of instant coffee and one large handful of salt in an 8-inch baking pan. Add the boiling water to the baking pan sufficient to fi

Had a request for a bowl with the constraint that it not be in Fall colors. This is the result. My largest and I think my best bowl to date. Now to ship.... Then I made a bowl just for me. A chance to use some of those decorative stitches on the sewing machine. Not a large bowl. Hope you enjoy. dks, 13 Jan 2026

Had someone request that I make a purple bowl for holding dog treats. Took 2 tries but here it is. This is also a challenge entry for a FaceBook group I belong to. It is 6.5 inches at the base; 9.25 inches across at the top; 3.5 inches tall. The knot is called a Pippa or Teardrop knot. (I need to practice my knots!) The exterior color comes from a spray-on dye I found on Amazon. I hope it is purple enough. The dye I used for the purple bowls. The interior of the bowl stitched

The holiday season was busy and good to me. In addition to the usual holiday bustle, I managed to create 6 new rope bowls, each unique in its own way. The first three use a total of 100 feet of cotton clothesline rope from Ace Hardware. Nothing special about them but they were a learning experience as I experimented with a few techniques attempting to get a flatter bottom and straighter sides. Mixed results but still worthy efforts. The best of the lot is pictured below. The

Yes, another rope bowl. Still having problems getting the bottom as flat as I would like. Have watched some more videos on YouTube for some hints. Same with straight sides. Finishing on this one was a last-minute decision to do the loops and the final coil. The button was a total afterthought. Need to work on the loops -- get them sized and spaced more evenly. Need to work on flat bottom. Need to work on straighter, steeper sides. Want to experiment with finishings and maybe

Made another coiled creation today. This one incorporates some nice fabric to make a unique pattern in the bottom of the bowl. It was moderately successful. It is supposed to be a FIVE-pointed star, not six. Size problems with the center of the circle and the bottoms of the triangles. 2piR is the circumference of the inner circle which was supposed to be 5 inches in diameter. The triangle bases are 3 inches each. 5pi is a bit over 15 but not enough for all six triangles. hmmm

I created another rope bowl today this time using actual clothesline rope rather than macrame cord. Used the same top thread as the previous bowl but white bobbin thread. I like the results. This bowl is more bowl shaped than the previous cone shaped bowl -- a trick of holding the cording correctly when stitching. I also like the color flecks on the exterior -- a happy accident due to improper tension in the top thread. Already planning another and will try my hand at using t

I've recently developed an interest in sewing rope bowls. Simple in concept, these bowls are coiled from rope and stitched together using a sewing machine that can handle thick fabrics. Some use clothesline rope; some macrame cord. Some wrap the rope in fabric; some choose to leave the rope visible. Contrasting threads are sometimes used to highlight the stitching. Really, your imagination is the only limit. Today I made my first rope bowl using black 5mm macrame cord and bri