Catching Up

My last post was 30 Jan 2026. Today is 4 April 2026. That's quite a while but not much has really happened.

I did complete my two favorite rope bowls.

Number 28

number 29

I did not win anything in the dye and knot challenge in the FB rope bowl group I belong to. No surprise as I am still very new at this and was up against people who have created well over 100 bowls to my 30. I did discover that I don't really like dying rope and I'm not super crazy about knots on the bowls particularly since most folks seem to hot glue them on; this makes it a bad idea to launder the bowl should it ever need cleaning. I did discover that I like to paint the bowls and am thinking about an air brush to facilitate this -- just thinking at this point. I'm also thinking about adding more fabric to the bowls, even though wrapping cord with fabric is not fun. Also, thinking about adding color to the exterior of the bowl; I've always focused on what I call the beauty shot -- the interior of the bowl. More bowls are coming but I have some other sewing I want to do as well. For example, I want to make dust covers for my machines; nothing complex, just simple inverted fabric bags to keep the dust off when I'm not using the machines.

I did make one unanticipated discovery while sewing the rope. If you have read previous posts, you may remember that I was having trouble sewing a straight line. I worked on this and improved but remained puzzled why this was a problem at all as I don't recall having this being an issue in earlier years of sewing. Then I discovered that I needed to reduce the pressor foot pressure on may machine to make sewing the rope possible. I've never before had a machine that allowed for the adjustment of pressor foot pressure. My Janome has such an adjustment, and it came out of the box with it set to a high number. I knocked it down one number at a time and it has made a world of difference -- no more fighting with the machine. YAY!!!

Meanwhile, I've spent most of my time working on my FB MarketPlace store. Have sold a few things including a couple of rope bowls and a couple of my handmade journals. Am working on decluttering and purging. My goal is that everything I want to keep be neatly displayed in the china cabinets in the dining room so as to protect them to the best extent possible from dust. Having things on top of cabinets or on shelves with no doors just invites dust and grime and makes everything too difficult to clean. So, there is a purpose to all of this. In addition, a bit of extra cash never hurt anyone.

Otherwise, during the last two months I haven't made much of interest other than dinner. If I can remember what I did, I will post my process for enchilada pie. I've made it twice and it was really good!

Meanwhile, keep on keeping on.

dks, 4 April 2026