Bean goes swimming

Bean and his parents went swimming Saturday, you can see he had a lot of fun. Diametrag said he was kicking like he wanted to swim in his little crab swim ring.
It was sunny and warm, and Diametrag put sun screen on his face and body, but didn't want to put it in his hair. Grandma tatt3r's orange sun hat protected his head and face from the sun while in the pool.

Once out of the pool, Diametrag got the hat wet and used it like a washcloth; rinsing his face to get rid of the chlorine.
Double duty! A knitted item that can be used two ways and survive! Hooray for kitchen cotton. Hooray for creative moms with tiny babies.

I started physical therapy last week. So far, it is only fingers and elbow. Although the surgery was on my wrist, my hand and fingers are trashed. I can't close my hand or make a fist. I can touch my index finger to my thumb, but don't have enough strength to hold a knitting needle. Even if I switched to English knitting, I don't think I could hold the needle properly because I can't bend my wrist.

I'm not whining, though, and have designed a little 4" coaster in Romanian Point Lace. I hope to be able to grip the fabric well enough with my left hand that I can begin couching the braid.

knitting hiatus

check out http://tatt3r-lace.blogspot.com/



no more knitting for awhile. dr says i should have full use of my left hand, but i haven't heard how long before i can start knitting again.

Guitar Guts - Update Continued

Yesterday J glued the top and bottom of the guitar together.
Here's a good look at all the clamps, bungee cords and rubber bands he used.


The neck isn't done, but he dry fit it to the body.

He will keep shaping the neck; periodically slipping it onto the guitar to check for fit and accuracy.

You can see the steel rod in the neck, and the inlay on the headpiece.

I couldn't get a good shot of the headpiece. J uses brass instead of mother of pearl, and it reflected too much light.



J wanted a picture that showed the walnut sides. You can see a bit of dust; he just finished a little bit of sanding.
This is not the best shot, I'll try again when the light is better.


Here's a close-up of the rosette. The flash bleached out a lot of the color, and I'll try to get a better shot next time.

Guitar Guts - Update

J has been working on Diametrag's guitar, but there hasn't been much to show until now. Here is the inside top of the guitar. J wanted this picture to document how he placed the braces. The placement and thickness of the braces affect the quality of the sound. If it sounds good, he may want to duplicate this pattern without prying the first one apart.
The same principle holds with the inside back. Each guitar builder has his own idea as to what makes a guitar sound good, so each set of plans is a bit different. J isn't using the plans he used for his first guitar. Although I sometimes call him Mr. ChangeIsNotGood, he likes change for his wood working.
Here is the outside back of the guitar. You can see how he pieced the back because the wood wasn't wide enough. He took a long time to decide how to piece it, and I think it looks good. I also love the stripe down the middle.
After I took these pictures, J. glued the top and bottom, and now it's one piece. I got a good picture of all the clamps and rubberbands he used.
The rubberbands were old and kept breaking all evening. It was dangerous to sit too close to the guitar, as Kaylee soon found out. After the first 2 snapped and zinged past her head, she moved to a different corner of the room.
J gave the guitar a good thunk with his thumb after he removed it from the mold. It has a beautiful, lively sound. Now he will work on the neck. He gets antsy when he assembles the neck, Jake's bass was almost a disaster.