Shell Wax

 

Last Fall when I went to Chincoteague, VA to stitch with friends, Jim came and joined me for part of the weekend.

We had never been to Assateague Island so one morning we woke before dawn and headed East to the beach for sunrise...

The sun held promise for a new day and for warming the salt spray chill that blanketed the beach on that crisp November morning.

Except for a flock of terns and gulls...

We were quite alone.

So Jim fell into his tide line ritual of walking the wrack line...a beach intent Sherlock Holmes looking for clues in the interstices between sand and sea...

What he found that day amid the shells of oyster, atlantic clam and cockles...

Was a predominance of black scallop shells.

"Let's take some home", I said, inspired by our good fortune and taking their plentitude as a sign that I should use them in some special way.   I had been wanting to make a gift for my stitching friends that gather in Chincoteague, to honor our friendship and the special time we share together every year and these scallops were just the inspiration I needed.

So we collected 20 or so of the black scallop shells and took them home where they sat in a jar for almost a year until it was time once to return to Chincoteague this past week...

I took two of the largest and deepest shells...

And pressed them into a silicone putty that I'd found at a craft store in order to make a mold.

To prepare the putty, you have to mix a 1:1 ratio of Component A and Component B together.  It has a limited working time and you can see in the mold on the left below that the compound had already started to set before I pressed in the shell.  I was quicker mixing and pressing the second time around, and used the impression on the right as my final mold.

I found a candle making supplier for microcrystalline wax online and melted the pellets on low heat in a $2 saucepan I'd found at the thrift store [Note: area must be well-ventilated]...

In searching for microcrystalline wax, there are two types available, a soft, tacky version and a hard version.  I bought the hard version.

I had taken beading classes from Diane Dennis and from Laura McCabe over the Summer and both artists used microcrystalline wax exclusively to condition their fireline beading threads.  Laura McCabe spoke very highly of the archival properties of microcrystalline wax, mentioning that she had used it previously in conservation work.

In the past, I have used beeswax to condition threads for bead embroidery and for goldwork but I liked the microcrystalline wax a bit better.  It was less tacky resulting in a smoother thread than beeswax so I thought it might be nice to share my newfound favorite with my stitching friends.

I poured my melted wax into my little silicone mold...

Twenty times...

Et voilá!



A wax shell thread conditioner to place in their stitching workboxes.

A gift from the sea and from me.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pine Needling

Last weekend I was away from home stitching with friends in Chincoteague, Virginia.

It was a wonderful, relaxing few days away where we stitched all day and never had to worry about our next meal because the local seafood is so good.  

Located toward the Southern end of the Chesapeake Bay, Chincoteague is the entryway for Assateague Island National Park so the outdoors is full of inspiration...

And egrets, herons, ibis, kingfishers and other birds pepper the landscape...

Whenever this group of talented women gets together, there is lots of sharing...

And this year, Canby Robertson offered to teach us how to make pine needle baskets...

I wrote about Canby teaching at EGA National Seminar last post here.

After cleaning and prepping the pine needles that Canby had collected on our behalf, we used a size 20 chenille needle, C-lon cord, and a piece of drinking straw to craft our baskets...

Adding pine needles through the straw and stitching the coils into place...

 

Everyone chose their own color cord...

And the baskets were as unique as their makers...

The result after about two days was this nifty pile of prettiness...

I was thrilled to learn this new and practical technique using pine needles that I can collect in my woods...

Though mine was the smallest, I have big dreams of making more pine needle baskets...

While we were laboring over our wee woven works, Canby had finished an entire cracker basket...

Which she promptly turned around and gave to her friend Rosemary.



Gifts were given all around and teaching a new skill is the greatest gift of all.   Thanks Canby.

If you're interested in pine needle basket making, Canby recommended this book by Judy Mallow.

And if you're interested in visiting Chincoteague, VA, I can't recommend the Hampton Inn highly enough.  It's rated #1 in the country and they live up to their reputation!

And the oysters and scallops served here, and here, and here are out of this world.  I know because I ate at all three...ahem...multiple times.

See you next time.

Chincoteague, Virginia

For the past few days I was away on a needlework retreat in Chincoteague, Virginia.  Though the group has been gathering for the past 10 years, this was my first time.

To say I was warmly welcomed is an understatement.  Four days of stitching with no agendas, no classes, and no commitments...sitting in a room filled with talented needlewomen is stimulation enough!

Not to mention the setting...

I couldn't help but wake up a few mornings and head to the beach on nearby Assateague Island to see the sun rise...

Assateague Island is part of the National Park Service and is home to wild ponies and tons of birds.  I didn't see any horses but I did see lots of birds...kingfishers, egrets, great blue herons, etc.

Next year I'll have to take my "birding lens" for my camera.  This year, I was caught quite unawares by the spectacular scenery...

Since we were at the beach, I worked and worked to try to finish that Rainbow Beach Shawl I've been working on for years. (Mine is knitted in Tahki Cotton Classics.)

My friend Carolyn made the same one in muted cotton colors...only difference is she finished hers about two years ago...

And hers is completely finished.  Notice the yarn ends hanging from the end of my shawl?  I still have all those ends to weave in as well as finish the edge.  But I'm close...

Close enough to have our picture taken (thanks Marian).

Spending a few reflective days in such a beautiful environment reminded me of this Gratitude film by videographer Louie Schwartzberg.  

Coincidentally, he's started a 21-Days of Gratitude series and it starts today.  For 21 days we will journey into Gratitude through daily meditations and stunning video and audio presentations.  If you'd like to join in, you may register here.  It's absolutely 100% FREE!

I figure it's a good way to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving.

Happy Monday everyone.