Today's project

Our friend, Jennifer, has a cabin a few hundred yards across our southern property line.  Since she's not here very often, she doesn't have a phone line.  And out here in the woods that means she has no internet access on her laptop.

She's able to access our unsecure network if she sits outside in our driveway.  When we found that out, we told her she's welcome to come sit inside the house anytime.  Sometimes she's here and we're not.  So, we decided to make her a little spot that she could use to surf the web.  This rocking chair is actually adjacent to the wireless internet inside the house.

So, the chair needed some serious TLC.

It's been out in the barn since it got cracked during that big ice storm back in 2009.  My handy husband John did some securing with screws.

Screws on the front and back to secure... and then it started raining.  So I moved the whole project inside.





The first step is to decide what kind of material you'll weave the seat from.  I'm using cotton strapping I got from The Shaker Workshop.  http://shakerworkshops.com/

I used red and tan, because that matches our greatroom color scheme.  I've had this strapping since we started working on the house, back in 2006.  I'd woven a seat on this particular rocker once before with these colors.  But then the chair was broken, so I took the strapping off.

Attach the first color onto one side of the chair seat rung.  I used staples.  The next time we're at a hardware store I'll get some nice brass tacks to complete the project.

Start wrapping the strapping around the 2 opposing sides of the seat.  And then you need some help with your wrapping....

I had lots of help.

Once you have wrapped strapping around that whole side of the seat, you have to start your weaving.  Again, you have to attach the strapping with a staple.

I wove with a basic over, under (plain weave) pattern.  It's important to know that you need an ODD number of rungs/straps in order to weave and change the "shed" with each pass.

And here's the finished project.

I had some other things I had to get done this morning.  We're supposed to have really awful weather later today.  In fact I believe we're under a tornado watch!

Anyway, I have eggs in the incubator which should hatch on Friday.  So I went out to the barn and got the brooder box John built for me.  I got it all set up on the back porch.  That way my little babies will be warm and dry regardless of the weather.  That's very important because they won't have a mommy to care for them.

I've also got seeds coming up and I've moved them indoors so they don't blow away or get drowned in the coming rains.

My brooder box is filled with wood chips.  Those babies need a nice fluffy place to live.

I'll add a watering bottle and a small dish for very finely ground food once I have babies in there.  

Rhode Island Red chicks from 2012

John and Joshua got all the onions and potatoes planted last week.  And Josh did the second pass at tilling the veggie garden.  Now, as soon as the weather cooperates I can get my seedlings into the ground.

Notice the yellow and green garter snake?   The weedy section on the south end of the garden is where the asparagus and garlic is growing.  I haven't had a chance to do any weeding yet.  But the asparagus is coming up!

The flower bed is also in need of some weeding.  But the peonies don't care.  They're coming up anyway.

The violets I dug up from in the woods are blooming.  Spring is in fully swing.  My arm is doing MUCH better.  I'm very glad about that.