On Weaving Door Mats

As a mariner, I've great appreciation for practical use of rope.

A small digression:

"Rope" when onboard, is known as "line." I'll use both terms throughout this essay but, you should know the difference. In the end, they are the same thing, but if you said "rope" onboard, don't be surprised if you get silently labelled as a landlubber, and possibly corrected.

There are two types of linework. The kind where the knots are completely practical, and fancy work, which is also usually very practical, but also worked into making it look pretty.

Some folk like fancy work, and others despise it.

As for me, I'm a fan. But, as I'm a working artist practicing my favorite craft of creating useful art pieces. So this should not be a surprising.

On my last stint onboard, I decided to weave up two door mats for the art studio. I had time. Six weeks is plenty of time to make two mats. I hadn't made anything out of line in a  long time, but I figured that if I had a good reference photo, I could make it happen.

In most Alaskan coastal towns, there usually is a marine hardware store. These down to earth stores carry everything a person needs to fix most things on most vessels. I love walking through them, impulse buying as well as getting everything on my list.

I had a few hours off one day and took the opportunity to buy 150 ft of line (50 ft 1/4" braided for the inner loop and 100 ft of 3/8" braided for the outer loop) a curved sewing needle, some kite string, and some super glue.

I knew from past experience  that it takes a lot of line, and even more patience to work up a handsome mat.

I also knew that the first night of working would be the hardest. I had to weave the basic form of the knot to at least two laps, which allowed for the knot to be moved without falling apart in the transit. I only had about an hour a day to work on the mats, so I had to make it count.

I began. It pretty much went as i remembered. Making the basic form is tedious. I looked at a complete mat I saw online, and tried to follow the form, snaking my line over under over and under again and again. Slowly, it began to take shape.

I stopped for the night after 2 laps. From there on, it was pretty much following the form until the laps wove up tightly together.

At this point, i had to tighten up the knot. So, I chose one line and began working it all the way through to the bitter end. Then I did it again with the next lap until all had tightened up nicely.

The last hard part was transitioning the 1/4" line to 3/8" of the outer weave. I hollowed out a section of the 3/8" line and pulled the casing over the 1/4" line. Once encased, I sewed the two together and put a basic whipping over the top.

From there on, i just had two wrap loops around the inner knot and hold them in place with tape while I glued and sewed everything together with the kite string. More tedious work.

The end result is two very useful and very handsome mats. I put one in the van and one in the studio next to the side door.

The first photos show the first mat. On the second, I wove a more complicated knot, and that's shown after. The recipe is the same.

I mailed them home and when they arrived, I chose their final resting place by where they looked best. The blue in the van, the pink in the studio.

So Much Progress…

I’ve gotten so much done today, this past week, this past month - it’s kind of amazing.

I wish I had the wind to rattle on about these projects. But, it’s 10:48 at night. Im exhausted, yet happy. It’s all I can do to make this update, and let the photos speak for themselves.

  1. Sun powered water. My solar system can power my well pump!

  2. The green house has lights.

  3. New screen door prep: wood burned with a torch snd 3 coats of varnish.

  4. Screen door installed. Really opens up the light and air flow.

  5. I installed bamboo blinds in the overhead of the greenhouse.

  6. I built a propane tank hut and sided it with cedar shingles.

  7. I built the base for the new deck.

  8. I hand planed 20 cedar boards for the deck.

  9. A door mat i wove out of braided rope.

  10. The new deck complete and oiled.

  11. And 12. I installed a 2nd hand door in.the green house. Came out nice.

  12. I found time to pick some blueberries.

  13. I hung up two of my charcoal pieces in the main room.

This Is My Life…

It’s hard to have one picture sum up your life. This photo comes pretty close. It’s missing some key elements, like my new girlfriend, my job etc… but all things considered, It's close.

I caught this photo today just as my pal “Peanut” came by to say hello. I saw the potential for a cool chipmunk portrait and eased my phone low to the ground for a chipmunk level exposure. It's used to me now, and doesn't panic when I move slowly. I couldn't see the screen, but I snapped a few hoping to get lucky.

When I looked at my photo, I realized it was pure gold.. to me anyway.

“Peanut” is a resident chipmunk I’ve known for years. Chipmunks make good neighbors.

The bike is heavily present in my life right now. I ride Wednesday and Sunday. I took on 44 miles yesterday.

The studio is my muse, my opus. The screen door is one of my latest projects. And its appearance has greatly improved my appreciation for good air and good light.

The apple tree represents my love for natural food, and cultivation. The Art Garden is aptly named. I want to entwine both into my life.

Finally, the logs screwed together forming the left side of the photo show my latest functional art piece: Im building a deck of back forest logs and timber…

Above all, it’s a lush summer scene. This scene is full of bounty and my appreciation for life.

It’s a good photo. It’s a better life.

July Progress In Pictures

I've made excellent progress in 5 days.

  1. Greenhouse herbs. Basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, and a few marigolds.

  2. Main room flooring installation. I put in the flooring for the galley/living room.

  3. New couch. I love this couch already. Production dropping 75%.

  4. Kitchen table built. I cut down an old hardwood table and glued it together. I goind a likeable Y branch to serve as legs.

Not bad for 5 days work.

Small Work. Big Enhancements.

“The devil is in the details,” so they say. Along with everything else going on, I took on two small projects that really enhance liveability and style.

The first thing I did, was to hang my banjos and guitar on the wall. For those of you that play, you know that if your instrument is easy to access, you will play more.

So over the course of three days, I went shopping in the woods. I selected a dead tree with the right branch design and cut it down. Then i cut off the branch and turned it into a hook. I took the new hook inside and eyeballed location on the wall. When I liked it, i installed it, and hung an instrument off of it.

I had to make two leather straps out of an old belt to make it hangable.

The second project was to cut some triangular corner shelves to serve as my pantry. My counter was overflowing with food, dishes, mail, rags, project supplies, water bottles and various crap. I hate clutter.

Thusly inspired and motivated, I glued and clamped some red oak and aspen together. I cut isosceles triangles. Why? Because its the only way my shelves would reach my support strips behind the cedar paneling. Not only that, in my mock up shelf, they really looked cool. I was able to keep the open bright feel of the place, and still get needed storage.

After cutting I sanded everything smooth. Then over the course of a day, I covered everything with 3 coats of varnish. I took extra care on the visible surfaces.

The next day, I installed them. And Man! Do they look slick and function perfectly.

Whooosh! No more clutter!

These were not a huge projects. But, they were both necessary to do, especially the shelves.

Ill revisit the hooks when i get onto another outdoor project and oil them up before reinstalling.

A Migratory Woodstove

Much like the Canadian goose, gray whale, or Arctic tern, woodstoves are migratory objects. You wouldn't think they would be given their character - heavy cumbersome iron, stinking of soot, dedicated to ruining your clothing and your back. But, they are.

My woodstove alone has moved four times that I know of and have instigated. That's three times too many, but such is life.

I moved it twice again just yesterday. You see, though I love a woodstove, I can't justify it in the studio. It takes up a lot of space and requires a lot of effort to maintain it, in a space where every inch counts. I really only use it sporadically in April and October, so its not overworked. It had to go.

May I digress slightly? I had this idea of moving the woodstove after a long day of fussing with it trying to keep it going. I was smoked out and sick of it. Lying in bed, I had an epiphony: What if I got rid of the woodstove and put in a shower instead?

Boom! My mind exploded, and I stayed up thinking and designing. Why is it great ideas hit at inconvenient times?

The next day, I hauled that stove out to the mudroom and filled in the holes where it had been. I was ready to move on.

But the stove still needed a plan. What to do with it? I realized I could set it up in the mudroom greenhouse! It would be perfect. I could still enjoy it, but it wouldn't take up space inside. Not only that, it would give the mudroom character and still allow me to watch the flames and cook soups on those cold rainy or snowy days where I still wanted to be outside.

Perfect.

I set to work. I dug down into the gravel, leveling a spot where it would sit. I filled in around it and began my rock stack protecting the adjacent wall from heat and creating a wind block and art piece at the same time.

I love it when art meets practical design and use.