Waaay back during the pandemic my niece (a.k.a "The wonder baby") got engaged and there was joy in the family. I thought long and hard about what to get her and her future husband for a wedding present.  And even though they weren't married yet, they bought a house and that resulted in me deciding to make them a quilt.  Since we have very different thoughts on style and even favorite colors I told her that I would need her assistance in selecting a quilt pattern and colors but that the exact details after that were up to me.  

I started the search for a pattern in Jan 2021 and after many exchanges settled on a modernist pattern called Upwards.  As for fabric colors she decided to stay with colors similar to what was shown in the pattern picture.

In May 2021, when things started to ease from the pandemic, the fabric hunt began. I decided I wanted to stay with on fabric manufacturer and pattern so the fabric all had the same design. I found a fabric family at the quilt shop in New Braunfels but wasn't thrilled with it only because the overall tone was more what I like and I was not certain she could like it. I then hit the road and when to a great quilt shop out in La Grange, The Quilted Skein, which is a 2.5 hour drive - each way.   While in La Grange I also when to the Texas Quilt Museum which was nice but I wasn't thrilled with the current exhibition.  Note: They did get married in May so this was perfect timing.

The ladies at the quilt shop were very helpful and I found a fabric family that I lined and I knew she would like too. Now, the largest size quilt in the pattern was a double so I had done the math before I left to get fabric for a square Queen/King which would result in the quilt being 106" by 106". I bought the white, gold, grey blue, and navy blue fabric and the backing would be from "backing" fabric which is 108" wide that would be pieced together since the backing has to be 4" wider, on each edge, to get put into a long arm quilting machine. I also planned on going to the Houston Quilt Festival to find the fabric if/when the pandemic was over. 

I started cutting and sewing the blocks and in October I went to the Quilt Fest and found similar colors for the backing fabric.  Soon afterwards working on the quilt came to a halt  as I had a new job and I was planning a big trip to Scotland so I was training for the walk and gathering my supplies.  The trip was a success despite coming home with Covid... 

I resumed work on the quilt in November 2022 and had the blocks finished and was about to start the assembly when the Shop Elf passed away in January and that put a grinding halt to all sorts of things I had in process.

When October rolled around I was ready to start on the quilt again. I started laying out the blocks to sew the top together and I decided not to use the cut pieced blocks (half  and quarter square triangles) around the outside edge and instead use solid pieces of fabric that make up the pieced blocks. It took about 3 days to assemble and sew the quilt top.  Then I worked on the backing which took another 4 days to design, iron, cut, sew and iron.  FINALLY, I could take it to the quilter. Due to cost I am going to sew the binding on myself; I made the double fold binding from gold, navy blue, and grey blue of the backing material. I now have 12 yards waiting for the quilt to be returned from the quilter sometime around the New Year.

That left me with 11 pieced blocks so what was I to do with them?? I doodled a while with layout and came up with a wide layout that I could piece with solid edge pieces like the large quilt that would be perfect for the back of a couch. And of course because I am an over achiever, I used more fabric from the large quilt's backing to piece together a backing for this quilt which will make it a 2 sided quilt. I took so long to make the wedding quilt and they are in a "new home" I decided that this bonus quilt would be the house warming present.

Today I am starting the quilting on the bonus one. When both quilts are done I will post more pictures but for now, enjoy these pictures below.

There is a Yarn Crawl every October (well except during the Pandemic) in South Central Texas. It is The Best Little Yarn Crawl in Texas.  When I moved here in 2017, I went to EVERY single shop over 4 days in 2 weekends but none since then.  
This year I wanted to go to a new shop in Georgetown, north of Austin, so I invited a knitting friend - Linda along for the ride and after we were done with the shop we had lunch and then for a bonus round, hit one more in Austin. Here are some pictures of the yummy things we saw...

Oh, what did I buy?? And yes I blew my budget!
A collection of 4 colors of a flax yarn which I will use to make a market bag (picture below)
A Japanese silk cone and a mini skein of a Japanese paper yarn to make a scarf
FOUR knit animal kits - Rabbit, Blowfish, Bunny, and Octopus (picture below)

After almost a 2 year break I am back!!  
During that time I survived the pandemic; retired from the 8-5 grind despite Engineers never really retiring; visited friends in Scotland I had not seen in 10 years and walked almost a hundred miles on the Speyside Way; got COVID; and then The Shop Elf passed away this past January. 

My studio is a MESS and I will get to a complete re-org and cleaning of it later in October and November; the studio does not have A/C (nor heat) so right now it is quite warm in there. 

So let me show you two things I have worked on yesterday and today. 

First up - a copper knitting cable needle for a friend. She has one out of sterling silver but the size is a 2.x mm needle and is too small for the baby blanket project she is working on.  The project uses a US 13 needle (9mm) which is in between 0 and 00; that's thick wire which is normally used for automotive or solar power battery setup. That gauge is sterling can't be bought from a Jewelry supply house, you have to cast it yourself and then there is the cost which made me turn to copper. Also she will need at least 2 because the baby blanket has 2 sets of cables.

I went into my knitting needle stash and selected a 9, 7, and 6 mm needle and then raided the copper wire bin. I found 2, 3, and 5 gauge wire and cut pieces for the prototype. Then it was time to anneal and straighten followed by filing, grinding, a bit or polishing and lastly more annealing so I could then bend to shape and even more polishing. I only made 1 needle from the thickest wire because it needs some work but from this one those can be determined before I make the final ones.

Secondly, I worked on this hammer head today. It is a vintage French Pattern cobblers/book binder hammer I picked up over a year ago at a vintage tool sale north of Dallas.  I am not fully refurbishing it, I will clean off the grime and do a little bit of resurfacing on the large round hammer face and then get a new hammer handle for it. I started with just the White Diamond compound which is good for steel and along the way I found a makers mark which I will do some research on with help from my other metalsmith friends.  I then took a more agressive compound to the big face to just remove a few of the larger gouges but not all of them. I went looking for a replacement handle and couldn't find one that would fit, they were too small so I wrote to customer service at a hammer supplier and asked which one would be larger and closer to what I need and I would trim it to fit. 

A few weeks ago I joined a weaving group in Wimberly; my friend Denese, who I met via FB (weaving group) , soon after I moved here is a member. 

At the meeting which was outside and well socially spaced due to the pandemic, we showed what we were working on and discussed a challenge project. The idea was to weave a scarf using Log Cabin, a type of plain weave that has an emphasis on color to create the visual pattern; we would make 2 - one to keep and one to trade with someone else in the group. Oh, and to display in a local restaurant/gallery. 

During this time, I have been playing with the idea of doing some rugs for the house in an "Arts & Crafts" pallet of mossy greens, deep red, brown/gold, and beige.  I highjacked the colors and sat down with my weaving software to design the scarf. 
My weaving software (which is now a dead product) will take the project dimensions, add draw in, in shrinkage, loom waste, and sampling amount  gives you the yardage for the project(s). Once the draft is created you can get heddle counts per shaft and threading diagrams. Unfortunately the application does not break down yardage by color, for that, I use a spread sheet, using the warp length and the threading count.  From there I was able to order the yarn - UKI perle cotton in mini cones from Yarn Barn of Kansas.  

To measure the warp, I use pegs which clamp to the work table in my studio.  They take up less space than an actual warping board. I clamped the pegs to the table and started building the warp, yesterday and I won't finish it until early next week.  

I will weave this on my Ashford Katie loom as it is correct width.  Below are pictures ofL

1. The draft - only half since it is mirrored vertically and horizontally. The  
2. The warp thread order
3. Warp Pegs on the table
4. The loom on the table before I started measuring out the warp.

I have been "home", due to the Pandemic for over 142 days and during this time I have been nesting - reading lots of book, watching movies, doing the day job, and working on my Temari and NO metal work; I have have not been inspired to be in the studio. 

This past weekend I went for my first walk - YIPPEE 
Other than that not much else is happening. 

Last weekend I went to Mesa Arizona for a workshop with David Huang that was all about patinas. 
I have always lusted after his patinas (and work) after seeing it up close when I took his chasing class oh so many years ago.   As soon as I saw this posted, I signed up. I was the 9th out of 10 students, and then I had to wait almost 6 months for the workshop.

So last Friday I flew to Mesa with my copper tiles, apron, book for notes, safety glasses and expectations. The workshop started on Saturday, for 3 day and I flew home on Tuesday. 

It was a wonderful workshop. David gives great demonstrations and shares an amazing amount of information.
We covered cold patinas, hot patinas, boiled patinas, and gold leaf along with layering; we only worked on copper but there is also brass, bronze, steel and even silver that patinas can be applied to; nor did we cover all the possible chemicals that can be used - we covered just the ones David uses most often. 

Of course Bunny Bravehart came with me but he just watched as he was afraid of getting burned. 

The day went like this. 

• David gives us a recipe and then he mixes it and put the solution in jars for each station
• David then demonstrates the application (creation) of the patina
• Students ask questions
• Student apply patina to their copper tiles
• Students share results with each other and ask David more questions
• Repeat

What we used: But not how we used them as that is what a class or research is for! 

• Cupric Nitrate
• Ferric Nitrate
• Ammonia
• Sodium Chloride (Salt)
• Dihydrogen monoxide  (Water. Yes it is a chemical and a powerful solvent; hey it can kill you!!) 
• Bismuth Nitrate
• Ammonium Chloride
• Cobalt Nitrate
• Copper Sulfate
• Silver Nitrate
• Gun Bluing
• Liver of Sulfur
• Gold Leaf

Here are some of my pictures. 

To read about learning to make hinges read part a, to see making the box read part b
Tuesday:
The day was finally here - time to tie it all together and make a hinge and put it on the box I made just for this purpose.

This is the scary part as I mentioned in the last post. I had a box but what if I screwed up the hinge and soldered it all closed - GASP! The only way to NOT do that is to Just go slow and think everything through.

First up was to cut the hinge seat into the back of the box where the lid meets the bottom.  I started by filing in a 45 degree angle on each outer edge. Then I taped it all together and using the chenier files, cut the rest of the seat for the tubing. It was file, blow away the copper dust, place a piece of tubing in the groove and determine if it was deep enough, repeat....

Well over an hour later the seat was complete. Then I had to cut the tubes for the knuckles. I decided on a 3 knuckle hinge. With the back being about 2" long, I could do a center knuckle of 1" and 2 outer knuckles of 1/2".  First I cut 2 1" pieces of tubing and then cut one of those in half. Using the miter jig, I filed and sanded all the ends square. 

Then using a pencil and a steel ruler, I marked the center of the back and then the center 1" where the middle knuckle would be placed. I then used white out, as my solder flow preventer, on either the lid or the bottom where each knuckle would be placed. While that was drying I rolled some easy solder down and cut small snippets. 

I went to the soldering station and placed the knuckles on graphite pencil lead and placed them on the back of the box which was being supported by fire brick ends to stabilize everything.  Time to flux, light the torch and solder away.  I was able to use one small piece of solder for each knuckle to tack them down. I then pickled it all to make sure everything was aligned and correct before putting it back together with more white out, flux and the final soldering.  Once again into the pickle it went. Then I work hardened some copper wire, inserted it into the hinge, as the pin, and "rivetted" the end to keep the pin in place.

Lastly I had to clean it all up, give it a quick 'polish' with some pumice to matte the surface before adding a patina and a final buff polish to shine up the high points.
​ 
And here we are - a finished box!!!  And at the very bottom ALL the boxes!

To read about learning to make hinges part a read this first
Monday (Day 3):
As part of learning to make boxes and boxes hinges, one eventually get to the point where you have to put a hinge on a box so obviously you have to make a box first which can be scaring because you want a good box, so will it will be a good one and then once you have made said box, and you put a hinge on it; well will the hinge work and if it does not can it all be saved?  This is how I spent Sunday evening while watching the T.V. and while trying to fall asleep. 

If you have been reading the other box project posts, you will be aware that I have been adding to the seam count with each subsequent box: #1 a round box with one seam; #2 an almond/eye shaped box with two seams; #3 a triangular box with 3 seams and then for #4 a square box with 4 seams. So what should I do for box #5? Ah, I cheated and decided to make a half circle box that had 2 side seams. 

I looked at what 20g copper I had and decided that the box would be about 1" tall and about 2" long on the straight side and the front would be round with a radius of about 1" (if the flat back is 2" wide, that is the diameter).  I went through my rolling mill textures and selected one which I would use for the walls and the lid. 

Using my round stepped bracelet mandrel, I formed the half round and then filed the ends flat and using hard solder, attached the front to the back wall. I then stamped my maker's mark on the bottom plate and textured the top plate. I then scribed where I would cut the lid from the bottom and using a separating disk, cut an air slot for when I solder the top and the bottom on. I write inside bottom and inside top on each piece so I don't put them on the wrong end or on "inside out".  Everything was fluxed and using medium solder, I attached the top and the bottom.

I put the whole assembly on the concrete floor to cool as quenching it can cause it to warp. I also don't put it in the pickle at this point as the that air hole is too small for pickle to get in or out of easily so now is when I cut the box apart and then pickle it. 

After pickling it is time to trim all the extra copper off the top and bottom and to even up the making surfaces where the lid is cut from the body. This takes time as you want it all even with no gaps.  After that I made bearing plates to fit inside the box. The are soldered to the back wall so there is extra material to support the hinge. 

The box is done and now comes the scary part of making and soldering on the hinge. That's going to be the next post.

I was going to work on this two weeks ago but getting the flu put a kink in that idea but with the holiday and an extra day of vacation,  I gave myself 5 days in the studio to learn hinges and to make a box with a hinge. This post is about learning to make a hinge
​
Saturday morning: 
​I reviewed the 5 silversmithing books that had information on hinges. I would start with a butt joint and then a book joint.  I selected some scrap 18 gauge copper and cut it to be 1" wide and then cut copper tubing 1.25" wide; these would be my joint knuckles.  Per the instructions, I beveled the ends of the copper and then used my chenier file to create the seat for the hinge knuckles. I cut the tube into 3 sections with the largest being half the length, for the center knuckle and the remaining amount in half for the outer two knuckles.  I marked the copper with a lead pencil while placing the center knuckle, I then soldered down the two outer knuckles and when I went to place the center knuckle, I saw that I had pushed the outer knuckles inward thus making the space for the center knuckle too small. 

Hinge #1 was done and wrong. I should have soldered the center knuckle first and then the outside ones. 

For Hinge #2, I started again; bevel and cut tubing. Place the knuckles on a piece of graphite pencil lead to keep the knuckles aligned on the metal and solder. 

Hinge #2 was done and wrong again! I had all three knuckles soldered but now two; a outer and the center knuckle were soldered to one side; I should have used white out to prevent errant solder flow. 

I cut more 18 g copper and tubing. I placed everything flat on the solder block an fluxed and moved the outer knuckles out of the way but kept them on the lead. Then using very tiny solder chips, just to tack the knuckles, I soldered the center knuckle. Then I moved the outer knuckles back into position and soldered them into place.  I let it all cool and put everything into the pickle. 

After removing the sample from the pickle and cleaning the joint, I put the hinge back on the solder block, reinserted the graphite lead, fluxed and finished the soldering of the knuckles. Yes I got  the knuckles fully soldered down but I also got some on the copper along the hinge seat. 

Hinge #3 was done and almost correct -  I need to use smaller solder chips!!!
Hinge #4 was a full repeat and much better but still not perfect.

I inserted some copper wire into the hinges, as a pin, to prove the hinges worked, without trimming the outer knuckles and called it a night as it was now 5pm,  but I decided to reread the chapters on hinges, again, after dinner.

Sunday morning:
Time for Hinge #5 - This one would be a butt hinge and following the instructions EXACTLY, used the chenier files to cut a groove in each half, I cut and filed the ends of my tubes square using my miter jig;  I used white out, in lieu of yellow ochre, to work as a mask on the copper where the knuckles would be placed; I aligned my knuckles on graphite lead.  It was time to solder; I ran the solder wire though my rolling mill to thing it and then cut very, VERY tiny chips. I then fluxed the hinge seat and placed the knuckles on the graphite, in the seat and turned on the torch. Working slowly with the flame, I warmed everything up and when the flux was glassy, I placed the solder chips and used the heat to pull the solder into the seat of the center knuckle. I then focused the heat on the first outer knuckle and proceeded to solder it in place and moved on to the second outer knuckle.  Into the pickle it went. Afterwards I trimmed the outer knuckles and inserted some copper wire for the pin and filed the ends flat.  SUCCESS, I had a good hinge with almost NO solder to clean up. 

 ​Time for Hinge #6 which is a book joint - this is the type of hinge that would be on a box between the lid and the body.  I worked really slowly and carefully; repeating everything I did for #5 - file, sand, place, check and check again, masking with white out, cutting tiny solder chips, fluxing and checking placement again before turning on the torch.  I soldered again in two phases the first being to tack the knuckles and the second fully attach them. And... I had a successful book hinge!!! 

It was now 6pm and I was done for the day having been at hinge making for 6+ hours. 
​
Next up would be to make a box and put a hinge on it, starting tomorrow.

This weekend I am continuing my quest of learning to make boxes by adding hinges to them; of all the boxes I have made so far, they are slip fit.

I have been told that certain boxes don’t need hinges – ones that are smaller in size are more decoration than functional such that they are not opened very often)

And hinges don’t appear on just boxes they are on lockets (which are small and are certainly decoration), bracelets, and other jewelry as connections between elements.

Then there is other hollowware like the lids for tea and coffee pot, lids on salt cellars or mustard pots, tea caddies and infusers

But unlike hinges in our house, we can’t go to a store and just buy premade hinges – they must be made specifically for each object. And the object has to be modified for the hing

I have looked at a lot of books old and new about hinges. The older ones describe the process but don’t illustrate it as printing images in books use to be very expensive. The newer books have pictures with captions and text but not many give you an exact step by step probably because each item you put hinges on is different. The picture at the top of this post is of all the books I have which discuss hinge making and I read each at least 2 times before it started to make sense (doing this when one is tired does not help and might make understanding it worse).

I am now ready to start constructing some sample hinges which is best as you don’t want to spend hours making a box only for a hinge and then have the hinge incorrect or soldered solid.

I have copper sheet, various sizes of copper tubing for the hinges, copper wire for the hinge pin, solder, a tube cutting jig jewelers saw, and small files specifically for cutting grooves foe the hinge tube to sit in.

There are several types of hinges and I will be making samples of each if not more than one of each before i ever put one on a box.  This is what I will be working on during the rest of the month. When I feel that I can make them well, I will then construct a box and add a hinge.