Some years ago, my tiny niece peppered me with questions at our family’s Christmas gathering.
“What do you think makes you special?”
“How do you measure success?”
“Who do you admire?”
This child’s questions seemed more difficult to answer than any question on any university midterm that ever landed on a desk before me. In an effort to stop her philosophical interrogation, I attempted to turn the questions back on to her.
“How about you tell me who you admire?”
“I have a lot of strong women in my life. I admire something in each of them. Like my mom. She’s teaching me to be strong and caring and responsible. My mom is the strongest woman I know.”
Well hell. The seven-year-old had considered these important questions in more depth than I had.
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I consider myself a highly creative person as is partially evident in the fact that I am keeping a blog to record certain crafty endeavors in which I engage.
My measure of success is simple. Am I better than I was yesterday? If the answer is yes, I am successful.
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About two months ago, I came across an internet image of exquisite weavings made from plastic bags. That’s when my inner seven-year-old kicked in.
“How did they make the plastic-bag-thread so thin? How is it that this plastic thread is durable enough to be woven in this way? How much time did it take to produce the amount of plastic thread to make those weavings? . . .”
Initially I found a way to make ‘cordage’ from plastic bags from a guy on YouTube who calls himself 3rdWorldPrepper. His method worked to make the thin durable plastic thread that appeared in the weavings that inspired my internet research and his technique required minimal tools. I modified his approach by utilizing my knitting needles. I was content with this process for a while and learned a great deal about how the plastic material behaves.
Yep. He’s cutting the plastic bag with a knife. I find that scissors also work.
Eventually, it occurred to me that I could use my drop spindle I made a few years ago from an old chair leg and a plastic French onion dip container. This method also worked to make the thin durable plastic thread and it was a significant improvement from 3rdWorldPreppers method. I was content with this process . . . for a while.
Finally, I tracked down the original source for the image which had so captivated me to Bureau Baggerman’s site for her “Anudando” project. There was a video which included images of the artist sitting at her spinning wheel making the plastic thread from shopping bags. That’s when I became truly obsessed.
I downloaded plans for the Thrifty Fox Spinning Wheel (worth every cent for anyone wondering) and for three days, I toiled away to complete this project. It is done and I love it.
As I become comfortable using my new tool, I tweak it here and there to accommodate my plastic thread making efforts. Indeed, my thread making skill has improved significantly. Below is an image of a friendship bracelet I made with the cordage I produced using 3rdWorldPreppers technique alongside a bracelet I made utilizing thread made with my fantastic spinning wheel.
Yeah. . . Better than I was yesterday. Successful!
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On a more serious note. . .
I have thought about that last question my niece asked me so many years ago a whole lot more lately. There are a lot of people in my life and each one of them offers me something I can admire.
My niece’s mother, my sister-in-law. . . She was indeed a strong woman, but this was not the character I admired her most about her. Nancy helped me to better understand the meaning of family. Not only did she devote herself to her family, but she did a lot for me, for my family, and for many other people. She never expected anything in return. She had a lot of love to give and she gave it freely. She helped others become the better people she knew they could be.
If I can be half as dedicated and half as caring to my family as she was, I will consider myself successful. I am really going to miss you, Nancy.
