The Lady at the Doctor's Office

Today I went to the doctor with my aunt and sister.  As always, my Kumihimo went with me.  A lady in a wheelchair came into the waiting room with her daughter and caregiver.  They, of course, were curious and I told them a little about what I was doing.  At some point, the receptionist called her to the desk.  When she came back to her place, she told her daughter that she wanted to sit next to me.  I showed her what I was doing and how to move the ribbons around the disk. 

Well, let me tell you, within 10 minutes, she was working the disk on her own.  She made a braid about 4" long while waiting to be called in for her appointment.  Her daughter and caregiver were amazed.  Her daughter told me that since she became ill a few months ago, she showed no interest in doing anything. 

When they left to see the doctor, I finished her braid by making it into a key fob.  I sent it into her by a nurse.  A few minutes later, the daughter came out and thanked me for giving a little life and excitement to her mom.  She also told me she was going to Hobby Lobby this week... for disks and yarn for the 3 of them.  Boy, I wish I had thought about taking pictures...  And I will hopefully see her again.  She attends the same senior activity center I attend.  God is very good at making intersections in life.

My Homemade Marudai

This is my first marudai.  It's made from a 5 gallon bucket that I bought at Home Depot.  Total cost, $7.37.  Not a bad investment.  The hardest part was cutting through the bucket.  I used an exacto knife.  My fingers were sore for a while, but it was well worth it.

My Start with Kumihimo

Hi Everybody!

I'm Garnie,  I was introduced to the art of Kumihimo in July 2011.  A friend was wearing a necklace that looked very much like bead crochet.  I had worked on bead crochet for about a year.  When she told me it was Kumihimo, I was intrigued.  I wasted no time in doing a web and Youtube search to find all I could about this newly found craft.  After doing my research and making my first bracelet  using a homemade cardboard disk and some crochet yarn, I was totally hooked and in love!

Since then I have not put my disk down.  It goes everywhere I go.  I love that convenience.  I can even take it on plane trips.  I use a pair of nail clippers to cut my cords.  Within a week of learning, I taught Kumihimo to 30 children and adults ranging in age from 8 - 80 at Vacation Bible School and my senior activity center jewelry class (the 80 year old was the pastor's mother). 

I now keep a few homemade kits with me, the cardboard disk, some crochet yarn, an easy to follow instruction sheet and my business card.  I teach the  7 cord braid with the kit.  If they show interest in want to learn more, I tell them to call me to set up an appointment.  They will purchase a form disk and the satin cord for more classes.

And that's the start of a new love in my quest for creativity.  I have used satin cord, crochet yarn, hemp, ribbon, and anything I can find to braid.  I will be posting more pictures as time goes on.  The pictures below shows some of my work and a few of the tools I used when I first started.   I hope you will enjoy my pieces and my blog.