Showing posts with label fiddleback. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiddleback. Show all posts

Friday

Ceramic and Fiddleback Maple Support Spinning Bowl with Pyrography


We have created a support spinning bowl that has combined the efficiency of a ceramic surface with the stability of a wide beautiful wooden base. Our ceramic bowl measures 1 3/4 inches in diameter, and the fiddleback maple base is 2 3/4 inches in diameter. A felt backing keeps the wood from scratching other hard surfaces. The fiddleback maple wood base has also been adorned with a lovely leaf motif. The glaze used on this bowl is called "Monet's Garden".

Fiddleback Maple Top Whorl Silk Drop Spindle


Our AWESOME patrons are keeping us busy creating new tools and we are very grateful! I will try to catch up on posting the photos of our latest pieces.

This top whorl silk drop spindle has been crafted from fiddleback maple. It is approximately 8 inches long and weighs 1.1 ounces. A brass hook has been inset in the top.

Saturday

The Golden Dragonfly Lace Tatting Shuttle


Real gold? Yes, real gold! Many of our customers already know we like to recycle, up-cycle and use found materials in some of our pieces, so when Dave had a $900 gold crown recently replaced, he made sure he walked out of the dentists office with his old gold crown in his pocket to use as inlay. Gold crowns usually vary between 14 and 18 karat gold.


Dave handcrafted this 2 5/8 inch tatting shuttle out of a beautiful piece of figured maple wood (also called curly maple, tiger or fiddleback maple). He then carved out the dragonfly and inlayed it with fine grains of gold that he filed off of his old gold crown. Don’t worry…he heated it up to white hot with a torch to soften it so any germs are long gone :) Since Dave had this crown for over 10 years, you might say its like getting a piece of the artist in your shuttle! Maybe he can get enough inlays out of this old crown to pay for the new one!!

This truly unique tatting shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave, and can be found currently up for auction on Ebay.

Monday

Fiddleback Maple Cameo Tatting Shuttle

This type of wood grain pattern is often called "Fiddleback" because it is used in making expensive violins. It is also refered to as Tiger Stripe Maple or Curly Maple.

Dave handcrafted this 2 5/8 inch tatting shuttle out of this beautifully grained maple and inset a resin cameo. It has been initialed and dated by Dave, the maker.

Please click here to view more photos of this tatting shuttle.

Sunday

Fiddleback Maple Yarn Ball Winder


This beautiful yarn ball winder, which is also called a nostepinde or nostepinne, is 10 3/4" in length. Dave turned this one-of-a-kind fiber art tool from a gorgeous piece of Fiddleback Maple. We discovered this and other fabulous pieces of unique wood at a specialty wood mill while traveling through the Cascade mountains recently. This nostepinde also features antiqued brass finials and a hand etched pyrography maple leaf motif, also done by Dave. You can find more photos of this nostepinde in the Fiber Art Tool section of our Etsy shop.

What is Fiddleback Maple?

Fiddleback maple, also known as flamed maple, curly maple, or tiger stripe, is a feature of maple in which the growth of the wood fibers is distorted in an undulating pattern, producing wavy lines known as "flames". This effect is often mistakenly said to be part of the grain of the wood; it is more accurately called "figure", as the distortion is perpendicular to the grain direction. Prized for its beautiful appearance, it is used frequently in the manufacturing of musical instruments, such as violins, and fine furniture.

During the westward expansion of early settlers and explorers into the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains, curly maple was often used for making the stocks used on Kentucky rifles.