So, has my carving corner helped? I’ll let my progress board speak for itself. Some of these spoons were mostly finished before I touched them up and added them to the board, a few are made from scratch since I had the carving corner, and a few were already on the board before I started my corner. Some are even a few years old, that I finally found time to finish up. Now I am working on sanding and oiling them all. My goal is to have them all finished by the end of March; so far I am on track. In Christ, Rita ..read more

I have been spending a lot of thought time in the past few weeks creating my dream workroom in my dream house. I was inspired one day when seeing this come through my news feed. by Captain Michael Schiller Pretty isn’t it? Why did it spark me to recreate my dream work space? Three reasons: 1)Windows. I love to just watch the world around me while I am working. 2) Windows. I want to to be able to watch what is going on in my own home, and still be able to carve. 3)I want a space that has a barrier between me and the kiddos, they are so spontaneous that I don’t want them accidentally running in ..read more

Wishing you adventure in the new year, and time for plenty of carving! In Christ, Rita ..read more

I wanted to give a few more photos of the peg boards, now that they are up and in use. I am very pleased with the boards, and they have been doing exactly what I was hoping they would. This progress board is my favorite. This is where spoons go when I am finished carving and ready to sand and oil. For whatever reason, this board is the most exciting for me to fill up. It means I have been carving. Carving is the part I love, not sanding, but I like sanded spoons. So I fill this board up, then sand them in batches, or better yet, when I have a spoon on this board, I can just grab it, and sand ..read more

So, to start this blog again, I wanted to share something that is making the biggest difference right now in my carving. It’s not the carving itself, but more of how I am encouraging myself to keep it up. Last year I was honored to be a demonstrated at the Spoon Gathering in Milan, MN, and for the occasion I thought it would be easiest to display my spoons if they were all in one spot. I had most of my spoons a peg board, but the board wasn’t quite big enough to hold all the spoons, so I made another one. Now that peg board hangs in the kitchen, keeping all my spoons close at hand for use and ..read more

(A blogpost I started in Nov that I’m finally finishing up because it’s still relevant. Sorry for the random photo sizes, I’m too worn out to fix them. Now I remember why I like Instagram so much…) For years I have been living with the mentality that since my carving time is limited, I had better only spend it carving what I love most, eating spoons. Someday, when I think I have more time, I’ll take time to learn to carve other things, like making toys for the kids, or by that time, grandkids.  I have been discouraged about my carving ability, or lack thereof. It feels like for every pret ..read more

Last year at the Spoon Gathering, I was again able to add to my growing woodenware collection. I have been slowly collecting spoons from my carving friends, as well as plates and bowls from Jarrod StoneDahl This was the first time I decided to also buy a spoon from Jarrod. I think I especially fell in love with the colour he used on the handle. Well, I was enjoying the spoon so much, that I threw it in my purse one day as I went out to do errands. (You NEVER know when you will need a spoon on the go, you might meet someone who invites you out for ice cream. It is always good to be prepared ..read more

I recently opened an Instagram account (jarofwood) and found I really enjoy how easy it is to post photos and a quick caption. Unlike my blog, which feels like it takes all night just to put up one post, therefore I don’t. This year at the Spoon Gathering in Milan, a number of people said they still check out my page, so for them, I’d like to post a little more often. No guarantees about frequency, and if we open our home to more foster children the web page will go back to the back burner, but until then, a few photos for you to enjoy. This photo I took early this spring, of my new coffee st ..read more

My family and I just came back from our 6th Spoon Gathering in Milan, MN. What a nice weekend. My favorite part about going to things like the Spoon Gathering is how much I take home with me and keep pondering over even when it is done. Especially when so much happens in such a short amount of time. In my pondering, here are a few of the highlights for me: Carving. Last year I only took out my knife to loan to someone to carve their name; I’m not even sure they used it. This year I was glad to be able to do a little carving myself. I haven’t finished the spoon I started, but I hope to soon ..read more

My Hubby and I were able to go to Spoonfest in the UK this summer, I am finally working on putting photos up in the photo gallery if you are interested. It is a work in progress at the moment, so check back in a few days to see how far I got. In Christ, Rita ..read more