Laffing Horse Crafts

Back in late September or early October, I was in the broom shop at the Ozark Folk Center, chatting with visitors while between brooms when in comes a little bundle of smiles and energy and creativity accompanied by her mother. Seems the young gal, Julianna, had come up with an idea for a Halloween costume and I was just the guy to advise her in creating it. Now, I know that everyone is thinking witch. And you’d be right… almost. Julianna wanted her mother to be a witch and she wanted to be the broom! Here’s what her Karen, her mother, had to say: If you can recall…Julianna...

Gold knitting needles, of course. Well, not real gold. That would be kinda pricey and heavy. How about Osage Orange, also called Hedge, Bodark or Bois d’Arc. This is a very hard, rot resistant wood with a gorgeous golden color when first turned. As it ages, it gets darker, but not evenly. The resulting color is like dark chocolate with ribbons or caramel… wait… must be hungry. These particular knitting needles are size 10.5 and approximately 11-inches in length including the finial at the top. They are polished and finished and buffed using oils and beeswax until they have a soft,...

I’ve a sudden craving for blue raspberry shaved ice. Y’know the stuff. You get it on those hot Summer days and watch the guy in the tiny little trailer vendor kitchen shave the ice until it’s really fine and crystalline. Then he’ll hold the cone filled with powdered while coolness under a pump bottle and spray it with blue sugary goodness. Maybe you’ve only seen ‘em at county fairs or maybe you’re thinking of a Slushee(tm) or Slurpee(tm). It’s really all the same. Don’t know why I’ve got a craving for it. I suppose it might be the 9-inches...

A long long time ago in a galaxy far far away (OK, so it was the Renaissance Festival in Colorado some 7 years ago) an elderly lady visited our shop and fondled the yarn and said, wistfully, “I used to love yarn and knitting, but I have arthritis now and it hurts to grip the needles for any length of time.” That sounded like a challenge to me! “M’lady,” says I. “Wouldst thou like to knit once again? I believe I canst make needles that wouldst alleviate the painful aggravation thou art feeling.” Well, it was something like that. She responded in the positive...

You'll see more brooms than you can shake a ...er... broomstick at The Ozark Folk Center State Park in Mountain View Arkansas will be the site of a historic gathering of craftspeople honoring the centuries old skill of broom making on Friday, April 23 through Saturday April 25, 2010. The gathering, a first of it’s kind, has been named the “SweepIn” and will feature some of the most recognized Broom Squires in the United States. “A lot of well known broom makers have signed up to be a part of this event. They’re bringing broom making styles, stories, and equipment from all over...

Or just the N size. This is a size N (10 mm) crochet hook turned and carved out of a very light piece of walnut. It is about seven-inches long and features a comfortable engraved (size on front, and year, wood and signature on back) thumbrest and double jingle rings on top. (more…) AKPC_IDS += "703,";Popularity: 92% [?]

This is a nicely fanned out Turkey Wing broom bound with strong, durable, yet fine nylon twine. As I approached the top of the broom… the end of the binding. At that point, I switched by way of a secure splice, to a yellow twine which I used to plait (the woven handle) over purple hand-dyed basket reed. (more…) AKPC_IDS += "690,";Popularity: 75% [?]

Going green? This kitchen broom is just the thing. Featuring a smooth standard hardwood handle, hand-dyed green broomcorn, matching hand-dyed green split and trimmed broomcorn stalk plait (the weave at the top of the sweep), and a fancy green over white pattern band of stitching, this is one very functional, very artistic broom. Great for work or decoration. (more…) AKPC_IDS += "683,";Popularity: 73% [?]

This Turkey Wing broom, made from hand-dyed broomcorn is bound with wire and has a graceful forward flip. The handle is plaited (or braided) with twine over natural and hand-dyed, split and trimmed, broomcorn stalk. Because of the method used to tie this broom, no stitching is necessary. (more…) AKPC_IDS += "677,";Popularity: 79% [?]

The Perfesser I wear spectacles and I work with wire. Two seemingly unrelated items, yet… This hearth broom measures about 28″ and has a natural sassafras handle that’s been carved with a fun “man of the woods” face. In this case, it might be “man of the local university” instead. I made the spectacles first by carefully bending the wire around a mandrel leaving two ends over the nose-piece protruding to act as staples. Then I carved the face and affixed the specs with the staples. The sweep contains more than 10 ounces of broomcorn with a bit of hand-dyed...