Valentines and Bow Drill

My husband has mentioned before that I don't make things for him...... and he's right. So for this Valentines I made him this sweet little heart out of an old thrift store wool sweater and filled with wool and a little lavender.

The kids love it.
The softness, the scent, the sparkle.... Hubby seems to like it too.





So.... do you know what a bowdrill is?

It's a primitive method of creating fire by friction.... and in my humble opinion, a very difficult skill to learn. I had actually gotten to the point I could more or less fairly consistently get a coal.

That was four years ago.

My set has been lost in the shuffle of three moves, three cities and two babies over the course of three years.

Inspired by the recent sunny weather and a baby that can now be out side without eating everything in sight (and the recent resurfacing of my bowdrill set from the depths of some random box that I haven't seen for many, many moons) the kids and I went outside for a dose of Vitamin D and a little primitive behavior.


(It wasn't nearly as cold as this pic of Phelan makes it look. I bundled them up as I thought it was cold outside, but we were happily peeling layers in just a few short minutes.)



I would love to report that this lovely little tinder bundle was put to use cradling the little baby coal and then burst into flame as we breathed life into it.

But it wasn't.

I did not get a coal this time. Its time for a new socket and notch on my board and I didn't have a knife out with me.

But there are many more sunny days coming...... :)