Under the Tree

Season Greetings everyone. I recently got sidelined by the need to make some gifts to give away to friends.  These are two door stops that I tied for that purpose.  Each one has a concrete paving brick inside of it and is wrapped using a monkey's fist knot with 8 passes using 1/2 inch natural fiber sisal rope.  I tucked one of the ends in and secured it to a hidden wrap with a zip tie to make sure it doesn't come loose.  A friend of our had one of these and their dog pulled out the tucked end so I'm hoping the zip tie will make it more secure.  In the end nothing too fancy and something I presented here before.  The square paving block helps them to sit flat on the floor (or you can tilt then on the corner like the picture).  They do make nice gifts and once you get the hang of it you can make one in under an hour.  I have another project in the pipe line that I'm not sure I'll get in before traveling for the holiday.  We'll see how it goes.  Stay tuned and happy holidays.

Monkey's Fist Keychains

These are a few simple Monkey's Fist key chains that I made.  They are each tied with slightly different string.  All three are tied around a 3/4" wooden bead that I purchased at a craft store.  To create the loop for the attachment, I utilized a modified overhand loop knot- It incorporates three strands rather than the usual two and allows me to create a very simple, quick tie loop.  These can be tied in 10 or 15 minutes.

Doorstop

I've been on a baby break for the past few months, and the knotting has suffered.  I have a few things going, but rather slowly.  This is a monkey's fist door stopper I did the other week.  An easy little project, popular and attractive.  The ends are short spiced together to make a handle.  This project used about 50 feet of sisal rope.  A square paving stone makes up the core.