IGKT-PAB AGM, continued.

While I was teaching at the IOLI Convention, they had a teacher's luncheon and they served VOSS water, in glass bottles. I thought this was a very special bottle, and should be easy to cover with square knots, so I took the bottle home to play. The first thing I had to do was remove the painted-on labeling. I had to use a tool (the edge of a nail file worked nicely) to scrape it off. There was a bit of adhesive left on the bottle, from the "tamper-proof" seal on the cap and I was able to remove it with rubbing alcohol.

Once that was finished, I cut 48 (for 24 square knots per round) four-yard lengths of 1.2 mm braided polyester cording.

I began knotting around the mouth of the bottle and worked my way down, so that it was securely attached to the bottle and tight enough to hang on.

By the night of the IGKT-PAB AGM, I had managed to get the knotting done enough to come down below the "shoulders" of the bottle. I worked on it that evening and the next day at the Wooden Boat Show ...

... UNTIL ...

I am not completely sure how it happened, but I think a strand of the knotting cords got wrapped around the handle of my walker, and when I moved the walker to get it out of someone's way, that pulled the strand, and with it the bottle, off the table and it went crashing to the asphalt parking lot where we were. I was so stunned that I think I must have been in shock, because I didn't get upset at all. I also figured that I'd find another bottle like that and continue working on it. I was able to get the bottle's neck out of the knotting and put the knotting away. Someone (I think it was Mike) cleaned up the glass for me -- thanx so much!

So I had Jose help me make a mat, instead. I did tie some snake knot necklaces, etc., and teach a few kids (quite a few teenagers) to tie Solomon's Bar fobs, but the mat was fun to make and I still say I'm going to make myself a jig like that, someday! Thanx for letting me do that, Jose!

Well, after MUCH searching at various specialty stores near my house -- Jamba Juice, Starbucks, etc., even the local hotel, of the same name as the one in Los Angeles where the Convention had been held -- I still could not find VOSS water in glass bottles.

I did a search online and found several websites where I could buy a CASE of it, for $38 plus $15 shipping. All I wanted was ONE BOTTLE! So I did a google search again and found some kind of blog where people were asking where to buy it by the case, instead of by the bottle -- well, I wanted only one bottle, so I read that entry further and found they sell them at World Market. Well, there's a World Market very near my house, so I went there. I found them and got several, just in case...

Then I went shopping at the "Bev Mo" in the same shopping center. THEY have them, too! And they are about 1/3 less at Bev Mo. Naturally, since I had already bought them at World Market. Oh well, now I know...

So, I took the new bottle and continued the knotting on it. I worked on it quite a bit at the demo we did at the Tall Ships Festival, in September. I wish I had been able to take pictures there, but we arrived very late and only were able to go for Sunday, because of a previous obligation on Saturday. But I worked on that bottle in between teaching kids to tie Solomon's Bar fobs for their backpacks, or bracelets, or both, when they showed great enthusiasm. It's so much fun to teach kids because they're not afraid to try! Adults are always so timid and I don't know why.


So the bottle is finished now. I am not extremely happy with the finishing. I wish I had done a better job of it, but I wasn't sure how many knots to make on each round before decreasing. I have it figured out now, for the next one. I think I need to make a series of these bottles, with different pattern designs on each one.

Should be a lot of KNOTTY fun! : - )