Hills and Valleys Woven Gourd

While at the Texas Gourd Festival a few weeks ago, I took a class on weaving hills and valleys on a gourd. The class was great and I decided I would try a gourd on my own now that I was back.

The Items needed for this project are:

Proxxon Jig Saw
Proxxon Delta Sander
Proxxon Rotary Tool
Brusho Crystals
Gourd
Reed Spokes
Reed
Yarn
Paint (brown)
Glue
Kamar Varnish

I really learned a lot in this class but I'm just going to primarily concentrate on the Proxxon Tools that I used in making this woven gourd.

To begin with I found what I thought would be a thick gourd and I marked the line to be cut and used my Proxxon Jig Saw for Gourds to cut it with.

This Jig Saw has become my go to saw when it comes to cutting a gourd. I then cleaned the inside of the gourd and painted the inside with brown paint mixed with glue.

The bottom wasn't quite level so I used my Proxxon Delta Sander to smooth out and level off the bottom.

I then colored the outside of the gourd with Brusho crystals and sealed it with Kamar Varnish. Once that was finished I used the Proxxon Rotary Tool with a drill bit that fit the size of the reed spokes to drill holes all around the gourd, which were spaced evenly.

I've got to say once again that I really enjoy using the Proxxon Rotary Tool! It makes it pretty easy to drill the holes at the right angle. I then glued the spokes into the gourd and let it set overnight to dry.

The next day the fun part began! I wove with reed and yarn around the gourd and finished up the ends of the spokes with beads glued onto the ends. I thought it really turned out beautiful and this one is going to be given as a gift.

What do you think of this latest project? Do you use any Proxxon tools or have you checked out the tools that Proxxon has to offer?

Barbara