Digging Out Treasure

This week I've been busy digging out treasures more precious than gold. My brother has had a week off and decided it was time we started clearing out my dad's workshop. Both of us have been dreading it as it was most definitely my dad's space - somewhere we both remember him always being. But my Mum wants it sorted, and various artifacts like her carding machine brought into the house so she can begin to convert his old bedroom into her spinning room, so it seemed opportune to begin, although I think it's going to take us a month, if not a year of Sundays to get it clear - there are a lifetime of tools and treasures to be sorted - drawers and drawers and drawers full of metalwork tools and woodworking tools belonging both to my father and his father before him. Yesterday I came across his 'toot pile' - a drawer full of things which he'd made and wasn't happy with - this for example;



too crude for his liking but it kind of reminds me of old Anglo Saxon metal ware so on my mantelpiece it's now residing, along with this;-



the twists of which weren't concise enough for his liking - he was most definitely old school in that respect - twists, and curls had to be evenly space else they got flung aside - and also this hugely heavy door knocker;-



which he begrudgingly hung on the front door of my parents house at my mother's request then decided he didn't like - the curls weren't tight enough naturally.

Buried deep under piles of beautiful smelling wood shavings I discovered this;-



which I think is burr walnut, so that again is taking pride of place on my mantelpiece when not being used to model my own latest endevours - using up odd bits of now defunct Rowan Tapestry wool to crochet flowers;-



which for some unknown reason I felt compelled to teach myself to make following a video off of youtube - it was quite entertaining to watch apparently as I'm left handed and the tutorial was for right handed crocheters;-



and as you can see have gone a bit mad over to the point where I can now crochet them without referring to the video!



I've no clue what I'm going to do with them all - a blanket perhaps if I make more, or if I make smaller ones, decorative buttons perhaps with textured polymer centres? I taught myself to knit beanie hats over the winter (thankfully I knit right handed so less muttering and cursing ensued!), so maybe I'll use them as a side decoration on one of them - most probably they'll end up in my own 'toot pile' though - fun to learn how to make but never used!