Duuuude, it's like, hemp.

This is one of those projects that I've been wanting to do for a long time and 52 Projects finally gave me the impetus to just do it. Once I made the decision I was charged up with excitement and all sorts of ideas. I even chose to work on this rather than run or swim on Saturday, and I very rarely blow of workouts. So, what got me so jacked up? Macrame!

Here's the story. My father always had a lot of house plants when I was growing up. He had them all over the house and took meticulous care of them. He'd haul them out to the kitchen table every so often and water them with a bulb baster, tracking every drop of water in a marble composition book. Can you see where I get some of my anal retentive tendencies? After my father passed, I inherited many of his plants. One in particular was an Asparagus Fern that used to hang in the kitchen window above the sink. I've had it with me in several places I lived and for the past few years it was in my cube at work. I re-potted it a couple of times and it needed it again. Badly. What it also needed was a throw back circa 1974 macrame plant hanger. No problem, right? Just head over to the Home Depot garden section. Nope. Lowes? Nope. Local garden center? Nope. Google? Well, there were a few but nothing that really grabbed me. This needed to be just right. Jane had supposedly found some in a thrift store. She even called me to ask if she should buy them. Hello?? Of course!! But for some reason, she didn't. That was the last straw. Only one thing to do; make one!

Like a good child of the '70s I went straight to Google to figure out what to do. I looked at several instruction pages before settling on this one. It seemed easy enough. I spent my lunch hour Friday at AC Moore, Michael's and Home Depot gathering the supplies (hemp, beads, and rings)



and spent a good part of Friday night reading the instructions and getting started.


First I wrapped the ring for the top


Then I measured out the strands



I attached the strands to the ring


Then I started knotting like mad


I was so excited I spent all my free time on Saturday re-potting plants


and working on the hanger. I tried all sorts of knots and twists and braids. I used some cool aqua and black beads but had to drill out the center hole to accommodate the rope.


I had to check the size against the pot. The instructions were very vague as far as sizing. They were pretty vague on a lot of things.



And then........... it was done!!





The fern looks happier already (maybe not to you but I know it is.) Just wait a few weeks and I'll post again and you see how much it's grown in its new hang out.


I learned quite a bit from this adventure and know that the next one I make will be much better. The instructions were very simple, maybe too simple, and included what I thought was a huge error; she states to start with 16 strands, but you only need 8. You double them over at the ring and that's where you get 16. Try it, you'll see.

Some other things I learned;

Working on the floor is uncomfortable
It's hard to concentrate when the tv is on
It's difficult to picture the hanger in 3D when it's laying flat on the floor
Cut your strands at least 50% longer than you think you'll need. Knots make the ropes shorter :)
Keep the strands tight or the knots will not be tight
Pay attention to which way you tie knots so the others will be symmetrical ( if you want symmetry)
Pay attention to the diameter of the strands compared to the diameter of beads (if you want to use beads)
Pay attention to which way things twist. Once you tie them together they won't untwist. That's the good news and the bad news

I am already planning on at least two more. For one I am going to experiment with dying the hemp. Is it cheating if I use that for 52 Projects? I've never dyed hemp rope before.