[023] Making Games Every Day for a Month, Days 11 + 12 of 31: Shuttlecock and Buttonhole

"The most difficult thing is to know what we do know, and what we do not know." - P.D. Ouspensky, Tertium Organum (1922)

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I was in the woods yesterday.

Today, to atone for my unfortunate absence, I have made two small toys. One for yesterday, and one for today.

I saw a drawing of a design for a shuttlecock (you know, like for badminton?) that was simply a knob of wood with a bunch of feathers stuck in.

That seemed simple enough, but I also wanted to try and see if I could use my new alcohol-turmeric ink to color the wood.

I made this ink in Erica Spitzer Rasmussen 's Old-School Inks class at North House Folk School . This ink was made from turmeric powder and isopropyl alcohol. We also made inks from grapes, elderberries, walnuts, charcoal, and indigo. It was incredible. I'm inspired to make more.

I found that the turmeric ink was not suitable for writing, as it spread out very quickly and was not viscous enough to hold the shape of letters. However, it seems perfect for dyeing wood a bright and brilliant gold!

I think this little thing would be great if a fella had a pair of paddles to knock it around with. For now, it's a surprisingly aerodynamic toy for playing catch.

Part Dieux of today's craft adventure is making a Buttonhole Puzzle, also known as a Nålbinding Puzzle. This one is dead simple, and anyone can make one, and it Nerd Snipes the heck out of people.

First, you need a needle. A nålbinding needle is best. Bigger than a darning needle. They can be quite long, but this one is a shortie.

Then, you tie a wee string through the eye of the needle. It is critically important that the string is shorter than the needle, and does not stretch!

The trick with this puzzle is that the needle is stuck inside a buttonhole. It seems simple to detach, but it isn't!

Everyone's first instinct is to pull the string around the needle, but since the string is just a wee bit too short, it doesn't work. So, how does it work? I'll show you, but only you, and you have to promise not to tell anyone. Okay? Watch closely.

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"He had said that the geometry of the dream-place he saw was abnormal, non-Euclidian, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours." - The Call of Cthulu, H.P. Lovecraft (1928)