Scrap Wood Project-Yarn bowl-sanding and beginning to finish

Good Morning All,

Well,  I went out for my morning walk this morning and walked right into a frozen rain-snow mix. And a lot of wind. It sure was cold but it was a welcome sight.

I went home and decided to work a bit on the bowl and here is where the project stands at present:

As I mentioned in a previous posting I'm making this for a friend who knits a lot and agreed to test the bowl for me. In emailing back and forth last evening, she wanted some finishing changes that upon thinking about them, I don't think would work well for this particular piece. That and she makes small handcrafts and this is a big bowl. I had it in mind to make large bowls for folks who make larger thinks like afghans and sweaters and use larger balls of yarn.

So I will be making her a smaller bowl in the near future that better suits her needs and esthetic requirements.

Back to the bowl:

I went down to the shop and sanded the bowl very well to smooth the surface and remove any surface scratching from the turn:

Then I took one of my French curves and drew the slot on one hole only. I think added an additional slot might weaken the bowl and cause it to break should it ever be dropped. I sawed it by hand with my coping saw:

And here it is with the slot in place. I then sanded it smoothly, along with the holes, so that yarn won't snag on the edge:

I decided to stain the bowl a natural pine color to deepen the yellow color and also to emphasize the reddish-brown color of the cedar foot. So I sealed the wood and then stained it inside and out:

And here is what it looks like at present. I may add an additional color to the outside wall between the foot and the lower edge of the rim. I'll cogitate on this for the next day or so:

I've brought the bowl inside as it's really getting cold outside and at this temperature, the stain won't dry. So inside it went.

I'm going to defrost my hands and have some lunch. I'll see you all tomorrow and we'll talk more about the finish. I'm beginning to have an idea...

VW