Custom Hula Hoops

A little over two years ago I learned how to make really nice hula hoops for learning to do tricks with.

These are the first two hoops I made.  Both are made from 25mm IPEX pipe and a straight pipe joiner.  I have also made a few hoops for other people over the last two years.

The larger one was the first one I created, and was originally wrapped in white hockey tape with writing all over it.  Recently it accidentally ended up getting soaked in insecticide, so I stripped the tape off and re-wrapped it.  Both hoops are wrapped in white hockey tape and painted.

I plan to make an even larger one that moves even slower to help with learning motions, moving up to smaller ones as I get the motions learned and ingrained in muscle memory.

my first fun fur hammock

In the winter after I learned how to make hammocks I decided to try and make a warm one.

This hammock is fun fur lined with a thick fleece shell.  It is 1.5m wide and 2.5m long.  I actually built it to fit under the 3m long double wide nylon hammock that I started using as a tarp. 

This hammock is very comfortable, but does not actually block the wind very well, so it is not quite as warm as I hoped for winter sleep. However, it does make an extremely warm blanket on a double bed.

It has been well used for about a year, but has now fallen into disuse since I made the double wide fun fur windproof hammock.

large hand bag

When I was making my winter outfit I had a strip of leftover fleece, which when folded in half looked like a good sized hand bag.

It holds everything I need for a day of temping with fairly consistent weather and temperatures, or everything I need while in transit on a bus going anywhere.  The straps are scrap webbing that I diverted from the garbage at a furniture building gig a few years ago. There are loops in all four ends of the straps where I can hook small things, like my keys, phone, and water bottle, for easy retrieval.

The bag measures 43cm x 30cm with a 27cm opening.

smaller water bottle

I decided to paint the water bottle I got a few years ago during a gambling awareness presentation.

 

The bottle holds about 1/2 L of water, and is well used. At this point it is falling into disuse because I got myself a larger metal water bottle to keep in my bag.

super cheap bike lights

One evening I was sprinting to catch a city bus, tripped, and smashed the back light for my bike. After that I was using some electric glow sticks for front and back lights on my bike for a while. Finally I found some bike lights at the local Dollarama, so I got the pair.

When I tried to install the bike lights the mounting clips broke off. Being a person who does crafting with things like plastic canvas this only drove me to find a way to make a mount to put them on my bike, since the lights themselves still worked fine.

The end result was a little box, held closed with a twist tie, attached to the bike with twist ties, holding the light part of the Dollarama bike lights, and they are working quite well.  The picture is the rear light, and the front light is basically the same.

Total cost to me: about $3 and about an hour.

Rainbow lighter

I had a quiet evening in Fredericton on one of my trips, and a couple of lighters in my kit bag, so I decided to start coloring them.

This is actually the third rainbow painted lighter I made.  The first one got borrowed at Eclipse and did not end up getting returned. The second one I gave to Pixie Sun Child before we went in opposite directions in Ontario. Finally the third one I made when I got back to Halifax.

Winter ready hammock

Last winter I spent most of my nights sleeping outside in a hammock.  This may sound cold, but it really was not.

This hammock is 3m wide and 2.5m when the ropes are not installed, and has slept three people comfortably.  The liner is thick fleece fun fur. The shell is coated rain wear nylon, which is both wind and water proof.  With the tarp and everything tethered properly it is ready for any weather except extreme heat.

I also have two fun fur blankets that I use as the temperature gets lower. I have gotten to almost -20 degrees Celsius with just two fun fur blankets and some warm clothing, and about zero with almost nothing in addition to the blankets.

There are zippers on the ends so that the foot end of the hammock can be zipped up to both keep the blanket inside the hammock around the feet, and keep the hammock closed by the feet.

In a pinch the hammock can be used as a warm sleeping bag on the ground as well.  This year when I took this hammock to Evolve I did not actually get to sleep in it because it was always occupied by someone else who was sleeping. I only hear good things about the comfort and warmth.