My first darn on the old woven blanket.
For now, anyway, I'll leave the hole open. This blanket is so holey, and threadbare in spots, I'll have plenty of chances to try different darning styles. (The tapestry needle is ideal.)
The BBC podcast A History of the World in 100 Objects is the perfect accompaniment to handwork:
The beginning episodes I listened to are all about how tools make us human---that is, our ability not just to make and use tools, which animals do too, but to make tools more complicated than we need---to imagine uses beyond what's currently called for--and then to make or add unnecessary whirligigs and whatnot: art.
The original "Put a Bird on It" [Portlandia skit]:
a Bird-Shaped Pestle, from Papua New Guinea (100 Objects episode 6)
