Potholders

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

In Which I Block a Rattlesnake

Justin works on a ranch in Texas so he has plenty of opportunities to capture rattlesnakes. They are everywhere! He taught himself how to tan the skins and recently gifted us with a rather long one. 


He advised me to gently rinse it in a bowl of water to remove any loose scales, just like giving a knitted piece a good soak
 (but without Eucalan).


I normally use my drying rack for socks and other small items, but here it's being used to dry the wet snake skin.


The next step in blocking is pinning, which I did after finding an old barn board in our old barn.


It's almost like blocking a six-foot scarf with an argyle-like pattern, except for one small large difference.




13 comments:

  1. Yikes! I think that's a project that calls for fortitude I don't have! Good for you, what will you do with it?

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  2. You are a better person than I am - I got goosebumps just looking at these photos!

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  3. I got goose bumps too! Just thinking of a snake THAT BIG. Is it 5 feet or so? The pattern on the skin is beautiful though!

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  4. This is incredibly weird and incredibly fascinating. Not sure I could do it...maybe with gloves. But then what?

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  5. WOW! That is so cool!!! (And no wonder you worry about Justin so much. Yikes!) The pattern and color on that skin are just gorgeous. Almost like some sort of fair isle pattern in neutrals, y'know?

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  6. This is so incredibly fascinating! And, I am with Kym - there is some sort of beautiful Fair Isle pattern in there! And, really Justin - please be careful!!

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  7. Hilarious!
    Transferrable skills...

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  8. I am fascinated. It is beautiful. Do you plan to do anything with it? If he tanned it for you, you could do so many things with it!

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    1. Thanks! For now, it's hanging on the wall in our dining room, mainly because that's the only place we really have for a six foot rattlesnake skin. Maybe some day it will become a belt, hat bands ... we'll see!

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  9. So...are you writing the fair isle chart from the scale pattern? It probably would be a hit on Ravelry. It is beautiful, but I'm not up for the live version. :) Helen

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  10. Aren't you glad to know that your blocking skills are transferable. Beautiful skin.

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  11. After I gasped, mostly for your ability to handle a snake skin so deftly, I had to admire the beautiful of the "beast". Wow, Bonny, you are amazing!

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  12. Wow. That's HUGE!! Gorgeous texture and color variations!

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