[applegirl]

I just did a very nice high end event in Boston. In the planning stage a friend of mine from TX suggested I make friendship bracelets. She had this thing I am anxious to tell you about.
It is made of wood and is like a propeller. a dowl stick goes thru it to swing it by. You would use yarn to make it and the children pick the colors. If they are old enough you let them swing the propeller. They get a bracelet and go on their way. It is faster than a balloon and is not a choking hazard and does not pop. Everyone loved it. They were amazed. It was easy for me. What more could you want?

Mine uses centrifical force to power the spinner. Sort of swinging it. That makes it very fast to use. It is about as fast as making a balloon dog. That is one of the things I like about it.

I remember seeing one and being amazed how quick it worked and seeing the little propeller to spin and wind the yarn.

He said it's easy to use but that the most important thing in making the bracelets was twisting the 2-3 strands of yard tightly enough. Then you double it over and twist by hand in the opposite direction. That locks everything together like a rope. He said it takes two people to use it, and that you need to know clockwise from counter clockwise, and that you have to know how to tie an overhand knot!

I just got some more info on this this thing. The guy who makes the device said that it kind of looks like a 10-inch-tall gingerbread man with a stick through its chest. He wants to find a little turbine whistle to mount on it, so when you spin it, it whistles. He hasn't been able to find the whistles though.

The dowl rod goes thru the hole. the yarn is about a yard an then bent in half around the T. You then spin the thing and hold the yarn. When you reach the end tie it in a knot. Th other end can be pulled apart to show a loop. The knoted end can be inserted into the loop after wraping it around the childs arm. ta da.

You use regular yarn. The fluffy stuff does not work very well. But that is a good thing because the regular stuff is cheap. You can also use colored string. It makes a tighter thinner bracelet that I think teens might like better. With the string you can easily use 3 coloras. 2 work best with the yarn. Either the yarn or the string can be found for about a dollar. You use about a yard of each color (maybe less) so it last a long time. The spinning makes the braclet twisted and pretty.

For little ones Mom can even tie it on the binky.


I hadn't yet received a photo of this thing from the guy I know who makes them, so I e-mailed him and had him look at your picture to see if this is the same thing he makes. This is what he said:
"It most likely does the same thing. Mine look like a gingerbread man with a dowel through the chest. Dowel position is critical. I use 2-3 strands of yarn and some beads if they want them.

You can give them my Email address if you want. I will start making them in the next few weeks. I will make them and supply an instruction sheet and a sample bracelet.

I get the kids to help by holding the other end of the yarn. They have to hold tight."

So let me know if you're interested. This is where I'm going to get mine.