Saturday, October 27, 2007

String stuff

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My lower back says it is time to take a break from leaning over the table folding hems. Rather than lose the time, it was a good alternative to start making the stack lines.



The Board gets wrapped with string (150 pound strength Blue Line Spectra) 60 times. That is enough for 20 kites. It is always good to have spares.



Then the string gets marked 5" away from where it will be cut.



Then it gets marked 5" the other way.



After it has been marked 5" to either side of where it will be cut, it is cut along the line in between.



The result is 60 strings, all cut the same length, all with 2 marks exactly the same distance apart. Now it is just fold on the marks, tie overhand loops in the ends, and they are ready to be stretched, matched in sets, and installed.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Last kite finished.


Of course, as soon as I got home from Washington state, it was time to start sewing again. This is the last kite off the table, for a sponsor of the KONE Regional Kite Competition.


It is a 6-foot Rokkaku kite. The plans are available online.



Convention Note


One of the things that happened at the AKA Convention was that I got elected President of the American Kitefliers Association. Now I am officially a Staff Weenie.

The thing is, there are lots of thing that can be improved upon. To be a part of it and see what is going on, join us on the Kite Talk Forum on the AKA Web Site.

AKA Convention 2007


I got back from Ocean Shores, WA about 1 AM Monday October 8. One of the things we got to do out there was to all gather with our Octopus kites to set a new record for how many of them could be flown at once. The new record is 20. The black one over my left shoulder is mine.