The May project for my column, 'Yearning to Weave', is now live on the Schacht Spindle Co. website. You can access it by clicking here. The project details how to make bean bags on a rigid heddle loom using pick-up sticks and your stash of perle cotton.
 
Two summers ago, Kevin and I got hooked on what we used to call 'the bean bag game'. We were attending Folks Fest up in Lyons, Colorado, and there it was, all set up just waiting for us. We were there with friends who were also not originally from the area, and when the rain started to fall, everyone else ran for cover, and it was just the four of us and a few happy-go-lucky little kiddos looking skyward and letting ourselves get soaked. It's so dry there, that we knew we'd be dry too within a short while after the rain passed. And when you live in a desert climate, rain is a small miracle. Well thanks to the rain, the game area cleared out, and we were free to play 'the bean bag game' until the sun once again overtook the clouds and it was time to share the fun with everyone.

 
The idea: toss your set of beanbags into a hole in a platform about 30 feet away. The girls easily bested the boys, and we had a great laugh. A laugh I looked back at fondly last summer when we were part of the infamous 'Soaks Fest' (no rain, no rainbows, right?). If you can survive three days with your partner largely confined to a two-man tent, you know you've got a good thing going. Plus, hearing Patty Griffin sing 'Rain - this version is a bit tin-y for obvious reasons, but gives you an idea of just how achingly beautiful her voice really is)' in the rain, well, it was sublime. 
 
We decided that 'the bean bag game' would be a fun addition to our wedding weekend. Kevin whipped up a couple of boards with holes (we used three, but the game officially calls for just one), and I wove and stitched up the material for the bean bags. My nephew coordinated a tournament on Sunday afternoon, which was loads of fun. We'll be building a new set of holes for the party in Maine over the 4th. Oh, and the funny part is that apparently our bean bag game is really called cornhole (tee hee). There's an association and everything. Very official like.