Site of the Week - Celtic Love Spoons

As I try different kinds of carving, one thing I revisit every so often is the Celtic or Welsh Love Spoon. There are many different designs to choose from and they can be made using whatever scrap pieces you have around. Love Spoons can be very simple or extremely challenging to carve,  beautiful to look at and, most importantly, are perfect objects to lace with symbolic elements, giving them a deep and lasting meaning for the giver and the receiver. I came across a site with a short "how to" slide series. The carver, Adam King, makes some of the more delicate and graceful designs I've seen. Of special interest to me are two things he shows. First, the idea of rounding the spoon part before the final shape of the handle section is completely cut away. This give something sturdy to hold with a vise. With a spoon this delicate, that would have been impossible had the entire spoon been scroll cut. Secondly, the use of small strips of cloth-backed sandpaper for sanding this, curved parts. Trying to do this with almost any other method would likely proof frustrating. In any case, this particular design looks quite challenging. I might have to give this one a try and see for myself. Here is the link for "making a love spoon" page on Adam's site.