Each trip back to Nantucket I've worked on my whale with the guidance of Nancy Chase. He's a big boy and I've nicknamed him "Bocephus".
After the last time I worked on the whale it started to crack or check. Checking is typically caused by shrinkage differences between the surface and core of drying lumber. A check is a naturally occurring lengthwise separation between wood fibers. Wood logs shrink twice as much in the tangential direction (growth rings or concentric circles) as it does in radial direction (diameter). I was surprised this happened since the timber came from the Nantucket Methodist Church and is one of the original timbers from when it was built in 1823.I filled the cracks with Swedish putty. Some of the cracks were so deep I ended up creating little wedges from wood and inserted those into the cracks and back filled with putty. It seems to be working.
I worked a lot on the tail this trip. I'm very pleased with how Bocephus is turning out. This is my first carving experience. Nancy watches over me and gives me direction. She is the best teacher and so encouraging. I'm having so much fun.
I did manage to cast on the foxes sweater. While on the 2 1/4 hr. boat ride back to the mainland I cast on and knit ~ 1-inch of ribbing. Oh well, at least it is something.