Fox Bones and CCNL Membership

removing the gristle

I'm still working on cleaning the fox bones and sketching the blueprints that I started on Friday.  I spent the morning at the Craft Council, signing cheques and delivering the flintknapping kits to the shop. If you are a member of the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, its time to pay your annual membership fee.  The dues are automatically deducted if you supply the shop on consignment, if not, you should get a reminder in the mail shortly.

If you're not a member, why not join?- there are lots of opportunities to help you develop your craft business in the Province.  When I was starting out, I got funding to purchase equipment and supplies, attend craft fairs and conferences, develop marketing materials, and deliver workshops and demonstrations across the Province.

Drying fox bones and claws

I promise, I washed my hands before I signed the CCNL shop cheques.  Besides, the fox bones are getting much cleaner.  After I pulled the bones out of the boiling pot, I soaked them in water saturated with dish liquid for about 24 hours, which helped drive off a lot of the grease.  I manually picked through them to remove the bigger chunks of meat and gristle.  After that I rinsed off the remaining soapy water and put them in a water and borax solution overnight.  This time the water stayed clear, so I think a lot of the grease is out of them now.  I'll dry them out and see if some of the remaining gristle will flake off.  There's not much on the bones any more and the gristle expands many times when it is wet, so I want to see what they look like dry before I decide how to proceed with them.  Most likely I'll put them back in a borax solution for a few days.

Photo Credits:
1: Lori White
2: CCNL Website
3: Tim Rast