It's amazing how much pleasure this gives me, compared to buying something. It's made out of a scavenged old hair-cutting cape, some additional thicker fabric for durability, and 2 bamboo poles.
Here's some photos that are hopefully self-explanatory.
This is what it looks like, in use
https://m.stacker.news/32586
Rolled up for storage
https://m.stacker.news/32582
Laid out so you can see the structure. There's a folded over pocket that the bamboo poles go into. The poles are tied together loosely, to make it easier to assemble.
https://m.stacker.news/32583
The poles are in the pocket, and crossed. Now you sit on the non-pole end, and lift up the poles behind you. It's not difficult.
https://m.stacker.news/32584
One thing I forgot to mention - the red pieces are little bits of rounded rubbery plastic (maybe it's silicone?) that I gleaned from old packaging. You want to have something like that on top of the bamboo poles, so they don't poke a hole into the fabric.
You could also use a fitted cork, or basically anything that makes the end of the bamboo smoother.
That's be far the simplest and most convenient thing I've seen. Ingenuity.
It's awesome how stuff like this -- that you made yourself -- anchor you into the world. It's like you have more of a stake in it. Something so deep in that.
Yep. So many possessions, things you don't even remember. But the things you make yourself, your own project, your own ideas - they stick with you.
In my work, the things I remember with by far the most pleasure, are the projects that I created, that I thought up. Not what I was asked to do, no matter how much I was paid.
Being able to make things yourself is a very good skill.
It just gives you so much pleasure, too.
Love when I see ingenuity!