Some Assembly Required

Six months ago I bought a new Kantele kit, which I never mentioned here in my blog. Why would a zither enthusiast like myself not mention this you may ask? After all, I was incredibly excited about the opportunity to build my own kantele, and I poured over the videos showing my how to build it. But it was a secret, because I bought one for my twin sister Jane too, and our birthday is June 17th. So I kept them in the closet and only brought them out once in a while to look over the woods and kit parts. She still can't believe that I never even dropped a hint as to what I did, getting us twins each a kantele kit. I had to get them in January because they were on sale. It's my Finnish frugality flexing it's muscles I suppose. So now, FINALLY, I get to gush about this new project that I'll be working on. Jane's not going to have much time until fall to build hers, but I might just have to start mine early. I've already waited six months after all!

So that's what I will be making for myself, and helping my sister make hers as well. I am so looking forward to having a 10 string kantele! It's going to be so much fun learning new songs and having someone to play some duets with. I bought the kits from Music Makers, and they came with all the parts including the correct size drill bit for drilling the holes for the zither pins. When I stumbled upon it online, I was so excited that I knew that both my twin and I needed one, and since Jane loves woodworking, it was the perfect gift. Since I found them just after Christmas, the next best thing was a birthday present. The other thing I loved about it was the chance to order from a Minnesota based business, think globally and buy locally as they say. The only catch was keeping it all a secret for six months. Only my husband knew what I was up to, and he kept the secret as well. Did I mention I was EXCITED! And honestly, I can hardly believe I kept this whole thing a secret myself. But now the kits are out of the closet and I can start assembling my new 10 string kantele. Yay! Another instrument to play!