Stilt-making

Well, we're making our stilts, and I've got some advice for all you stilt-makers out there:
1. Go to the source.
It is hard to find particular types of wood, and, not knowing much about wood, we wanted to stick with our recipe. Pine. Our instructions were adamant about pine (oaky, not adamant, but they were specific). Lowe's doesn't carry pine in 2x2. Nor does Dunn Lumber. Nor Martin's Lumber. Nor any one of about a dozen places we called around to. Finally, we found 2x10 pine at Blackstock Lumber. We bought our 6' plank, took it to Stina's parents' house, and used their power tools to rip it down to 2x2 sizes (which are actually 1 1/2 x 1 1/2"). This was REAL lumber yard. Most of the people there were contractors, and though they were happy enough to helps us find our relatively small amount of lumber, they were a bit too busy with large orders to cut it down to 2x2 dimensions for us (despite the fact that they do do that sort of thing... they said it would take a few hours to get to)
2. Know your sewing machines
Making the straps is difficult if you're trying to hand-sew. Stina and I spent an hour and got 1/48 of the way done, and I bent a needle in half. Then we took it to YTN to use their sewing machine, but apparently in the 5 years since I took my costuming class, I've forgotten some key element, and was only able to make a crooked line of thread appear on the Velcro and gum up the thread in the adhesive. We wiped everything off, and got out of there before I could break anything. We're going to the alterations shop in the morning to see if they can't make a professional job of it.
3. Do it in cool weather
We got cranky today around the jigsaw. Tense, tense situations, and one person has a power tool. Then we went back into the shade, and got along much more nicely. Kind of "cooled down" as it were. Get it? Get it?
4. Trust
At least I think that's good advice. We're following the instructions to a T, and I only hope it works. I last walked on stilts over a dozen years ago. I remember falling forward, and was indeed told, "always fall forward". But I can't seem to believe that the toe of the footboard won't get in the way of falling onto the kneepads, and nothing mentions that as a problem... so when I get up there, maybe it won't be a problem. I can only hope.
5. Share
There seems to be a dearth of practical information (and disagreements amongst the info that there is) on stilt-walking, busking, hitchhiking, etc. online. Is that because people who want to live cheaply and are amused by things like walking 2 feet taller than everyone else don't own computers or don't keep records of their activities? Not that there's no information, certainly not, but finding an answer to a very specific question is harder than for other subjects. Oh internets, don't fail me now! So this share advice is really for everybody else, but if we all share, hopefully some consensus will be reached on the proper way to do things.

In other news, not only is our name "...And Juggling", but we'd like to insist that people say it correctly. The key to pronouncing the ellipsis (...) is to say another word in your head just before saying aloud, "and juggling". Try it.

Rosencrantz: What are you doing?
Tom(thinking): Watching a movie and juggling.
Rosencrantz: What?!?
Tom: stacking boxes of shoes and juggling.
Rosencrantz: Say again?
Tom: finding a gentleman caller for Laura and juggling.
Rosencrantz: Did you say ...and juggling?
Tom: Yes. Yes I did. ...and juggling.

Brendan is signing off and juggling.