From my progress last week, I decided that I needed to take a different route for my project. The tulle was difficult to weave complex designs into due to its instability. It would be perfect for weaving straight down the fabric, but not in the way that I would like my designs to go. So I “re-calibrated” and went in another direction, making a more 3-dimensional project instead.

Using several 24-gauge wires, I created the base for a metal tree, as seen in the figure below.

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I’m not 100% sure I want to keep the current design of the wire tree, but I have figured out the logistics for the fiber optic part of my project. Using the arduino, I created several color fade settings using a pushbutton. I tried using a microphone module again, however, I had trouble using the analog device to trigger an external interrupt. I will keep trying, but the pushbutton is my fail-safe in case I am unable to get the microphone working.

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My next goal is to finalize my tree shape and decide on whether I will keep it as a bare tree, or add leaves to the ends. I am pretty content with the way the light changes along the tree; I just need to figure out how to extend this light to the very ends of the tree. It seems that the more light I let out near the base, the less light that makes it to the tips.