Miscellanea

Up a Notch

Posted on by Dan

It’s a new year, complete with resolutions and renewed resolve for cultivating our creative outlets. And, I’ve taken steps in providing better photos for sharing some of the results. A better camera does not make a better photographer, but it does help in providing more tools and control for capturing images in an interesting way. What’s exciting is that I can dust off the old lenses I had for my first SLR, a Pentax K1000 that I bought 17 years ago. And, I’m happy to report the ol’ lenses work just fine with the new Pentax digital SLR (a brilliant decision on their part). The following photographs were taken with a completely manual 50mm lens. There is something satisfying about meshing old and new technology and coming up with good results.

Kalanchoe

This Kalanchoe, a new year’s gift (thank you!), was just waiting to show off a little.

Quilt - detail

This is one of Virginia’s quilts she made a number of years ago (yes, she does other non-knitting activities).

Sock #32 (52 Sock Challenge)

And, since you are so used to seeing socks on the blog, I didn’t want to disappoint.

Sock #32 (52 Sock Challenge) - detail

Virginia knit these using Trekking XXL (Turtlegirl, you might remember swapping this yarn with her), and modified a cable sock pattern by Nancy Bush.

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Boards, part two

Posted on by Dan

I mentioned in my previous post that I was going to reclaim as much of the wood from the old deck as possible. With the help of a planer, some selective cutting and nail removing, I was able to convert this:

Deck, old boards

into this:

Table made from old deck

This is our new patio table, built from 30-year old redwood (2×4’s and 2×6’s). I didn’t have to plane off that much of the surface to reveal a wood that still has plenty of longevity left. The stains, small holes and knots only enhance the character of the surface.

I only wish I could knit as fast as I can build. So, still no fiber-related projects of my own to post. Virginia, however, finished another pair of mittens that I will put up in the next day or so.

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Back to Normal?

Posted on by Dan

The dust is finally starting to settle on our bathroom project. In fact, with the exception of a couple of tiny items on the to-do list, we’re calling this one done.

Once again, I did not take a “before” picture. But, let me tell you, the “before” was quite a stark contrast to what we ended up with. Imagine yellow/tan linoleum on the floor, walls and ceiling covered with dark cedar paneling, a giant two-sink vanity (complete with an expanse of mirrors, large globe lights a la dressing studio) and shiny gold-plated fixtures for that extra-fancy touch. I wonder why we waited 8 years to do anything about it. Nonetheless, we (with the aid of a very helpful carpenter/plumber/tiler/all-around-handy-man) finished our project, and are enjoying not having to run down to the basement in the middle of the night anymore.

Bathroom Remodel

Not pictured is the bathtub, which we kept and surrounded by white 3″x6″ subway tiles.

Bathroom Remodel

Also not pictured entirely is the new toilet, which now only uses 1.6 gallons per flush, instead of the guzzling 5. Who knew toilet technology would continue to improve so dramatically.

Peonies

With normalcy comes, of course, more knitting. And what is more normal on this blog than seeing another pair of Virginia’s socks. These are knit with leftover Trekking and Elann sock yarns.

Sock #3 (52 Sock Challenge)

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Rising from the Ashes

Posted on by Dan

After what seems like an eternity, the blog is back. Our recent experience with a hacked blog, allowed me to take a look around, make some modifications (improvements?) and forge ahead. For those of you who care to know, SPIN | KNIT was hacked and the code was infiltrated, causing anyone reading it via an RSS feed to have access to any number of links to Web sites of questionable content (is that an understatement?). May that be a lesson to continually be on top of upgrading your blogging software (if you are someone who hosts your own) and stay aware of any potential weaknesses in your directories.

This new blog, ScratchCraft, is going to encompass more of the crafty activities that we partake in (not just spinning and knitting). Unfortunately, I decided not to salvage any of the written content from SPIN | KNIT, for fear of there being some problems/weaknesses with the database. Fortunately, I had backups of all the images, and those past projects can be perused in the “Galleries” page. Titles and descriptions will be added as time permits.

I hope I did not scare anybody off, thinking I was suddenly promoting the sale of certain types of enhancing drugs, insurance and other pastimes. I assure you, I was not. If you did not run off, welcome back! We look forward to continue sharing our projects as we finish them. There will also, I’m sure, be more changes to this site as we tweak and adapt it to suit the nature of our content.

Thank you!

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