Knitting

Pickles and (take a guess) Socks

Posted on by Dan

Virginia, I’m sad to say, is not going to have a finished big project for the month of July. Life, right now, is taking the driver’s seat, and leaving the projects we’d like to be finishing, well, unfinished. But, such is life, with its many ups and downs. We take it all.

However, I wouldn’t just post to the site without leaving you with some actual scratchcrafty goodness. Even though the big projects are on hold, does not mean the smaller projects are not being completed. These two pairs of socks, for instance, were wrapped up in the last week.

Sock #10 (52 Sock Challenge)

Sock #11 (52 Sock Challenge)

This last one is Mountain Colors Bearfoot doubled up. That means twice the squish, and probably twice the warmth.

For my own distraction today, I decided to try my hand at some pickling. I picked up 6 pounds of organic cucumbers, a bunch of dill and some garlic from the farmer’s market today.

Pickles, part 1

After comparing a couple of different recipes from several locations, I decided on a vinegar/water/salt solution, with added dill and dill seeds, peppercorns, and garlic. The solution boiled and then, after pouring it over the stuffed jars, I processed it all in boiling water for 20 minutes. The results:

Pickles, part 2

I think we’ll be ready for a cold, crunchy pickle in a couple of weeks… very exciting.

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Boards, part four (with added sock & spinning goodness)

Posted on by Dan

I’m going gangbusters with all the building. The weather has been so amazingly cooperative that I have to take advantage of it… knowing there is such a limited supply of good weather in Minnesota. The next thing converted from the old deck is this:

Chair made from old deck

We don’t live on the east coast, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy what will be our patio (see the dirt behind the chair?) on our new adirondack chair(s). I’m still working on the second, but this one, besides needing some waterproofing, is definitely usable.

Surprisingly, I was even able to finish another 3 oz. of Corriedale top that we dyed up. This is 2-ply and approximately 330 yards.

Handspun - Corriedale

I’ve got two more dyed bundles of this (different colors), that will hopefully be spun around the same weight (if I don’t fall out of practice from all the woodworking I’m doing), so I’ll end up with four yarns of about the same weight and yardage to use together (or separately, if Virginia decides she wants to use one).

Speaking of Virginia; she’s finished another pair of socks knit from some worsted weight wool that she dyed up awhile ago. Knit on size 3US needles, they have a denser fabric to help make them wear longer.

Sock #9 (52 Sock Challenge)

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Boards, part three (with added sock content)

Posted on by Dan

The building continues! I planed down a few more boards and we drew up some plans to make matching benches for the table — actually it was more of a sketch, a working prototype, and a couple of miscut boards, but once we got it down, the remaining three followed pretty easily. The darker color is a result of the waterproofing that we applied to both the table and chairs (and to the deck, of course… which, by the way, Barb, is cedar).

Table made from old deck

I could get into this woodworking stuff, but given that half the year is spent indoors (fighting off the cold of winter), it probably makes sense to continue working with wool. However, the stack of old redwood boards is pretty big, so until the weather turns, I’ll stay focused on recycling the wood… next up, perhaps a couple of adirondack chairs for the patio?

Virgina finished another pair of socks. These are from Nancy Bush’s “Knitting on the Road.” The pattern is Whitby, and she used Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca Fine, which is one of their new yarns.

Sock #8 (52 Sock Challenge)

The doubled-up yarn knit on size 2.5 needles makes for a very soft, but firm, fabric. We’ve got to keep thinking about the cold, even when it’s 90ยบ outside.

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Maimu’s Mittens

Posted on by Dan

Like I said before, Virginia has been bitten by the mitten bug. These she finished in a mere week. Perhaps not so astounding if you lived in eastern Europe and had to make multiple pairs of mittens for every major occasion in your life. These are from Nancy Bush’s “Folk Knitting in Estonia.”

Maimu's Mittens

These are knit with some beautiful lambswool yarn that she picked up last year at Shepherd’s Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival from Riverwinds Farm.

Maimu's Mittens

She knit these using size 3US needles.

Maimu's Mittens

I wish I had smaller hands.

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Beetles and Boards

Posted on by Dan

Virginia has been hit with the mitten bug. And, how best to illustrate this than to make this pair of mittens designed by Adrian Bizilia (from Hello Yarn). These are the Entomology Mittens from Knitalong, knit using Jamieson’s Shetland DK.

Entomology Mittens

You’ll notice that these mittens are not perched precariously on deck framing, but in fact are resting on the actual deck. Yes, apart from applying a water sealer, it’s finished! We can now walk out the kitchen door without needing to dance, balance and perch our way across the framing. And, the cedar smells so great. One funny note: the spacing between the boards was obtained by using straight size 5US knitting needles.

Completed Deck

When we tore up the old deck, we decided to carefully remove the decking once we discovered that it was redwood. Our best guess is that the old deck was 30 years old. The structure was failing, but many of the decking boards, though greyed and slightly mossy, are still reusable. It’s actually quite astonishing how well the redwood has held up. So, instead of filling a landfill with this still-usable resource, we’re going to sort, plane and sand the boards (probably 60-70% of the old decking) to use for building some new outdoor furniture. Stay tuned!

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