deck

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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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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Stepping Carefully

Posted on by Dan

You’ve been seeing a lot of Virginia’s socks recently, and this post is no exception. With a couple of weeks having gone by since the last post, there has been some major accomplishments, both with knitting and household projects.

Sock #4 (52 Sock Challenge)

The above are Lisa Lloyd’s Narragansett Bay Socks, knit using Mountain Colors.

Sock #5 (52 Sock Challenge)

These are knit with Trekking.

Sock #6 (52 Sock Challenge)

And, these are made with Meilenweit.

Sock #7 (52 Sock Challenge)

With a final push to get these done, Virginia finished these just a couple of days ago. They are from a Dale of Norway sock pamphlet (NR-8001), knit using Smart yarn.

Sock #7 (52 Sock Challenge)

You might be noticing the structure that Virginia is carefully balancing on. That is where I come in to the picture. Lest you think I’ve given up on crafty pursuits, I haven’t. Currently, though, my free time has been consumed with replacing our deck.

Deck Framing

I’m happy to say (after taking Thursday off of work, and pretty much working through the entire weekend) we’ll have a brand new, sturdy (that’s the key word) deck for the next photo shoot (in other words, probably by next weekend).

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