woodworking

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)

5 Comments

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.

3 Comments

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.

6 Comments