Materials, Reclaimed Wood, Recycled wood

Working on the holiday weekend

DaysRiver

When you get into a business like this you are always on the lookout for materials. Day, night, weekend…even holiday weekends are no exception.

So while we were out with friends on the trails getting dusty…

…wet…

…and muddy…

…we also had an eye for anything we might be able to use. And we managed to score a few chunks of trail sign posts that were discarded when they were replaced during trail maintenance.

I’m sure the Old Man has something in mind for these, otherwise he wouldn’t have stopped to pick them up. But what he has in mind for them, I don’t yet know.

Barnwood, Custom project, Furniture

A table for way more than two

DaysRiver

The Old Man has started making a barnwood dining table for our niece. It began as a surprise for her, but he needed input on what kind of finish she’d like best.

On the one he made for our house, he just barely knocked down the really rough spots. I wanted as much original character in it as possible and I absolutely love it. But I also don’t have little ones around all the time that might make a rough table surface impractical.

To get her opinion on what she wanted the finished piece to look like he made a test piece of one of the boards and finished it in three ways. He left part of it in its almost raw state, gave part of it a medium sanding, and gave the rest a good sanding. She chose the medium sanding to smooth it out but still keep a lot of the character.

And now that that decision has been made, he can kick it into high gear getting additional structural components ready.

And planing the boards to a uniform depth for a nice, even surface.

And tomorrow, assembly begins.

Crochet, Yarn Review

Whew. I’m sweating!

DaysRiver

Now that the weather is beginning to warm up, I’m absolutely thrilled that this large afghan I decided to make as a housewarming gift for my co-worker is done. This will definitely be the last of the large crochet projects I tackle until fall.

I utilized a pattern called Icelandic, from Mama In A Stitch, which is a great one to use when you want to crochet while watching TV at night. Other than counting for your foundation chain, this is a no count pattern. It is two stitches alternating all the way across, chain one, turn and crochet across making sure to use the opposite stitch. Another great thing is the size of your blanket merely depends on two things: 1) the length of your foundation chain and 2) the size of your yarn stash funds.

And if you goof it up like I did right here…

…it is glaringly obvious.

That was a turn, chain and crochet across before I’d reached the end of the previous row. It’s what tends to happen when I crochet tired.

While I love this stitch pattern and plan to use it on other projects, I did NOT like the yarn I chose to use. I bought Yarn Bee Effortless Super Bulky and will probably never use this yarn again. It sheds an awful lot and I’m really hoping it holds up well enough.

I’m actually thinking I should include a lint roller in the package when I give it to her.

Random

To the winch, wench!*

DaysRiver

This weekend turned out to be a bust for going out and finding materials. We had graduation parties to attend on both Saturday and Sunday, but it was also wet and miserable weather.

Especially today.

And I’m a little bummed with how much it rained because the trails had just dried up. Drying up is good because this doesn’t happen…

…or at least not quite as easily.

Thank goodness for having a winch otherwise that would have been a long walk home.

I can only imagine what today’s torrential downpours have done to that mud trap. I have to remember to wear my muck boots the next time we head out.

And maybe bring snacks.

*from The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Crochet

(K)Not it!

DaysRiver

Although crochet is basically an art of making knots, really making a knot is exactly what you don’t want to do. Most of the time this isn’t an issue. But then you get the bright idea to try a buffalo plaid pattern which requires you to juggle three separate yarns, and things get real.

There is a trick to it…with each color switch you must keep the strands in the same order as the skeins they are attached to. It’s pretty simple once you see it. It’s also easy to see when you’ve goofed, and if you stop and take a moment to fix it, keeping the colors straight is pretty simple.

To fix it when you notice your yarns have crossed, pick up the skein of the out of order color and thread it through the other strands until it’s back in order. Sometimes you’ll have two crossed and have to do this twice.

But like I said, if you take your time to keep them in order, you’ll end up with a fabulous looking product in the end.

Reclaimed Wood

Be very, very quiet…

DaysRiver

…we’re hunting for materials.

We had a beautiful day today. The sun was shining, we didn’t have a cold wind blowing from the north, and the temps were in the low 50’s. That may not seem very warm, depending on where you live, but that makes for a gorgeous early May day in our neck of the woods.

We took advantage of the mild weather and went out looking for some raw materials for projects.

Along the way we had to do a little trail maintenance. Or should I say the Old Man did.

Don’t feel too bad for him, we also stopped so he could try to drown a worm or two.

Even though he didn’t catch anything, you know what they say. A bad day of fishing is still better than a good day at work. Or something like that.

Plus the trip was successful. We managed to score a few nice, weathered fence posts.

Now to just figure out what these will turn into.

Barnwood, Furniture

The Journey Begins

DaysRiver

A few years back, the Old Man stumbled across someone selling barnwood. After me telling him how much I wanted a new table and how fabulous a barnwood table would turn out (I think he was a little skeptical), he bought a bunch.

From that initial purchase, two tables were born.

First, a dining table that numerous people have tried to buy from us. Or order a custom one of their own.

Followed by a gorgeous console table for under the tv that includes an inlaid glass mosaic tile top. This beauty gets plenty of rave reviews itself.

The success of these builds made us think about getting into building tables and other items to sell…until we decided it was time to downsize our house. Our old home sold practically the moment we put it on the market and we commenced building our dream home.

That project is now complete (mostly), so it is time to pick up where we left off and get to the projects that will hopefully keep us busy for years to come.