More Socks

On my needles this week is another black military sock. I'm already working on the first heel flap. I still need a lot of light to work on the black yarn. I've put in my request for some olive drab and my sister might have spotted some at her local knitting store. I've also got a prayer shawl that needs working on also.

Yesterday I mailed a large package of supplies to the 'Socks for Soldiers' Headquarters in Ohio. I contained lots of stuff the soldiers need and two pairs of handknitted socks. I enjoyed picking everything out at the store and when I got home the gang of cats enjoyed sitting in and on top of the box.

Back to work

This week has not been as exciting and fun as last week. I'm back to work and it was waiting in force for me to play catch up with it all. But I made sure I worked on my knitting. I continue to knit about 1-2 inches a day on my black Sock for Soldiers. I've just turned the heel at lunchtime today and am now on to the gusset decreases. My goal is to have it completed by next week so I can mail in both pairs.

The Barnstable County Fair starts today and on Sunday I'll volunteer to sit and watch over the exhibits with my Mom. I entered the Hula Hamsters and she entered a scissor case. It's fun watching all of the people come to see how their entries did and just generally admire all of the talent that shows at the fair. I'm hopeful that the hamsters will win a ribbon.

The Shaker Box I made has been on my show & tell shelf outside my office this past week and has gotten great reviews from the staff here. Such a different lifestyle up in Maine as here at home. I'm afraid I'm not ready to give up all of my amenities too quickly. I like air-conditioning and stores right down the road. Being there makes me appreciate all the more what I have here.

Final day of class

Today was the final day of woman's woodworking 101 at the Carpenters Boat Shop in Pemaquid Maine. It was so much fun today. Here is a picture of the entire class with their finished Shaker candle stands and the Quaker foot stool. I finished my shaker box and it came out fitting really well. It looks good and I can't wait to put something special in it.
Here is the finished 3-step Shaker stool all oiled and ready to be stepped on. At the moment I don't want anyone to step on it and ruin the finish.

On the knitting front I cast on for the second Socks for Soldiers, black sock. I can only work on that in good light as the black is hard on the eyes. It's also sad because I have to go home to the real world of work tomorrow but this week has been fun, educational, and restful. I'd recommend a learning vacation to anyone. Challenge yourself.

Vacation Day 4

I finished my three step stool today and it was so fun doing it. All that's left is to stain or oil it and that will be done tomorrow. I learned a lot on this stool.
So I got to start a second project this afternoon. A shaker box. Here it is all nailed together and drying. It doesn't have a top or bottom, just the outside. Again, I'm learning another entire way of woodworking and it is so much fun. Everyday this week I've learned something new. I'm sad that tomorrow is the last day of class.

On the knitting front, the bunny photographer has all of his parts knit so he'll be assembled soon. Luckily I brought along a Sock for Soldier project as a backup.

Day Three of Vacation-Class

Here is what day 3 of Woman's Woodworking class wrought. A somewhat assembled three step stool.
This is what I started the day out with. I used a drill press, router, chop saw and palm sander today. Everything is going together really nicely with all of the pieces fitting into place. I only drilled one hole in the wrong spot (wrong measurement) but you can't see that hole since it's underneath the step so I'm not worried. Tomorrow should mean the final assembly of the steps and then finishing with an oil of some sort. I'm learning so much and having a great time.

The bunny photographer got some arms knitted today and now his jacket is being worked on. He's got a lot of little pieces left to go but he's coming along.

Project Day 2

Here is what my project will look like when it is completed.
Here is how my project looked like at the beginning of the day. All glued up and ready for cutting out the many pieces. We started off learning about planes and how to use them and got right to work planeing. That was fun and useful towards the end of the day. I ripped boards to the correct width, chopped them to right length and them used both a jig saw and belt sander to do the fancy work at the bottom of the step stool. At the end of the day I still had a pile of boards but now they are all the right size and shape and are ready to prep for assembly.

I did get a little knitting in during the day at break times and after classes on the patio. The bunny photographer now has the beginnings of trousers. My daughter finished plying her yarn and ended up with 2 skeins of beautiful gray yarn with about 173 yards in each skein. This is all from one fleece and there is still more to be spun. It was exciting seeing it in the finished skein after first seeing what it looked like coming off the sheep.

Vacation at the Boatshop

I started my vacation today at the Carpenters Boat Shop in Pemaquid Maine. I'm taking the beginners woodworking course for women and it is going to be so much fun. Today was the first day and we started off learning and trying out all of the power tools at the shop. They included, the drill press, joiner, band-saw, planer, chop-saw and rip saw. After lunch we selected our projects and started to work using the planer, joiner, chop saw and rip saw. I got enough pieces cut to size that I could glue up a couple of my boards in preparation for tomorrow.

I selected to build a shaker, three step stool with handle. It's similar to ones from the Hancock Shaker workshop. It's so much fun working with all of the power tool and the instructors are very patient with all of us beginning wood workers. I can't wait until tomorrow to see what the next step is.

I'm staying with my daughter so it's very relaxing at the end of the day. I got out my knitting and started another member of the Bunny Bridal Party, the photographer. He'll have dark gray fur and a chocolate colored suit. He even has a knitted camera. My daughter brought out her spinning wheel and was plying together the yarn that she had spun earlier. It's a beautiful gray color from one of the fleeces we helped clean earlier this spring. Her spinning skills have improved dramatically as she showed me three different yarns she has spun. Watching her makes you appreciate how much work goes into a skein of yarn.