Socks progressing slowly 1/2/2023
Started these socks back in May 2022. Had a lot of stuff going on - knitted some hats, other socks, some gloves, and worked on my cabin, truck, wife's car, etc. Recently decided I need to finish them. Knitting on 000 needles, which are slightly thicker than a paperclip, means progress is slow. But it also means you get very solid-looking results - luxurious, even. And well-defined stitches. I "turned the heel" a few weeks ago, and that's when you can start trying them on if you knit from the toe up like I do. So, it's all "downhill from here" as they say. But I'm loving the definition (the texture) I'm getting in the pattern on the leg. And knitting from the toe up means there are no seams in my socks, which makes them even more comfortable. You would have a hard time finding machine-made socks without seams somewhere.
These are 100% my own design. I think I paid about $26 for the yarn. But I've seen handmade socks on Etsy go for $100. I think mine are pretty good quality and would probably sell for that much. These aren't "Walmart 'made-in-China' and will only last 6 months" socks - these are socks meant to last at least 10 years with good care. I say 10 years because that's about how old my oldest pair of socks is, but I've seen well-made socks that have a lifetime guarantee on them.
- Brand: YarnBee
- material: 420 yards, Superwash Merino Wool
- Color: "Iron Soot"
In other news:
We had some extremely cold weather a few days before Christmas 2022 - windchills had temps in the negative teens for a day or two. The standing temperatures were in the single digits for days. A lady at the checkout at the local Ace Hardware told me they sold out of a lot of plumbing supplies with all the broken water pipes. We didn't have any issues at the cabin, or at our house in town. Blessed, I think, because we really should have had problems at the home in the city - as old as it is. But at the cabin, I dug down 12" where the main line comes up, then put a piece of drain pipe around the exposed portion of our water line, and filled the gap with spray foam. No frozen pipes, even after days of subzero weather and windchill.
This week, it's been in the upper 60's, maybe even 70 on some days. I know it won't last. Hoping to get the permanent power turned on soon, so working on getting all the electrical outlets wired in so they can be inspected.
Thinking about Kitchen Counters 1/13/2023
I milled this oak last spring for use as handrails. I was going to cut it down to 2"x2" strips and shape it from there, and I was going to use some joinery to make continuous pieces out of it. But anyway, that would be really time consuming and I decided I didn't like the idea of joints in the middle of the rail somewhere, so I used 2x4's instead, and I'll change them over to oak when I make some longer pieces after we move in.
But what to do with these pieces?
Well, we wrangled with the soapstone people from July through November, and ended up only being able to talk them into sending us a single 5'x5' piece for the island. I saw a really cool looking kitchen countertop made out of 2x6 lumber. Showed my wife, and she was like, "yes!".
But pine is pretty soft, so I'm looking at these oak slabs now....
Oh, and my 102 yr old table saw has a jointer on the side. Short story: I haven't used it in 20 years because the first time I tried, it shot knives out all over the garage. But now I'm thinking the motor spins too fast - it's definitely not the original 102 yr old motor. I bought a "motor speed controller" and some new knives...we'll see what happens.
The rest of the photo: live edge 4x16 pine door & window frames on the back of the house. Still need some stairs back there, lol.
Pantry Door complete 1/15/2023
I finally got the drywall finished around this door - at least on the outside of it. I guess I wasn't careful enough when installing the frame because the frame wasn't exactly plumb. Actually, I messed up by about 1/2" when I originally installed the frame. The idea was that the cabinets would fit perfectly in the space between the window and the wall of this pantry, but I forgot to add 1/2" for drywall. When I moved the frame, I guess I misaligned it. Anyway, when I got the door installed, the bottom corner of the door stuck out about 1/2". It looked bad. I couldn't figure it out - I thought the door was warped until I put my 4' level up against the frame.
So I had to take the drywall off (luckily it hadn't been mudded), cut off the nails on the left side of the framed wall, move it into being plumb, then re-attach everything. Now the door shuts with a whisper, and it's ready for mud and paint.
I'm carefully checking all the other doors. Yes, those are 9' ceilings (8' to the bottom of the beams). And yes, HGTV, those are real 4x12 beams: no "faux wood beams" in my kitchen. 
Washer hook up and drain 1/20/23
It's not much, but it's still progress. In our current home built in the 1960's, they just framed in a box for the washer faucets and left it open to the crawlspace below. The rats love it, and we hate the rats. I put some metal mesh in there and spray foamed it, but the rats tore through it anyway. There's not a good way to fix it unless I tear out the wall and add a housing for the faucets and drains.
For the cabin, I kept seeing this utility housing box at the hardware store for $40, but kept thinking there had to be a better cheaper way. There's really not - at least not one that isn't time consuming. I finally broke down yesterday and paid the $40 for this box and installed it, and I love it. The instructions are a bit sparse, but I figured it out. The faucets are solidly in place, there's no air gaps, even the drain fits neatly inside a coupler. It's nailed securely to the surrounding framing, and comes with a nice cover plate that snaps into place. Connecting the faucets to the pex was a breeze - I just cut the pex to length and used my compression crimper to secure everything.
Happy with how it turned out.
Those other Pex lines in the picture will feed the shower.
Finished "Iron Soot" 100% Merino Wool socks
I know just a few weeks ago, I was complaining it was going slow with these socks, but I pushed hard and finally finished them last night. They are definitely warm - warmer than cotton socks.
Started them in May of 2022, and had some other projects come up in the middle - I needed a new winter hat, and I made a hat for a friend, and some "survival socks" - I think I made 2 pairs of those. Anyway, these socks kept getting put on the back burner until a few months ago. But I really needed a new pair of merino wool socks out of sock yarn.