"Finished Color Gamp......."

I FINALLY finished weaving the color gamp (color study) kit that Don gave me last Christmas.  It is a 20 color gamp kit from Lunatic Fringe Yarns (http://www.lunaticfringeyarns.com/GampKits.php).  The directions for the 3 suggested pieces gave finished measurements of 36" x 36", but as you can see, mine are not near that.  Even though I only followed the directions for the 1st piece I must have misunderstood what I read or else did something that deviated in some way from the directions.  I certainly am not unhappy with my results though!  I used plain weave for all 3 pieces, changing the color sequences.

This is a close up of the first piece I wove.  The warp followed the color spectrum, beginning with yellow green on the left, and progressed through the spectrum, ending with the lightest (brightest?) pure yellow.  I followed the same sequence with my weft, so beginning on the lower left and moving upwards in a diagonal, each color has its pure block of the color.  The whole idea behind these color gamps is to see how each color reacts with another color, so each band of weft color (42 strands or picks, as they are called) has a pure block of color and 19 different color interactions with that color.

The 3 pieces now need to be cut and hemmed individually.  I plan to stretch this piece over a frame and use, not only for decoration in my fiber room, but as a resource in making decisions on what colors to use together in future weavings.

I thought I'd add a few photos from when I began this color study.  Here are 19 of the 20 cones of 10/2 mercerized cotton waiting their turn to be measured as warp on the warping board/frame.  The first color was already on the warping board when I remembered I wanted to document the process.   ;)

Ready, set, begin weaving!

I'm ready glad I have these photos to look back on so that I can see how much has been accomplished! ;)

"New Neighbors....."

Our newest neighbors on our block are Amanda, Kevin, and Ian.  They've joined us at happy hour several times and we enjoy their company very much.  They are a great addition to the neighorhood.

They'd mentioned possibly adopting a puppy, and recently they did.  This is Amanda with their new little girl, Koda.

Koda is the sweetest little girl!  Here she is meeting Evie for the first time........

And yes, she DOES have PUPPY ENERGY!   ;)

Amanda said that with all of Koda's social visits to our deck, and all the positive attention she has gotten while visiting, she now looks to see if we are out as they pass by on their walks.  Nice to know she looks forward to visits with us as we look forward to hers, too.   ;)

"Rob's New Remodel Project......"

Rob began more remodeling last week, beginning with the removal of his houses old chimney, which was no longer being used.

Here is the roof with the chimney removed.

He'd rented a dumpster for the debris which was set strategically close to the house in his driveway.  He's saved the unbroken bricks from the chimney to reuse in building a base for a fire pit, so basically what you see in the dumpster is the cement debris of the chimney that went through the attic and the bathroom.

This is the hole in the bathroom ceiling, looking into the attic where the chimney came through on its way to the basement.....

The remainder of the chimney to be removed, seen from the bathroom.  Rob removed the bathroom's sink and commode to make the chimney removal process easier AND safer.  He also covered the bathtub, to protect it from flying pieces of cement.  I guess I should mention that he'd rented a jackhammer to help with the chimney removal and it caused some very large (and heavy!) pieces of broken cement to fly every which way!

The remainder of the chimney to be removed, seen from the basement steps.  It is firmly imbedded in the basement's cement floor, so Rob only need remove it to that point, then smooth patch cement over it   and bring it flush with the floor.  The plywood pieces are being set up to protect the furnace, etc.

I went over yesterday after the chimney was completely removed.  Here is what the basement looks like now.  Rob's plan is to build a wall/hallway, incorporating a pocket door leading into the laundry room next to the basement steps, and continuing the wall (with another door to allow entry to the main garage) to end at the garage door, which he will replace and install a permanent wall with a regular entry door (plus a large door to lead into the garage), making a private entry for the newly remodeled bedroom/bath suite where my daughter stayed during her visit.  He hopes to eventually rent out the suite during UW games, etc.

Here is what the upstairs bathroom looks like after some clean up.  As you can see, he re-installed the sink (and the commode) so he'll be able to continue using the upstairs bathroom until that part of the remodeling begins.  His main concern now is getting his house "dust free".  That jackhammer created A LOT of dust!   ;)

The debris dumpster filled and ready to be taken away.  Look at the size of some of those pieces!  Removing that chimney was no small feat!

I'll post more remodeling news as it develops........   ;)

"Jonathan's Furniture Continued....."

While Jonathan was building the stereo cabinet, he also had other pieces in the works, too.  In the foreground of this photo, his bench top is glued and clamped while he works on the stereo cabinet drawers.

Here he is making the final cuts on the edges of the bench top to make sure they are even and ready for the bench legs to be attached.

Legs attached.......

Polyurethane applied and drying........

And now living in Co.   ;)

Another piece he has completed is a coffee table.  Here he is trimming pieces for the table top that will be glued and held in place with several bar clamps.

A quick jump from the early process to the unfinished piece.   ;)

And then to the finished piece being enjoyed by our master craftsman.   ;)

He has 2 pieces that he is currently working on......a workbench for the CO garage, and this coffee table that will be used, and left out in the weather, on their upstairs deck.  The metal sign is a nice touch, eh?

Have I mentioned what bicycle enthusiasts Jonathan and Maniphone are?  This is a perfect piece for them!

"Walnut Stereo Cabinet....."

Another of Jonathan's furniture pieces that he made for their CO house was a stereo cabinet made from Walnut.  I'm guessing that this may be his most involved project to date, but I could be wrong.  I say that because of having to make drawers, but what do I know, eh?   ;)

I could say the my photographer, Ms. Maniphone, shirked her duty in documenting the cabinets progress, but I would be so out of line, that I won't.  ;)  Having 2 young and active boys does not always allow one to do things they'd like to, when they'd like to.......so I feel privileged to get the many photos of Jonathan's works in progress as I have!  Many thanks, Ms. Maniphone!!!

Here is the main part of the stereo cabinets frame being glued together.  The left side of the cabinet will contain 3 drawers.

Here are some of those drawer pieces ready for assembly.

After gluing a back and 2 sides together with the drawer bottom inserted.

And adding a little extra strength besides glue.  The walnut "fronts" lie to the right.  As you can see, the door panels have already been attached.

All pieces are assembled, hardware installed, and the polyurethane finish applied.......now to let them thoroughly dry.

Complete!

The stereo cabinet in its home with stereo equipment in place..............

Specifically made for this spot.  Looks like Henry shared his little stuffed dog to add a more "at home"  touch to the photo.   ;)

I have a few more pieces to show you.....the mans been busy!  To be continued.   ;)

"Another Jonathan Creation....."

Before I go any further in today's post, I'd like to wish Henry a Happy Belated Birthday!  Yesterday, Sunday, September 16, was his 6th birthday!  He has grown so much from when we first saw this photo of him.  Don and I wish him many, many more!

Continuing my posts of the furniture Jonathan has been making........I'd pointed out this shelving in an earlier photo that Jonathan built for Simon and Henry's CO bedroom.

He'd painted it red and when they arrived in Boulder, the boys helped him put the shelves in place.

Here it is in its entirety.

He also made a couple of small shelves for the boys to "customize" their wall space next to their beds.  Here he is with Henry and Simon as Henry places the top shelf in his shelving unit.

Up in Simon's bunk, Jonathan uses a ball as a level before attaching Simon's shelf.  Pretty clever, eh?

More tomorrow of Jonathan's creations.......

"Chestnut Furniture for CO........"

After cleaning up the Chestnut planks, Jonathan picks out the ones he'll use for making the bedroom set (headboard, bed frame, and 2 side tables).

After cutting the pieces for each bed table, he then glues them together.  If I "assume" correctly, they are a bit longer than they will be after the final cut.

This is the photo from which my "assumption" was made.  He now runs the glued pieces through the table saw for those "perfect edges" and correct length.   ;)

Jonathan gluing the legs for the bed frame, and one of the completed bedside tables sitting behind him......

All 3 bedroom pieces are built and final sanded.  After blowing the fine wood dust from them, they'll be ready for their Polyurethane finish to be applied.

The finish certainly brings out the beautiful woodgrain and depth of color in the Chestnut.

All 3 bedroom pieces ready to load into the U-Haul trailer seen in the photo.  As I mentioned yesterday, the delayed delivery of the Chestnut put a bit of extra pressure on Jonathan.  The furniture pieces were completed the day BEFORE they were to leave North Dakota for their trip to Colorado.  He hadn't any wiggle room in his work time........thankfully, everything went as planned!   ;)

Arriving in Boulder, the question of "would the box spring fit" into the newly crafted bed frame?  It was a PERFECT fit!!!!

And yes, "someone" was feeling pretty good about himself.........as he should have.   ;)

What an achievement!  All of those hours of "am I going to get it done?" paid off BIG TIME!  How great to know you are sleeping more comfortably because you're lying upon something you made from scratch?  True, technology helped, but one has to know what needs doing in order for it all to turn out as planned.   ;)  Great job Jonathan!!!

Also, as I also mentioned yesterday, I'll have a follow up on Simon and Henry's shelving unit, plus a few more "extras".   ;)

Have a GREAT weekend!

"Jonathan's Newest Woodworking Projects......."

I recently received photos from both Maniphone and Jonathan, our former neighbors who now live in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  Between the two of them, they have basically written my next few blog posts.   ;)  I find Jonathan's woodworking skills quite amazing!

Everything began with the arrival of some reclaimed Chestnut that Jonathan had ordered from someone in another state, "if" I remember correctly.  The time between ordering and receiving the wood was unexpectedly lengthy.  Jonathan planned to make several pieces of furniture for their new home in Boulder, CO, and with the delivery delay, it definitely put undue pressure on him to get the pieces completed prior to leaving on their next planned visit.

By the way, the framework of some shelving for Simon and Henry's bedroom in CO, and which you'll see more of later, sits in the background of this photo.

Here area couple of close up photos of the reclaimed Chestnut.

Yes, even the unloading of the wood was dirty work.   ;)

Then the real dirty/messy work began.  Cleaning and trimming the Chestnut pieces before any thought of construction could begin.  None of these wood scraps went to waste.......they are still being burned and appreciated in their Grand Forks fire pit.   ;)

To be continued.......