November 21: Bits and Pieces

This is the t-shirt quilt that I have been working on this month.  There are a number of postsspecifically about it, but this is a better color shot.  Hope it will be well loved and bring a smile to the owner's face.  There are obviously lots of memories in these well-worn shirts.

Today I will finish sewing the storage pillow case, but I am thinking of adding a binding to it, so I will wait to photograph it until that is finished.

If you know me personally, you will appreciate the fact that I have bought this t-shirt for myself.  I love being silly and affectionate with my nieces and nephews and all their children.  However, not all of them know me as well, so I thought that since I am moving back to South Dakota, I should provide appropriate warning.  I would have purchased a second shirt that said "Beware of the Mad Hugger!" but there is not one on the market.  Might have to design my own.  lol



Fresh from the shower, caught
playing around with my scartle.

On Friday, I told you we went to the Craft Vermont Show.  I was walking around complaining as usual that my hands were way too cold as we came upon a booth selling knitted items.  Usually I walk by since so many use wool yarn and that is something I do not touch.  However, I my hands were COLD so I stuck up a conversation with Janet L Chambers of Sleepy Cats Designs.  Her knitted items were not wool, and she said that she made her first pair of fingerless gloves because her hands got cold when she went to bed to read.  SO I BOUGHT A PAIR!  Before we had wandered far through the room, my hands were so much warmer that I actually walked back to her booth to thank her.    I also bought a scartle, which is basically a tube instead of a long strip of knitted yarn  It can be worn at the neck for extra warmth or pulled up like I have it in the photo.       If I were into knitting, I would make one of each for everyone on my Christmas list  because they are so practical and simple.  In my case, I was just delighted to spend the money and finally have warmer hands.  (I am wearing the fingerless gloves as I type.)

One of the students at the school actually rescued this tool apron from the trash.  The previous owner had finally thrown it away because it was so full of holes.  We discussed the "Hole" situation and decided that we could barter for the repairs.  I am thinking she can build me a wooden trivet signed by a fine wood worker who could one day be very famous.   I told her that I would patch it with her favorite color, green, but I am also embelishing it some just to make it a little fun. I did not use any of the denim iron on repair patches because I did not know how all the dried on glues, etc, would reach to heat.  (All the embroidered flowers I am planning to add today can be removed.  with a quick snip of the scissors.)   Since woodworkers do not want to have any thing dangling to be caught in machinery, I attached a pink bow to the back strap like a tatoo instead.  This apron could easily have years left in it now that it has been patched.  If she will model, I will snap a photo.

November 20: Basic Furniture Making Finished

The first thing that I had to decide today is which side of my tabletop to use as the top.  I took an opinion poll but decided to use the first version which is the one that I had laid out originally.  These photos show the boards after they have been planed but before they have been ripped and crosscut.

The next task was to glue up the sides to our table bases.  Kevin and I were a good team even though I am a bit slow with things.  I like to make sure I am doing everything correctly, but with the glue I probably should have worked a little faster.  Everything worked out well, but the glue does start setting up pretty fast. 

 Next came the planing of our table tops.  It took me about 6 passes to get it to the right thickness.  (On a side note for those who know I am still  losing weight - wearing undershirts and such have made me look bulkier, so don't judge.  lol)

I am cross cutting my table ends using a table saw and a cross-cut sled.  I have come to appreciate all the time someone has put into making all these jigs, shop helpers, that help insure the best cuts.

By 4:00 a couple of people were finished with their tables and ready to leave so the rest of us put our table tops on and posed for the photo.  All the tables are made of either cherry or maple.  Once they are have their polyurathe finish they will reveal all their inner beauty and darken up some more as they age, but we are not adding any kind of stain.  Terre, the instructor is standing in the middle in front of Kevin.  She really knows how to teach to the way that I learn.

After the photo, I was back to sanding and sanding and sanding some more.  When students leave the class, their tables are ready for finishing, but the class does not  enough hours built in to finish them.  Students could purchase finishing kits, which would be great if you don't have access to the materials already.  Mine will not be finished until after Thanksgiving, but that is fine
with me.

These two photos are part of the process of attaching the tabletop to the base.  I still need to develop a little more muscle and such, but I did most of the work involved and the final tightening will probably be easier after my muscles have a chance to rest.  Kevin just ran the drill for a few screw holes because the sound was really bothering my ears for some reason.  The sanding room does have good ventilation, but my head seems to be full of it.  That always throws off my hearing.

I know I have explained the fact that my table top is made of tap hole maple, but there are interesting markings on my apron as well.  The darker areas with the little holes are called worm holes.  I liked the extra little touch.  Not everyone likes the imperfections in the wood, but I wanted this to be a Vermont memory and the worm holes tied in well with the tap holes.



Ta-Da!!!!



Terre and I wanted you to see that we had all our fingers at the
end of the workshop.  Kevin does too, but he thought we were
a little goofy.  See the twinkle in his eyes!

Highly recommend this kind of adventure to all, whether you have used tools before, or not.  Kevin is thinking of offering classes like this on a much smaller scale once we relocate to South Dakota, which is originally why I decided to take the class with him.  We worked as partners when that was the assignment, but I did the work and am proud for every bit of what I did.  Occasionally, I did receive help with certain things, but then so did many others.  After all, I may know some of the lingo, but I am a NOVICE woodworker.  Within a few hours of starting the class,  I became fully engaged and really own this table.  Expect to me to share it and tell tales about it for years to come.

November 19: Basic Furniture Making Class Continued - Days 2 and 3

Yesterday was actually a very long day but it was all good.  We got up and had a leisurely breakfast and then headed for our workshop at the Vermont Woodworking School.  Before class Kevin worked on a few odds and ends and I did just a bit of carving before everyone started to arrive.  Once class started we were busy the whole day.  LOOONNNGGG day for a woman who is not standing on her feet all day, but believe me there will be memories and stories to tell.  (Still can't believe the hair, but it is what it is.)


I am putting biscuit slots in my table top boards so that
I can then glue them up.



My job was to be the catcher as the legs came out of the
planer.  The job of the planer is to create parallel, even sides
on the boards.  We had to make a number of passes
through the machine to get them milled  to the right dimensions.

Our instructor and Kevin are demonstrating how we
were supposed to use the biscuits and then glue up
our table tops.

This is a glue up of my table top.  The glue is supposed
to run out.  Just wait for Sunday when you get to see
the table top cut to size and attached to the base.

This is the back side of my table top.  Did you notice
The circular holes?  That is where the maple taps were
 placed.  The wood is referred to as tap hole maple.

I am trying to scrap off as much of the glue as I can so that
on Sunday when it goes through the planer the glue will not
gum up the blades.

 We worked hard all day and then we went to a very nice craft show. 

Saturday, November 19: 

Today we did not arrive too early for class, so Kevin did only a couple of quick tasks and I visited with the other students in our class.  Terre promised us a very busy day today, and that is exactly how it went.  Class was scheduled form 9-4 but be went until 6:00 so that we could get our table base glued up.  There was not nearly as much hand tool work in our tables as in the one that Kevin is continuing to make in his class.  Even so, I did use chisels and my carving mallet to take off some wood to fine tune the joints.  What a GREAT time we are having!

Terre is explaining a jig that is used to help cut tapers.  We
tapered our legs on 2 sides.

Still wondering who the white-haired woman is that is
tapering my table legs.

The absolute dustiest part of this table making'
is sanding.  The table in this room has holes and
there is a vacuum that pulls lots of the dust
down.  Still I had quite a bit on me at the end of
the day.

Kevin is using the dado to cut his tenons for
the table.  The tenon goes into the mortise
and forms a joint.  We have 8 in the base.

After cutting and fitting the tenons into the
mortise, I sanded the aprons of the table
and then came to the router table to put a
bead on the bottom edge of the aprons.  Looks
cool and goes with my wood, but old time Shaker
tables would not have had the bead because they were
built more simply.

After a very long day of working we went out to dinner.  Kevin
documented that I still have all my fingers.  I am sporting
a pink cammo band-aid on my finger.  Think I brushed up against
the sanding disk.  Nothing big, but did not want to bleed on my
table.

Week 4: T-Shirt Quilt

Monday, November 14:

I pieced the backing.  Not too much effort or time, but wanted to make sure that was ready to go for Tuesday when I am planning to do all the quilting.  Spent about 25 minutes on the 2 seams just because of the length and the less than perfect working space.

The backing is very directional, so I had to rip out one partial seam and flip the fabric.  Not a big deal, but was surprised I had not noticed before.

Tuesday, November 15:

It is just about 8:00 AM.  I have the full day slated for quilting the quilt.  I will load it in a few minutes and then take a photo or two before I start meandering with an off-white thread.  This is my second favorite part.  I actually like doing the binding best of all, and than should be something I work on most of Wednesday.  If all goes according to my plan, I should be finished with everything before Thanksgiving, even with the time taken to do a four day woodworking shop.  Anticipation!

Been working on setting up the quilt.  Started at 9:15 by repressing parts, marking the middle of the back and the top.  Hung the batting over the rail earlier to help relax the wrinkles.   Next I pinned the back to the zippers and put it on.  Rolling the fabric straight with out wrinkles is the goal.  Takes a little while but all the pre-marking and checking makes everything go better 

Next I wound the bobbins.  At one point it was the scariest part of getting up and running.  My first winder did not have a variable speed switch and so the winder moved at top speed from start to finish.  always worried that the bobbin would fly off and hit me.  (It never did but it was a task that I always offered to let Kevin help do.  Today it took about 10 minutes to set up and wind 5 bobbins. 

I changed the needle and cleaned/oiled the machine.  Next I sewed on the batting, pinned the top to the zippers, and attached it.  I followed that with 2 passes of meandering.  I noted that on the t-shirt fabric some of my quilting stitches seemed to "disappear", but on checking, they are there just more embedded in the fabric.  So glad I did not have to go back and RIP out stitches. 

At 11:45 I stopped what I was doing to have lunch and do a couple of chores.  Decided to make some notes before going back in and completing the quilting.  I have about 4 hours before I have to get ready to go to carving class, and I think I can finish by then.

At 12:45 I started meandering the quilt again.  I finished at 2:50. I used 2 1/2 bobbins, so I have only a few threads to tuck.  When Kevin comes home, I am going to have him help me to quickly trim the quilt so that I can attach the binding tomorrow morning before I do anything else.  I am now in the home stretch.

With the rearranging of the table, finding the right ruler, and changing the rotary cutter blade, it took us about 15 minutes to trim the quilt.  It always amazes me how much quicker it is to trim a large quilt with someone else's turning help.  Tomorrow I will attach the binding and start the hand stitching. 

Sent a quick peek to Ronda and here is her response:
It is looking soooo good!  I'm so excited and I know Sarah is going to love it!  I hope you are inspiring other quilters with your play by play.


Wednesday: November 16:

I spent about 30 minutes attaching the binding.  The set up I created with our small kitchen table, a small folding table, and the sewing table seemed to work just fine.  Sometimes it is more challenging, but this time it was so quick because everything moved smoothly.  I spent a good chunk of the day working on sewing down the binding by hand.  Turned on a few Netflix movies and just hunkered down.  I have only 1  1/4 sides left to finish, and then it will be ready to mail.  I really am liking how it is turning out.

Tonight I finished the hand sewing, and I really like the way the stripe looks as a binding. All I have left is to make the actual pillow case to hold the quilt when not in use.  I will do that on Monday morning

Friday, November 18:

Took the finished quilt for a little show and tell before sending it off.  There were lots of ohs and ahs, but there was one sad comment.  One of the younger guys in Kevin's school said, "I have a t-shirt quilt.  It is in a bag.  My mom promised to finish it one day.  Hate being the youngest kid.  Everyone else has theirs!"  One of the guys in my furniture making workshop immediately pulled out his camera and snapped a photo saying his fiancee would love to have a good idea for her t-shirts and she does know how to quilt.

I will try to get one more photo of the quilt when I make the pillow case.  It is really a pretty quilt.  The green walls in my living room are not helping to show that fact.

November 17:Some Photos Before Class Started



This bowl was turned on the lathe in one of Kevin's classes. 
I love the narrow dark inner rim on the bowl.  It was created
by burnishing the wood with wood shavings.



Kevin is doing the last of the sanding
 before applying velvet oil and polyurethane
 to my quilter's side table.





 

The wood on the top of the table will be used
to build our hall tables.  We are both using
maple, but mine wood is referred to as taphole
maple because you can actually see the holes
left by the taps placed in the trees to
collect the sap for making maple syrup.  It is my
salute to Vermont.

November 17: !st Day of Basic Furniture Building Workshop

Ignore the love hair shots and know that I was not the least bit concerned about hair or looks.  I had the best time, especially since Kevin and I are doing this together.  Since we were both planing and joining our wood at the same station, we probably did not keep every piece as separate as others, but that will change when we start actually putting the pieces together.  I am having a blast!



Terre had each of us practice the various power tools before
we started with our own wood.  Here I am using the "chop saw".



Here I am using the jointer.  I think people with a little larger
hand have an advantage when it comes to applying pressure
to the board.

Kevin and I were working on our own boards
at  this point.  We had to plane one side flat and
then jointed the edge so it was 90 degrees.  This
is one place where we just alternated with our
efforts so our boards could have gotten mixed up.

Here I am using a Soft Stop table saw.  It was not all that scary
 because this particular saw is made to stop instantly if it detects
any change in moisture.  However, I followed all the safety rules.
After all, those that know me know I am a rule-follower.

For all my friends that are worried about the
klutz factor, I still have all my fingers and NO
cuts.

November 16: Craziness

I am spending today binding the t-shirt quilt, but the carving bug has bitten.  I ordered some tools from Woodcraft.com and feel like a little kid.  How long until the tools arrive?  Hurry up and wait. 

Guess I will easily finish this binding before I can play with my tools, but look out on Monday.  Quilting is still my passion, but given enough time and practice I can see the carving quickly jumping into my weekly schedule.