DIY front door mat

Because I live in the countryside ( sort of countryside considering the village is 10 km away from the Romanian capital) it's very important to have a sturdy front door mat.
Since moving here 2 years ago, I had changed several door mats because they weren't strong enough to withstand the forces of natures or my dogs that liked to play with them.

Our house is uses a wood-burning heating system for winter time so we have to supply ourselves with wood during summer months. This year we got some scrap oak wood from a company that produces wine barrels and among these pieces of scarp were thin long strips of wood of slightly different thicknesses.
I once got a newsletter email from Lowe regarding a DIY floor mat in bright colors that used threaded rods so I thought using that idea with my pieces of scrap wood.

I decided upon my length and width of mat and went to a local store to buy the necessary threaded rods. When I did a total for the 7 rods that I needed ,suddenly the entryway mat was not so cheap anymore.
Instead of getting discouraged I decided to purchase beech wood dowel rods that were 0.70 USD each instead of 2.00 USD for the metal threaded rods.

After cutting all pieces to the proper length, I did a mock-up to see how the different thicknesses would fit.

I do own an electric hand held planer but it would have been to difficult for me to bring all the pieces to the same thickness because it's not easy to maneuver. It works OK for rough bigger pieces but on biscuits of wood not possible.

Now keeping the mock up in place, I made a stop block template to use with the drill press ( it's not really a drill press -it is a foot that has an old drilling machine of my father installed). So what I did is get a piece that was slightly larger than the width of my mat pieces and screwed on a stop block and then installed it in the vise that came with the drilling foot.

Now in order for the pieces to fit properly use a drill bit that is larger than the diameter of your rods ( it will give you some wiggle space to place them).In my case, my rods are 8mm in diameter so i used a 10 mm wooden drill bit. You can see here the positioned piece in the vise and against the stop block.

The pieces must be drilled in columns from your mock up mat,allowing to insert the dowel rods easily.

After all rods have been inserted , since the pieces are not glued on to the rods and are moving freely, I decided to add a frame that holds rods in place ( drilled corresponding holes through the frame and passed the rods with wood glue through them and after hardening , I cut them flushed with the surface of the frame.

I decided to use the electric hand held planer to round up the edges of the frame but as I told you it's hard to handle and upon coming to a corner it slipped away and bit a lot more than the edge.

Too late to fix it now since all was glued up. I decided to live with my mistake and never to use the electric planer to round up the edges ( i should've used the sander instead -Lesson learned)
After this, I sanded down the surface and used an outdoor clear coat lacquer . I figures that it will see a lot of foot wear and it may need resurfacing maybe in 2 years and it would look to messy if it had on a stained finish.

That is just my preference and I'd like to think that I spared myself some hard work in the near future.
So this is the end result. It is hardwood , weather proofed and dog proofed ( it's heavy enough , not bendable so they can't chew on it).

If you have build your version, I'd like to see it and have it in my featured section.

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DIY Entryway table

Hi everyone,
I finally got around to post some of the things I made to furnish my empty house. If it's not obvious by now, we moved into our new build house a while ago and since we have been living previously in a furnished rented apartment, we didn't have much to bring into the new house except for the cats ( I hope to present them to you all one day).

Our house has a narrow hallway at the entry through the front door and also a radiator on the wall.The problem was that every time you entered , holding keys, phone or everything else,you had to put them down on the floor in order to take of the shoes. So I thought of attempting to make my own entryway table that would have to be tall enough so it wouldn't interfere with the radiator so here is what I did.

After looking over the internet , I found some plans on ana-white.com that I adapted to my needs.

This is the image that inspired to make my own version. Full post can be found on Jaime's Costiglio blog inspired also after a Pottery barn table.
This is how my table end up looking .

Since the table is pretty narrow, I had to secure it to the wall with L brackets attached to the underside. As you can see I didn't make it so colorful as a child's play table .
And this is how it looks decorated. I must say that I had no idea I'll end up using the small paintings ( I had made them for one of the bathrooms ). Since we live in an open field, the flowers are meadow wild flowers.

The frame I had found on a flea market and painted it white and add a mirror to give the illusion of a larger hallway.
The green candle lantern is made by me by gluing some left over wood . I had seen a similar thing in a house decorating store here in Bucharest and after looking at the price tag, I decided it's best to make my own. So I end up buying from that place just the glass vase and the candle at a fraction of a cost since they were on sale.

After this build, I must decide what room to tackle next. I usually have a very limited budget and many times you;ll see me using scraps of wood or anything else I have at hand.See my next post about the entryway door mat.

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Yarn ball wider revisited - specifications-part 1

I have received requests to post specifications and some steps in making the Yarn Ball Winder ( see the first post about it here)

Now for those who will want to build a similar one here below is a picture with the dimensions of the one I have build .Measurements are in centimeters but I figured you can use the calculator to transform to imperial .

Since the photo is rather small, I took others to exemplify the other measurements. For example the photo below is a view from the side of the yarn ball winder so you can see better how everything is attached.

Let's start with the number of threads, washers and nuts that I have used.
First of all I must mention that since I had no idea of the width of the materials I had to pass though , I couldn't buy a threaded screw ( since they come in different lengths)so I opted to buy a threaded rod of 8 mm in diameter that I cut to size according to my needs.

For the big wheel I used 4 washers,3 type M8 locking nuts and the threaded rod is cut to 7 cm length ( M8 refers to the fact that they are used for an 8mm thread)

For the small "wheel" ( it's actually 2 wheels glued together) I used 5 washers ,4 type M8 locking nuts and the threaded rod is cut to 13 cm length.

For the spindle wheel I used 3 washers , 2 type M8 locking nuts and a threaded screw like in the picture below ( still 8 mm diameter).

I also used an L bracket 2 cm wide and 10 cm sides, 2 small wooden wheels of 4.5 cm in diameter and 1.5 cm thickness, 1 rubber door stop 2.5cm height that is a truncated cone shape as you can see from the photo below, the base is larger( 3.1 cm diameter) than the top part that is in contact with the spindle wheel ( 2.9 cm diameter)and 1 meter of rubber coated laundry rope ( if you can find a round rubber gasket of the size you need it will be better not to have the knot visible)

The pine board that I used to cut the large wheel and the spindle wheels are 1.8 cm thick and the base board on which everything is mounted is 2 cm thick.

Before you start anything you got to understand how this winder works. First the larger it is the big wheel, the ratio is increased meaning you have to turn it less and the spindle turn faster ( less movement from your part). The winder works like this : the large wheel and smaller wheels glued up they move together , being connected by the belt ( laundry rope) , while the door stop on top of the glued up small wheels has a a fixed position( he is jammed on the threaded rod between 2 lock nuts and washers ( please see pictures) so he will never move.

The L bracket is screwed on the the small wheels making it a part of the moving mechanism. The spindle wheel is free to rotate on the bracket ( the lock nuts are not very tight in order to allow it to rotate). As you can see from the image, the spindle wheel is in contact with the door nob that has a stationary position.

Because you spin the big wheel, which causes the smaller wheels with the bracket to spin faster , the spindle wheel being in contact with a fixed element, is forced to rotate around his own center ( the point to which is attached to the bracket).
On the next post I will describe some steps in creating your own and some suggestions for substituting elements.

If you think you didn't understand the working mechanism behind the winder, please let me know and I shall try to make a video to demonstrate what I have written above.

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Last year's garden and mistakes

We moved into the new house and last year the garden plot was build from nothing.
At first everywhere was just dirt and mud since it was a new build, there was nothing on it. So the first thing I did was to establish a lawn so I would not see that pile of mud and get dirty every time I went outside ( especially if it had rain the previous days).
I plant some fruit trees, build vegetables raised beds, shrubs and tried some pathways (kind of wiggly now that I see them).
Here are the results after the first year.

The main mistake that I did was sowing turf everywhere and when I wanted to put in new plants it was difficult to remove it.
Second, I should have done a gravel path around the raised beds for easy maintenance.
Third,I haven't set the pathways properly , the one that I made is to narrow, too wiggly, leads to no focal point. ( I had plan to made an arbor bench surrounded by roses-hopefully this year I can do it).
Fourth, too much lawn requires more time to groom and maintain ( from mowing to fertilizing, etc)

Some good parts come out of this trial garden after all.
All the vegetables were started indoors from seeds and were a huge success ( great productivity)

I planted some perennial Lupins from seeds in early January and I had the surprise to have some of them flowering the same year ( mainly the blue ones). This year they will all flower ( I hope I have some white or pink ones that survived)

I also had some Gazania started indoors from seeds.

And of course the summer bulbs ( Gladiolus) are a no fail garden that will perform this year too.

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DIY Yarn ball winder from scraps

Here it is people.

I finally managed some time to post this craft that I made from scrap.
I was always envious of the yarn balls other people presented on the internet. So ready to knit without bouncing the ball.
As for the yarn swifter, I took my research and documented several models on the market.
Of course nobody list anything for free ( plans I mean).

So I had to do some reverse engineering based on photos and youtube videos.
I decided in the end to take the easiest way out ( the one model that involved less work).
I must state first that I live in a country where the art of DIY has been somewhat forgotten so all I had to work with are materials that I could find at a local DIY store ( I realize that it's impossible to have everything but it was the best store that carried almost all that I needed - I'm not making a commercial but if some other Europeans read this post , it's about Hornbach ).
This is what I came up with( notice that I choose the Strauch belt drive yarn winder for inspiration)

Now to state the components of my yarn winder:

1.The base is a leftover beech board from the staircase.
2.The big wheel is made of pine that I cut with a jig-saw and then carved a middle groove with a hand saw.
3.The smaller wheel is actually 2 beech wheels that I bought at the store and glued together.
4.The metal bracket was originally an L bracket with some holes in it that I had to hammer down and drill new holes to fit my needs.
5.The belt drive is in fact laundry rope with a synthetic fiber on the inside.
6.The grey rubber shaft nob that allows for the yarn spindle to rotate is a door stop.
7.The counter weight that is attached on the end of the metal bracket is a left over ball bearing from a cabinet wheel ( the wheel broke and I had the ball bearing left)
8.The yarn spindle and yarn guide is made from a broken broomstick

I added some nuts and bolts, washers of course and this is the end result.
It's not perfect or fantastic but it does the job just fine.Here you can see the results of winding a ball. A nice crosswind center pull ball ready to be knitted.

PS : After a while , Pepper doesn't seem to care about my new toy.

See the specifications and more pictures in my next posts here

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A knitter without a yarn ball winder or a yarn swift

Although I've been knitting for some time now , I had never had a yarn swift , not to mention a yarn winder. So last week-end I decided to take matters into my own hands . After a thorough documentation on other posts , tutorials and pictures , I decided to start the yarn swift (it was less work than for the yarn winder) Thankfully I still had some wood in the garage left overs form previous projects so I managed to make myself a basic yarn swift , nothing fancy , but very practical and useful. Here it is.

I hope I get around to paint it one day. Since now I have a basic functional yarn swift, this week-end I think I will tackle the Yarn Ball Winder. I'll post what came out of it soon.

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The restless knitter -creative process of a new pattern

If you are like me, an avid knitter , I ask you when do you find the time for all projects that MUST be knitted? For me imagining knitwear or other crafts, it's quite easy , the realization however it's a different thing. It seems that the times flies too fast and I would like to finish more and faster. This is why I keep in handy a notebook where I sketch as soon as I have an idea and make some notes regarding yarn that I could use from my stash.

Upon finishing the project that I was working I get back to my sketches and pick up one that I consider to have more potential and develop the idea. After knitting up a sample, I start the actual garment piece and continue with the notes on the sketch , notes that will help compose a pattern , or maybe some particulars for some sizes. Non the less, knitting after a sketch is not without troubles. I think it happened to you too to finish a piece and you didn't liked a part of it and you had to rethink it , unravel and pick up again, hoping that this time it would look better.

In the end if all is well,once the piece is knitted and washed, blocked, while I wait for it to dry , I start writing up a pattern that takes me some time , depending on the details and calculus that implies for other sizes as well.

When all is done, checked and double checked,arranged and presentable,only than I release the pattern so that someone else may share my knitting dream. And all knitters will agree with me when I say that knitting is not for the faint-hearted considering that sometimes you have to unravel,start over or worse, even cut it up ( seeks I mean :) )

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How much does your knitwear costs

Pricing your knitting

Of course it's a topic discussed over and over again. 
I used to approximate my knitted items based on the yarn and number of hours spent knitting.
Maybe sometimes the appraisal was not in my favor but at some point I was happy to see others wearing my creation, my handwork.
For smaller objects I used to work with leftover yarn on sale, so the pricing might have been OK after all. But what to do when you do a larger project , say a cardigan or sweater , which requires more than just scrap yarn, requires all your thought into it and not to mention the so precious time.
All this discussion has a starting point. 
I recently knitted a top down cardigan with a diamond pattern on the front and back with a 2 ply wool yarn on 2.75 mm needles (US size 2). Pics below.
Since I was proud of it I decided to make it into a knitting pattern for S,M,L and XL sizes and to put it up for sale on Ravelry.
So far so good, up till the point of pricing you patterns. After researching Ravelry I found that patterns may vary from 4-5 $  up to 8-9$ .
Based on the amount of calculations and time spent into charting the pattern for all sizes and putting it together and considering also this is my first time out on Ravelry I decided to price the knitting pattern called "Pastelle" for   5 $ .

So far so good.
One day I was wearing the Pastelle sample cardigan and I received a lot of compliments for it and one person also asked me how much would I  want to make her a similar cardigan . I replied that I don't know that but I would have to think about it.  At the same time she saw also a long and large scarf I had knitted and I told her that scarf would cost her 58$ ( considering the yarn amount plus 8 hours spent knitting). The scarf was nothing fancy just stockinette on the bias in 3 yarn colors ( wool, mohair and angora) but it was large and long ( could be made into a stole).
She thought it was a fair price for the scarf.
Since I couldn't decide myself on a price for the Pastelle cardigan she said:" Well do you think double the scarf would be OK?"
I was in shock . That was definitely out of the question . OK I get that the scarf seemed like more yarn , but it was simpler to knit  while the cardigan required time and attention . It it not something that you could knit while watching a movie or the news. Not to mention that the cardigan took me a week to knit ( that includes pattern drafting, sampling) about 7 to 8 hours a day.
Now do you think that she would pay about 400 $ for it? I don't know so I left my potential customer with the reply that I will think about it.

I also encourage you to read Terri's article where I found inspiration for my pricing dilemma.

How much does it cost?

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Finished birthday present- vest

Hi everyone,

Although I have finished the vest on the 9^th of January, I’ve been a little busy and just got the time to upload the final result.

 I finished the 500 grams of yarn I had I don’t have enough for the belt and the store will bring it to order but it will take a while. Luckily I still have time.

For the neckband  I choose to make it  different again : I did a separate band of 1x1 ribbing and  without casting off, I used a crochet to join the neckband  to the vest because I wanted to give it a feel of store –bought .

I thought at first to leave it without the belt but it looks too loose ( maybe because I tried it on me –I am  2 sizes smaller).

I will update the post as soon as the gift recipient will try it on.

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Quick birthday present -knitted vest

With the new year's eve, I completely forgot that my mother's in law birthday it's just days away and since I don't want to spend a fortune on a present, I decided to knit her something that she'll enjoy wearing.

 Since my time was limited, I decided to make her a vest . The original pattern is free to download from Tahki Stacy Charles.

 You can go straight  to this pattern by clicking here

 As for the yarn used, I never buy what the patterns says because it's impossible for me to find that type of yarn here in Romania not to mention that I think it's also very expansive.

 In this case I went and bought Schachenmayr -SMC -Trachtenwolle -63% wool and 37% Polyacryl -color  054 -100 g per bobbin

For this Large size woman vest I used 500g yarn .

I started the pattern differently because I skipped the 2x2 long jersey band ( I figured since my mother in law is 55 , she doesn't have a model body and she wouldn't like the vest to be showing all her curves )

In the image you can see one repetition of the side panel pattern. Since the yarn is a 4 ply  to be worked with 4mm needles, the vest grows fast .

When I first read the pattern, it said to work separately back and front and then join by sewing together.

It didn't seemed very nice to have a seam running on the shoulder line , especially when there is also a short sleeve.

By the end of the day , I had already made the front of the vest and decided to continue with the back side without casting off and starting up a new piece.

In this case the vest would require only 2 side seams and would look much better.

The pattern said also to knit a simple back but since I'm doing it continuously, I think it is interesting to look the same on the back as well so I'll continue with the pattern .

Regarding the final shape , I still intend to keep the belt so it would give her the possibility to accentuate the waistline .

That's it for the day. I'll keep you posted with the progress.

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