Building a Baby Safe Bedroom

The house design that we created called for wooden beams and flooring on the second level of our new construction.  We chose Cryptomeria Japonica as our timber source.  Luckily the Azorean people began planting the trees on our land over 50 years ago and we inherited a nice grove of beautiful trees when we purchased the land.   We were able to mill it ourselves using a Logosol guide system combined with a large chainsaw.

We decided on 10cm X 20cm Beams that would span the 5 meter distance of our bedroom. Fixed perpendicular to the beams we decided to use 3.5cm-thick boards. Since we did not have the wood prepared when the concrete work was done last year, we left 3 openings in the wall for the 5-meter beams to pass through and then insert into mirrored openings in the opposite wall.

Prior to inserting the beams, we painted the portions of wood that would be imbedded in the concrete with a tar paint to prevent wood rot.  See below.

After placing the beams, Magnus contacted a friend to help prepare the floor boards by cutting them to length, and incorporating a ‘Tongue and Groove’ system to fit them together.  This involved transporting the lumber across the island and back to the woodshop of Beru.

After transporting the floorboards back to our side of the island, Odin put them to good use as a play area, prior to their installation 2.5 meters above the bathroom floor!

The remaining gaps in the wall were sealed with concrete on both inside and out, securing the beams from future movement.

Next, we installed the floor boards carefully fitting the tongues into grooves and screwing them to the beams.

Magnus and Beru celebrated the completion of a wood flooring project and made way for the boss to inspect their craftsmanship.

Odin likes it!

Winter Harvest Update

 

We are staying Healthy and Happy and VERY Busy.  Food is everywhere along with fresh air and clean water.  Enjoy the photos, more posts to come when we have more time.  All the photos below are from our farm, except the last one that comes from the nearby Sea Side.

Retaining Wall Completed

This retaining wall is located directly above and behind our house.

View last years post about the project here, http://magnusandkonswan.blogspot.com/2010/10/wall-building-to-retain-new-road.html
We began last September, but had to wait for the wet weather to end before moving forward.

We needed to be sure this wall cannot fall, especialy after moving the mountainside and altering millions of years of soil and rock sedimentation.



We dug a 40 cm deep by 70 cm wide trench and then filled it with stones and concrete, in order to provide a stable foundation.



Next, we used 30cm concrete block reiniforced with iron and poured concrete.



In order to transport the concrete to the site we used a high density polyethelene tube.



We hired two local workers to help with the project. Below you can see the three man team making progress.



The finished wall meets the approval of the boss and baby boy.



Next we will add manure to the soil and plant the garden with sun loving tomatoes. This location is completely protected from the wind and gets twelve hours of direct sun in the summer.

The Winter's Knitting

Based on the photos, you can conclude that there is a baby coming.  When we found out about Baby Johnson's happily expected arrival, I, Konswan, sorted through my yarn stash to find the softest natural fibers with which to knit the following cardigans.  My favorite yarn so far has been Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend, 30% silk, 70% extrafine merino wool, super soft and cushy.  I bought from http://www.hulucrafts.co.uk/ the colorways Pisces, Andromeda, and Augusta.  The prices were better than those I saw in the states.  I originally bought the skeins for myself to make moebius scarves, but when I found out about Baby Johnson, I changed my mind.  Baby things are much cuter.  Some of the other yarns I've had for a year, mostly one-hundred-gram skeins, intended to be sock projects. It seems that most of them were perfect for baby sweaters, mostly knit in stockinette stitch, since more complicated motifs, such as cables and braids, require much more yarn. For those who are not knit savvy, stockinette stitch is the most basic, with knits on one side of the "fabric" and purls on the other side.

The button bands were done in either seed stitch or garter stitch, to give a little more definition and a bit of decorative relief from the plainer stockinette stitch. I had ordered some lovely mother of pearl shell buttons from both the UK and from Hong Kong, via eBay. They arrived after I had 5 cardies, and 2 pants knitted. So, upon button arrival, I had a button sewing marathon.

The hoodie shown above is a project I started two weeks ago, in Kertzer´s On Your Toes Bamboo Sock Yarn. It is based on the Cardigan for Merry pattern, found at http://www.jujubeandlolo.com/patterns/cardiganformerry.php, but I changed a few things. It is knitted seamless as most raglan seamless cardigans, but starting from the top of the hoodie. It is not kitchenered/grafted at the top, nor bound off by three needles. I used a figure 8 cast-on technique (a nice photo tutorial at http://www.helloyarn.com/wp/?p=390), casting half the number of stitches required for the hood, working the top loops, then ROTATING the workpiece to work the bottoms loops as one complete row (the right side row)WITHOUT YET TURNING THE WORK.  The next row is begun by actually turning the work, then working the wrong side rows.  Basically, one complete row is the top loop stitches and the bottom loop stitches.  Because I start the hoodie in this way, I do not have to graft the top of the hood closed at the end, because it was closed already at the beginning.  Laziness or cleverness?

The button band on the original Cardigan for Merry is a reversible cable braid.  But one has to pay for a download in order to get the instructions and chart for it.  I did not wish to pay so I did a non-reversible version instead.  I also did a button band rather than the i-cord loops and toggles.  I think the cables look better without interruption of i-cords.  The raglan "seam" at the shoulder is done in seed stitch, to reflect that on the button bands.  Sadly, I ran out of yarn before finishing the project.  As before mentioned, it is Kertzer's On Your Toes yarn, 75% bamboo, 25% nylon, in Tranquil Blue, lot # 2258, 300 meters per hundred gram ball.  (The photo does the color no justice.)  I did not enjoy it as a sock yarn, it does not hold it's elasticity well, always slouching down.  But as a cardigan for late summer nights, it should be nice.  I am on the hunt for more of it, but having some set backs.  Who would imagine that Tranquil Blue would be out of stock at http://www.yarnmarket.com/.?  I have until end of August to finish the project, since I sized it for newborn.  If anyone has any above-named yarn in their stash they would like to trade or sell, please contact me.  I will take remnants if there are no complete skeins available.  However, if I cannot find anymore of the Tranquil Blue, I will have to frog the work, ripping out the stitches and start all over again.  Magnus cannot bear to watch me do it, needing to avert his eyes from the traumatic event.  But that is the life of an obsessive compulsive knitter.

Bookshelf Made from Cryptomeria in our Backyard

Using our new toy to create lumber from all the trees we have felled in the last few years.

We bought a portable sawmill from the Swedish Logosol Company.

Using a chainsaw to power it, Magnus is able to create boards of all sizes in our own backyard.

After making the lumber, the fun of carpentry begins.

Using a portable generator and a handheld grinder, Magnus lets the inspiration flow and plays in the swirling patterns inside the wood.

Hardwood Disks

We finally have the correct tools for the job...now we can begin getting this giant 12 ton tree out of our bathroom!



We are thinking of creative uses for the hundreds of disks we are making. Each one ways about 100 kgs or 220 pounds. This is seriously dense lumber!