The Eagle Has Landed

The eagle is finally finished. Yahooey! After restoring the wings and stand the eagle took 26 books of 23.5 gold leaf. It just sparkles in the sunlight. It is believed to have been carved by John Haley Bellamy (1836-1914) c. 1860-1870 a famous New England nautical wood carver.

Spring Mystery Shawl

I've been knitting the Spring Mystery Shawl Along 2008 hosted by Renee Leverington of Goddess Knits.


The first clue was posted on April 19th. New clues are issued every other Saturday. There are currently 3 clues. Clue 1 and 2 are finished. I'm knitting with JaggerSpun 2/18 Zephyr in Vanilla using US 5 needles. This has been a fun knit.

I've been teaching Scott, who is a talented ivory carver, how to make Nantucket Lightship Baskets. Here is Scott with his finished 4" round basket. It really turned out beautifully and Scott's a real natural.

Nadine, Ed, Nantucket, and Clapotis!

I'm back on Nantucket. When we first got here it was cold, windy, and rainy and I wondered why I came up so early in the season. The weather turned this past week and we have been having beautiful weather.

My good friends (more like family) Nadine and her daughter Ed came for a few days. We had a very nice visit. Ed is a fabulous cook and they came with a rather large care package that included bottles of wine, homemade bread, a precooked dinner, and desserts (yes that is plural). It was all yummy! Ed even helped pull together some of our other meals. I always learn so much from her. Nadine is a good cook too.

When we get together like this we usually get a lot of knitting accomplished but not so much this visit. We did manage to stop by our favorite yarn store (Sheep to Shore).

I helped Nadine take a picture of Clapotis, her latest knit, to upload to Flickr and Ravelry. Afterwards Nadine presented me with this beautiful scarf.I was so surprised and delighted at the same time. Clapotis is a free pattern that can be downloaded from knitty here. Nadine knit it to be worn with jeans so she added some repeats and made it a little narrower.

I'm looking forward to their visit again next year.

Beadwork Progress Has Slowed Down

I was zipping along on Beadwork until we went off to another Windsor chair class in West Virginia. I brought Beadwork along but I was too tired in the evenings to knit a stitch. Since I last posted I picked up the sleeves and completed the decreases. Now I just need to continue knitting down to the cuff then put the body stitches back on the needles and continue knitting.



I took a Windsor chair class last year with Vanessa. This year we went back to West Virginia and Charles Boland's workshop, Storybook Joinery, where we each made a Nantucket Windsor Fanback rocker. The class was a full six days. We loved every minute of it! (Except for the part where I got a ticket for speeding and having expired tags.) Besides the class we enjoyed seeing Sherry (Charles' wife) and their golden retriever Maggie. One night Charles cooked a delicious seafood stew for us. As you can see the Boland house is filled with his beautiful creations including the dining room table.



Here are our finished chairs. My chair is on the left and Vanessa's is on the right. Charles is in the center without rockers.


Some highlights from the class.

The crest is steam bent red oak with the crest ears hand carved with volutes.



The oval shaped seat was created from a solid piece of 2-inch thick clear white pine. The seat was saddled by hewing with a hollowing adze, and then finished with a scorp, compass plane, travisher, spokeshave and a scraper. This picture also shows the tail piece that was installed via a mortise and tenon. The back spindles are installed into the tail piece to provide extra strength for the backrest.





Here the legs and stretchers are installed. The legs penetrate the seat and are wedged securely in place through a tenon joint. The holes are drilled using sightlines to bore compound-angle leg mortises.


Everything else is maple with the exception of the arms that are poplar. The arms have hand carved knuckles and volutes. I affectionately renamed the knuckles to Maggie Paws as a tribute to Maggie the Boland's golden retriever.



See Vanessa's blog for a more complete description of the workshop.

The next project for me will be a Windsor Sackback Settee like this one.



If you ever have an opportunity to take a class from Charles DO IT you won't regret it. He is very patient and willing to share his vast knowledge of his craft with you.

Beadwork - Making Progress

I'm making nice progress on Beadwork. This sweater is being knitted top-down FLAK-style. Since my last post I have knit the back down to my armhole depth, picked up stitches for the left and right front increasing as I went along, and knit both right and left fronts down to my armhole depth. Next I will pick up stitches along each edge for the sleeves.I'm also getting ready for another Windsor chair class. Ahead of time we were sent maple stock for the legs along with a sample leg to turn on the lathe in our own workshop. Here is one of the finished legs. It's not identical to the sample but it's close enough for me.

Beadwork

I joined the Beadwork KAL way back in December 2006. I finally starting swatching and cast on in February. I am knitting Beadwork with Guernsey 5-ply wool called Frangpipani in Crushed Raspberry. I ordered the wool from Jan and if you have never dealt with her she is a delight. She gives the best service.

This is a Jade Starmore design that originally appeared in the Interweave Knits Winter 99/00 in adult sizes. Beadwork also appears in the book A Collectors Item in a child's version.

I am knitting Beadwork FLAK-style from the top-down. I started off knitting the saddles then picked up the stitches on one saddle, cast on the neck stitches, then picked up the stitches on the other saddle. I am now knitting the back stitches down to my armhole depth.

Yesterday I had a meet-up at with Pru. Pru came to MD to go to a Yarns International sale and she wore her lovely Beadwork. Afterwards we went to Starbuck's and had a nice chat with show 'n tell.

Hurricane Noel - Extra Tropical Storm

Hurricane Noel made its way up the coast and passed over Nantucket yesterday dumping 4" of rain. On its way it morphed into a powerful nor'easter. Once Noel reached Nantucket weather experts called Noel an Extra Tropical Storm not a hurricane. It still packed the wind speeds of a hurricane but the eye of the storm was not as tight as a hurricane. In any event we had wind gusts up to 87mph. I couldn't resist going out to Surfside to watch the surf.

Today the blue sky's are beautiful. The house I recently posted about out on Smith's Point is gone. Several more houses are goners too. The fast-moving storm washed away more than 20 feet of shoreline in Madaket. This picture was taken on 11-9-2007. Here is how this house looked on 10-20-3007 just a few weeks earlier.Once the houses right in the surf are gone these will be the next to go.


On the knitting front I am making nice progress on DH's FLAK sweater. I am about 1/2 done with one of the sleeves. This week I received Roscalie Cardigan kit. I'm going to finish the FLAK sweater before I cast on Roscalie.

You Can't Fight Mother Nature

I don't have a knitting update since I haven't been knitting lately. I had to go to Boston all last week. So, I thought I'd share some pictures of Nantucket. Oh, on the knitting front I did receive my invitation this morning to Ravelry. Yahoo! I made my Ravelry username itsterri.

On Sunday I drove out to Madaket (Western tip of Nantucket) to check on this house. This weekend it finally toppled off its foundation. It is the last house on Smith's Point and is owned by a family in Connecticut. It was threatened before. In early 2005 the waves crashed through the basement. Since then, the beach had gained and then lost 125 feet.

The house next to it is a goner. It is only a matter of time (a very short time). The heavy part of the storm season isn't even here yet. That usually begins in December or January.

Viewing from another angle you can see the house fell off its foundation.
On the other other end (East) of the island 'Sconset Bluff is fast-eroding. The Sankaty lighthouse was in danger of toppling into the ocean. It was finally moved last week away from the bluff. It is now sitting in its new location. You can read about it's journey here.

The Eagle Has Landed - Almost!

I'm making some progress on my DH's FLAK sweater. I originally stopped working on this sweater when I got to sleeve island, that desolate place. I still couldn't bring myself to start knitting the sleeves so I went ahead and knit the body. DH tried it on and it fits him nicely. Now I am motivated to finish.

I've been working on this eagle for a long time. It is believed to have been carved by John Haley Bellamy (1836-1914) c. 1860-1870. Bellamy was a famous New England nautical wood carver. The eagle was perched atop an entryway on a Nantucket home for many years until it was in dire need of restoration. My involvement began by helping Nancy Chase repair the wings. She removed all the old gold leafing then I started reapplying it. What a pain staking task this has been! I've spent about 40 hours and there is lots still to do.

He really is an awesome bird. When complete the owners said he will be coming indoors.

Nantucket Sunrise

When we are on Nantucket we don't have much property to run our dogs so every day at daybreak I head to the Tupancy Links and get treated with the most spectacular sunrises. They are well worth rising early for. Tupancy was a nine-hole golf course overlooking the ocean that in 1976 was gifted to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation (NCF) by "Tup" Tupancy and his wife. Now the property can be enjoyed by the public. And a few minutes later ...

Recently DH's FLAK sweater got pulled out and dusted off. I started this in parallel with the FLAK sweater I knit for myself. Somehow mine got finished and his did not. (No comment.)
Single sock syndrome no more. Finally managed to finish the second Fetzensocken sock.

Second Sock Syndrome - What's Up With That?

The Jaywalkers are finished! Check out the Grumperina's Jaywalker gallery!

Now I must do something about this!I started this sock as part of the July (2006) Knitalong Pattern for Sockamaniac Sock Knitters. It's called Fetzensocken by Diana Meyers. The pattern was converted from German to English. Google Fetzensocken and you will find plenty of places to download the pattern. Mine is knit with Koigu KPPPM my absolute favorite sock yarn in the entire world. So why didn't I finish it and the other sock in 2006? I just noticed Sockamaniac has a Yahoo group called Second Sock Syndrome. It doesn't look like an active group though.

Knitting MoJo - I want it back!

I was reading Sonya's blog about how she got her knitting mojo back. She got it back in a big way. Her Kauni Cardigan is gorgeous and she is zipping right along.

I was thinking about how to get my knitting mojo back and decided to knit a pair of Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina. I think I am the only one on the planet who has not knit a pair. I finished the first sock today.
I'm using Fortissima Colori-Socka yarn. I'm not a big fan of this yarn but I have lots of it in my stash.

Next, I could pick up one of my many WIP but instead I've decided to start a lace project. I've never knit a shawl but have always wanted to so I plan to start Leda's Dream by Pink Lemon Twist of Mystery Stole fame. Actually Leda's Dream was the first Mystery Stole, Scheherazade was last years MS2 and this year it's ??? . Thanks Vanessa for suggesting this pattern.

I plan to knit Leda's Dream with Jade Sapphire's Cashmere-Silk (45% Mongolian Cashmere/55% Silk) in colorway #7 (Flannel Suit).

The Chair is Finished...

After returning from the Windsor chair class and while Vanessa was still here we sanded our chairs in preparation for paint. Before painting the chair it got a coat of walnut stain that was diluted 1/2 stain - 1/2 water. If the paint wears off to expose bare wood you won't see the light color of the wood underneath rather you will see the dark walnut stained wood.

Next the chair received a coat of Old Fashioned Milk Paint in color Salem Red.

The next coat is Pitch Black. Many old chairs had several coats of paint applied to them. With use the underlying color comes through in the natural wear areas. To simulate this I took a pan of water with a cloth and rubbed wear areas exposing the underlying color.

Lastly, the chair got 3 coats of Golden's brand Natural Tung Oil Finish followed by a coat of paste wax.
Vanessa and I are planning to make another chair in March. I plan to make a Nantucket rocker (it's like the second chair on the left).

We Did It!!!

Vanessa came up from Florida last Saturday and left today. We had a wonderful time together. I miss her already. Before leaving for our Windsor chair class in West Virginia we had to stop in at WoolWinders and Eleganza Yarns. Eleganza was having a 40% off their entire stock of yarns Saturday night starting at 9pm. Heading to the store it started to pour and by the time we left the store it was raining so hard we could hardly see to drive. The thunder and lightening didn't help matters either. We did some major stash enhancement.

Now, on to the Windsor chair class. Vanessa and I attended the Waterford Fair last fall where we met Charles Boland and his wife Sherri of Storybook Joinery. Of all the Windsor chairmakers we liked Charles' chairs the best and talked him into doing a class and he agreed!

In our 6-day class Vanessa made the Bowback rocker and I made the Sackback. The chairs are handmade using the same techniques that chairwrights used in the 18th century. Windsor chairs were introduced to America from England during the 1720's. The American Windsor came into its own during the 1790's. Windsors were used everywhere (chairs, rockers, children's furniture, stools, settees, etc). We're here with Charles and as you can see we are grinning from ear to ear. We couldn't be happier with the way our chairs turned out. We loved every minute of the class and this included our stay in Romney, WV. Our lodging was at a B&B called Hampshire House where we had the place to ourselves all but 2 nights. Their high protein pancakes were delicious! We had ours without the fruit. Download the recipe here.
Charles allowed us to each make a different chair and he made one of each along with us. This made it a lot harder for him but very accommodating for us. Here are our chairs along with Charles' chairs. We started with straight grained red oak logs that were riven with wedges and a froe to create the stock for the spindles and bows. The spindles and bows were shaped on a shaving horse with a draw knife and spokeshave. The bows were then put into the steam box and bent over a form.The legs, stretchers, and stumps (arm posts) were turned on the lathe from hard maple.
The seat was shaped from a ~2-inch plank of clear pine. Here are the tools (scorp, travisher, compass plane, spoke shave, and drawknife) used in dressing (shaping) the seat after the seat was hollowed out with a gutter adze. Holes for the spindles were then carefully drilled into the seat using a brace with spoon bits at the appropriate angle.
We're getting there! The spindles are threaded through the arm-rail and are hammered into the holes previously drilled into the seat. Next the bow-back will be installed. I'll let Vanessa tell you about her favorite tool(s) and our other escapades. I'll let her explain these too.
And I can't finish the post without mentioning how beautiful the Boland property is or how warm and friendly they are. We loved their dogs Maggie and Molly too. They are good people. The last day of class Sherri made us a delicious lunch and that evening we enjoyed a crab feast in their gorgeous secret garden. (Sherri is taking the picture.)
We've already planned out our project for our next class in March. Mine will be the Nantucket Fanback rocker. I can't wait!

If you don't think you are up to making your own Windsor chair you might consider purchasing one from Charles. They are truly a piece of art.

Long Overdue Post

I have lots of catching up to do. The biggest news is our Nantucket cottage is just about complete and we are just waiting for the final sign off by the building department before we are issued the occupancy permit. Here are a few pictures. It sits on a little one-way street that used to be a foot path. The front is being bricked and there will be a flower bed next to the house that will contain things like hydrangeas and old fashioned roses.The house is only ~1,100 sq. ft. and has 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. It doesn't feel like it is that small and it amazes me how little space one actually needs. The original section of the house was built in 1925. I was looking at a recent issue of "Cape Cod & Islands HOME" magazine that featured a huge house that was referred to as a cottage. That started me thinking about what is a cottage exactly. Hmmm...

The book The Credible Chronicles of The Patchwork Village 'Sconset by the Sea published in 1886 states, "The meaning of the word cottage in society is strangely perverted. It is defined in the dictionaries to be a small habitation; a cot; a hut; formerly limited to a poor or shabby habitation, but now applied also to any neat or tasteful dwelling."

Based on the last part of this definition the house I saw featured in the magazine would qualify. I'd be interested in knowing what others thought about the subject.