Padauk

I mentioned to hubby that “some day” I’d like to have a small table that fit over the arm of the couch to hold tools when I’m sewing.

Look what he made!

The wood is African Padauk and that’s its natural color. So gorgeous!

It’s an odd space, with not much room, and this works perfectly. Being married to a woodworker has some very nice benefits.

Rusty Gold

One of Pop’s favorite things is searching local swap meets and antique stores for what he calls “rusty treasure,”

old metal bits he can remake into . . . something.

This time he found a $15 set of cast iron eagle uprights,

added an acacia plank from the hardware store,

and voilá -

a new, grandgirl approved bench for the bedroom. Sweet!

Pumpkin Table

After drying overnight, Leanne’s rainbow pumpkin table went home today.

Pop asked her if she was sure about the colors - she was - 

so he set her up in the spray booth (aka the back yard) and turned her loose.

Leanne said she picked rainbow colors because that’s Jackie’s favorite, but I think she likes them just as much. 

Hoping Leanne sends me a picture once the pumpkins are in place. Her first piece of furniture! So proud!

Building, Stage 1

Leanne wanted a skinny table to hold the succulent pumpkins her family made. 

Her mom said ‘let’s go shopping.’

Leanne countered with ‘let’s build it!’

Which is how she and Pop ended up in our garage, 

power tools in hand.

 Photo by Jaclyn

Pop is showing her the steps, 

 Photo by Jaclyn

but Leanne is doing the measuring, drilling, sanding and turning of screws.

She’s doing well enough that Pop is comfortable leaving her to work alone (for short-ish periods). 

A couple of legs, some paint and we’ll be ready for ‘it’s done!’ photos. 

Stay tuned!

Birthday Bed

Spoiler alert - she likes it!!

Pop wanted to build Leia a double-decker bed for her birthday. 

Leia will (eventually) be sharing a room with baby Donovan and Pop wanted her to have space to sleep and study and play and escape.

Construction started the first week of August- 

which Pop thought would give him plenty of time to build

and paint before Leia’s August 13 birthday.

Which came and went in a fusillade of Murphy’s Law and “well, that took longer than expected.”

But it was definitely worth the wait.

This bed is amazing,

 The blue doors on the stairs slide open for additional hiding places storage. 

with plenty of room for now and as she grows (teenagehood is only a few years away. Heaven help us. 😜). 

I think she likes loves it. 

Planes, Not Planes

Since he retired almost 12 years ago, hubby has collected wood-working planes, usually Stanley's (American-made!), and the older the better.

Some, like the rare Stanley #1 I bought him last year, are kept all neat and tidy in his den. But others that he intends to use in his woodworking projects - like his 4th Stanley #4 - were piled on a shelf in the garage.

So this week he took down some shelves, cleaned off a section of wall,

and started building a home for his treasures,

complete with moveable shelves

and their own lighting system.

Now he can find what he wants, when he wants it. (In theory.)

And as a bonus - it looks great too. Not bad for a week's work.

 

Woodworker Trainee

Pop was showing us his latest flea market find - a Stanley 26 wood plane - when Leia piped up with, "I saw that at Camarillo House today" and "Can I try it?"

Of course you can!

She was fascinated - look at that concentration.

I think Pop may have found himself an apprentice.

 

 

Yarn Spinners

Hubby's been busy again. 
 
He's been making crochet hooks - both regular and Tunisian - for awhile now and was looking for another little something to add to his repertoire.
Top to bottom: curly maple, cardinalwood, oak.

These have been popular with my buddies and Thursday night cohorts. They like being able to pick their own woods and have something custom made, just for them.
Top to bottom: canarywood, curly maple, oak.

The spinners are made with all hardwoods, and surprisingly - at least to me, since I'm a dark wood fan - the light maple, oak and birch have been the most popular.

Top to bottom: cardinalwood, walnut, and walnut. Mine!

We had a little trouble with the lazy susan mechanism that makes these spin. Turns out, it matters where you buy them. The ones from the big box hardware stores are lousy; slow or no spin at all. But the ones from Rocklar and Woodcraft? Lightning fast! And everyone needs a little lightning in their lives, right? 

Hubby's Hobby

When he's not remodeling the house or wrangling baby-grands, hubby does a bit of wood turning.

 

Most of his turning time has been taken up making crochet hooks for my buddies and the shop,

 

but every once in a while he'll disappear into the garage wood shop, 

 

reappearing a few hours later, covered in sawdust and smelling of varnish.

 

Early last week he received a block of buckeye burl in the mail.

 

I thought it would go into his stash woodpile, to be made into something eventually.

 
But look what was waiting for me when I got home last Sunday. 
 
Gorgeous!
 
I love that he was able to keep that rough section in the final piece. And the inlaid turquoise gets me every time.
 
And that he took the time to get photos for me as he worked? 
Major bonus points.