CrabGrassAcres

Finished the loom yesterday and got right to work weaving. I was about to pull my hair out in frustration because I was making so many mistakes. Then I took half of a flat curtain rod and drilled a hole at the straight end to fit over one of the top pegs and am using it for a shed stick. Made all the difference! My half rod is as tall as the weaving area so it should work for the entire thing. Made a lot more progress today, not having to tear out and redo.

That would be cool, Arby, if you could make one too! I am so glad your roof is being repaired! I wouldn't want to be in this mobile home in a big quake. That 4.8 a few weeks back wasn't that close, but I felt it here. A bigger, close one might knock the house off the blocks. Sure would scare me spitless.

I made plates of thin plywood and screwed them to the back over the joints. I can unscrew them and bolt them back as needed. The video of the lady weaving on the rectangular loom showed the long side to be multiples of the short side. I have equal numbers of pegs on each side, so I would use however many pegs I needed. I think the one she is using can have pegs removed or added so it is more versatile than mine. I've got about 2/3 of the pegs done. Hopefully can get started soon with weaving!

I started with panel nails, but didn't have enough, mainly because I can't find the rest of the ones I bought. So I am chopping wire salvaged from a welded wire fence that fell apart, into 1 - 1 1/4 inch pieces and pounding those into the holes I drilled. I figured I'd push the wires out a bit so the yarn won't slip off. I would buy more nails, but can't get to the store. (The bolt cutters make it easy to chop the wire.) I was thinking, I could make another long side and use the 3 sides I'm working on now to make a rectangular loom later. It looks like you need the long sides of the rectangle to be a multiple of the short sides. I could use every other or every third peg on the short sides to make it come out and use heavier yarn for a blanket or even a rug.

Mine is rather rough compared to those! I'm not the very best carpenter and can't get my rows of nails straight to save my life!

http://www.wrensnestfiberarts.com/weaving.html Have you tried one of these? Looks a lot more complicated. I'm still putting in the nails, and putting in the nails, and putting..........

Mother, did you do continuous weave on the rectangular loom? I'm thinking of making a large square for blankets, though I might do some with the tri-loom and chain them together like in the video Christy posted.

How to build and use a tri-loom Arby, I've been following the instructions here to build it. I haven't used one before. I used an 8' and a 10' piece of 1x4 pine for the frame and I'm using panel nails for the pegs, alternating white and brown. I cut three pieces of lauan plywood from a scrap to screw across the joints to hold them together and that is working well. Under $10 for the whole thing. Should be able to make a lot of shawls with it. I think I could sew two shawls together for a lap throw and maybe 4 would make a blanket with thick yarn.

Making progress on the tri-loom. Only 350 or so more holes to drill! LOL

I want to make a tri-loom and do some shawls. Can't knit or crochet anymore, it makes my hands hurt too much.

Lots and lots of yellow summer squash. I'm using the big cabinet incubator to dry stuff and it works really well. Have the temp set at 104.

Butterbeans are large shelled Limas that have not been dried. They are cooked fresh or frozen. Best cooked with some fat back or bacon and served with fresh hot cornbread, sliced tomatoes on the side and a big glass of sweet tea.

I cut a strip of thin plywood to the width of the window plus a couple inches on each side, so width plus 4 inches and the height is about 3 inches. Make a little pocket on the back of the quilt to slip the wood strip in and screw the strip to the window on each side. Use screws long enough to go thru the sheet rock into the wood framing (not the thin molding). When you take them down you can put a dab of white toothpaste in the hole and a little bit of paint. Try not to mar the molding though. Make the width of the pocket a few inches shorter than the width of the quilt so you can cover the end of the wood with the quilt. This holds the quilt firmly against the frame and stops air circulating behind the quilt. You can pull the quilt to one side or to the middle and tie it if you like during the day.

Fleece makes a good batting and sometimes you can get it cheaper than regular quilt batting. It works well for window quilts that you don't want to have to quilt or tie. The ones I'm making have a white backing, a white fleece fabric fill and a pretty print fabric towards the inside of the room. If I manage to get them done in a reasonable amount of time I'll post pix. My machine needs some maintenance and that is slowing me down.

Praying.

Fresh yellow squash from the garden (first of the season!) fried with potatoes and onions. Glass of sweet tea to go with and that's enough for me.

I was just looking out the window and watching all FOURTEEN goats mowing the lawn! LOL I only wanted one for milk. How'd I end up with FOURTEEN? Then there are the hens showing the chicks how to find bugs and the clucky ducks setting on their nests and the geese busy trying to hatch more goslings. Is it any wonder I'd rather be outside than in?

WOW, Pigzilla! That's a lot! I'm rendering fat for lard today. It'll go in canning jars, but then in the freezer.

7 more qts of chicken! It sure seems I should be seeing a dent in the rooster population by now, as hard as I've been going at this, but I'd swear there are more down there now than when I started. LOL

7 qts of dark chicken meat on the bone. 26 1/2pts of boneless skinless breast meat.

Torch won't get hot enough. I used to put mine in the wood stove to burn them off. To season, use animal fat, not veggie oil. The oil can make a sticky residue.

It isn't a dumb question at all. I had to go back and look at my post, and it was a bit ambiguous. I meant to use a pressure cooker on a regular stove if you are conserving fuel or to cook with a regular pot in a solar cooker. I can't see that it would be easy to keep a pressure cooker regulated in a solar oven. I always treated the solar oven like a slow cooker.

Wanted to add, don't put new ductwork in. You lose a lot of heat thru it and it is vulnerable to damage. Don't use standard mobile home skirting. It is pretty for the showroom, but doesn't last.

Guess I'm an "expert" on mobile home living! LOL, I've had new ones used ones, and near about falling apart ones. 7 in all! My advice is to get the cheaper 16X80. Get it up to your place and pull out the vents and ductwork since wildlife of all sorts love it. Pull out the insulation underneath for the same reason. It is usually shot pretty fast anyhow. Go thru and put new plywood subfloor over the old. Take out carpet first, linoleum can stay and be covered. Pull all the tubs/showers/ sink cupboards etc. so you can cover ALL the holes. When they build mobiles they leave huge gaping holes around the plumbing. Pull all the plumbing out. It is not expensive to replace with PVC and will be much more satisfactory. Now go under and spray foam insulation over the entire underside of the floor, being sure to cover all the pipes. Give it two or three layers if possible. If the inside is paneled, you can cover it with sheet foam insulation and Sheetrock. The foam is twice the insulation value of batt insulation. Put down sheet vinyl or tile or wood laminate. I have sheet vinyl. All this is what was just done to my tin mansion. It is MUCH nicer now than a new one. It sounds like a lot, but if you have two mobiles, camp in one and repair the other then move into the repaired one and do the second. It took 2 1/2 months 3-4 days a week with half a dozen people working most days to do mine and paint inside and out, plus repair and paint and reroof my barn and build decks, ramp and steps. Mice and snakes and other critters like possums and raccoons no longer have access to my home! For heat, if you have electricity, put in baseboard heaters for backup and/or normal use. If you want a wood heater, be sure to put the appropriate shielding behind and under it and run the pipe out the wall, not thru the roof.

When nothing in the freezer "counts" towards supplies until it is canned or dried.