I am still hoping to paint the little vintage trailer before winter so I managed to run out at lunch one day to R&E Fasteners and purchased the first installment of 250 size 10, 3/4 inch panhead stainless steel screws. 
It is too hot to spend the day out in my driveway, so I have been working on screw replacement for about 45 minutes each day at dusk. This is not a quick process since most of the old 1953 screws are pretty much rusted into place. It does have a sortof meditative quality though, working one screw at a time. I've replaced somewhere around 100 screws at this point, and will have to buy more soon. Why so many? Because the aluminum skin of the trailer is made up of a series of panels that are screwed to a wood frame. Not only are the panels liberally tied down, but every seam has a seam cover that has screws every few inches. And every window has screws all around the frame plus a gutter piece that is screwed on above it. Lots and lots of screws. Anyone want to guess how many? I'll reveal the answer down the road when I find out.
During the weekend I got the urge to dye something and pulled out the tunis roving I bought from Becky. I used a method that is totally uncontrolled. I soaked the roving for about 20-25 minutes, then squeezed it lightly and layered it in a plastic container while pouring dry Kool-ade powder directly on it pretty much randomly. I put the lid loosely on the container and microwaved it on medium for about 10 minutes. Let it cool in the microwave, then rinsed it out. Almost no color rinsed out so it really soaked up the dye. The result was a bit different than my usual as it still has a lot of white. I am looking forward to seeing how it spins up. Intended destination: socks.
One more fibery note: The lace vest is coming along slowly with some surprises. At first my mind kept tripping up on the lace pattern, but with practice it has become enjoyable to work on. The fabric is turning out more stripy than I expected but I am liking it anyway. I just hope I have enough yarn for the project!And here is a gratuitous cat picture.
1 comment:
I loved the vest the first time I saw it and I think it's even cooler (is that a word) close up and in that lighting. Nice job on the roving. I predict it will make good socks for blue jeans. I just reread the fireplace story - it still makes me laugh.
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