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A (Stained) Whitewood Trunk

Mon, 08/15/2011 - 19:34 — Maggie

OMG, my trunk actually worked!Whitewood Trunk with Piper and TinkWhitewood Trunk with Piper and Tink
Unless you count Ikea furniture, this was the first time I'd ever built something. I used whitewood (stained "gunstock" colored) because it's cheaper than anything else and I didn't know how badly I'd screw it up. While there are multiple imperfections (not the least of which being that I planned it for the size the boards are advertised to be, rather than the size they actually are) it didn't come out too bad.
Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but I hadda put up the one with Tink and Piper!
Whitewood TrunkWhitewood Trunk
The other picture is better, although the trunk didn't react too well to the flash.
I'd gotten handles to put on the front, but the way it came out, it seemed like that would look weird, so I left those two off and just put handles on the sides.

I think the trunk wants to be home to my patterns. Not counting a box of vintage patterns (which were a lot I'd gotten off Ebay, and included a bunch of kids patterns, so most of what is in that box isn't stuff I expect to use anytime soon-- the more usable ones are in my main stash) they seem to all fit! I'm thinking of trying to add some kind of container for the lid, because the patterns don't reach the top, and some kind of top compartment would be nice. Or maybe just some plastic pockets.. or some kind of clips. Something to keep random pieces and such visible. I have a couple of pattern bits that I couldn't find the patterns for. I wanted somewhere visible to put them so I'd remember them when I finally find the patterns they go to.

Now I have to figure out what wants to live the drawer that had been home to my non-costume patterns. My intention in building trunks is to make the living room tidier. If I can have pieces of furniture that can store things and double as seats and coffee tables and footrests and look pretty, then things will be neater, right?

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Plans for a Trunk, and Pickle Pictures

Wed, 07/27/2011 - 19:58 — Maggie

So I didn't get anything actually done.. But I did make some plans!Plans for a Cedar TrunkPlans for a Cedar Trunk

So I've been wanting some better storage, like something that actually looks nice. I have one trunk in the living room, not a very pretty one, but still better looking than most inexpensive storage. Rubbermaids are ugly!

So I'm making plans to build some trunks. Well, I'll start with one, then go from there. So I drew up some plans in Google Sketchup. The cedar boards don't come any wider than 8 inches, and only in even numbered widths, which made plans slightly more difficult, but I think I've got it figured out.

The body of the chest will be 16 inches tall, 18 inches deep and 32 inches wide (including the outside pieces on the sides.) The lid will be another four inches tall. I'd hadn't originally intended the lid to be quite so tall, but this seemed like the best design, given the size limitations for the cedar boards that Lowe's carries.
Pickles (The Milk is for Perspective!)Pickles (The Milk is for Perspective!)

And here's a picture of the pickling pickles next to a half-gallon of milk for perspective. See, the jar is bigger than it looked! They all fit with room to spare!

However, they're not yet pickled. It had been a week, but the insides didn't taste pickled. We put the cucumber spears back in the jar along with the rest of the still-pickling pickling cucumbers.

Seems that the color on that crock I was using wasn't so colorfast.. because some of it definitely seeped into the pickles and the garlic. I do hope it's not dangerous. But the coloring on the crock from a crock pot can't be dangerous, can it? It is meant for food.

Does the brine look darker than it should be? I think of brine as being lighter colored, but I'm not exactly an expert on pickling. And I assume that if the coloring from the crock seeped into the garlic and the not-yet-pickles, it's probably in the brine too.

Starting to Get Organized.. A Little.

Sun, 07/24/2011 - 15:14 — Maggie

Shelf Above My DeskShelf Above My Desk Yes, the shelf is where the map of Middle Earth used to be. I haven't decided on a new home for the map yet. But I do like the shelf!

Kris has been working on building a big hutch for his desk, so I'll then be swiping the small hutch that's currently on his desk, which should further aid in my organization efforts. There is Good Reason I didn't include the desk in my picture!

Yes, I know that there's an empty peg on my thread rack. *looks pointedly at dfr*
Call it the spot for the thread currently on my thread stand. There's a little bag of normal thread spools in my drawer of serger cones, too. And of course the Brother embroidery thread is in another drawer.
(See Jilly, I TOLD you all those 110 yard spools of yours weren't an excessive quantity of thread..)

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