Painted rocks in hand by Kristen Tool
The soil at our farm in Western Massachusetts is full of stones. We spend hours digging and sifting new garden beds each year to prevent crooked carrots and stunted radishes. But what to do with all the stones once they are dug up? Having piles of stones laying around the farm creates a tripping hazard, and is serious trouble for the weed whacker and lawn mower.
Large stones are great for edging garden beds or building stone walls- the small stuff gets tossed in the dirt driveway to fill potholes. Smooth, flat or round stones are collected, and painted on.
Countersink bit or bit to predrill holes
Step 1: Start Cutting Your Material
OK, there aren t any ladders in this project but the two sides of the A-Frame garden look like ladders and that is what we will call them for simplicity.
The two ladders are comprised of three rungs and two side: 3 + 2 = 5 times 2 = 10. So we need to end up with 4-foot pieces. So start by cutting five of the 2x2x8s in half to end up with ten 4-foot lengths.
Next, cut the three of the 10-foot-long gutters in half to end up with six 5-foot lengths. I carefully and slowly did this on our miter saw.
Our pantry is the heart of our homestead. Going on year five of homesteading, our pantry has seen its share of homemade canned goods from the garden rotate through. While our pantry serves a great purpose, it’s also a bit ugly. It s tucked away at the end of our hall and hidden behind an old folding door. While looks don’t mean much to us, we do spend a ton of time at home and we enjoy investing in our home and improving it, because it only increases the overall value.
We’ve had our eye on one of those fancy glass pantry doors they sell at the home improvement stores, but with prices in the several hundreds of dollars, we just couldn t justify purchasing one so we decided to make our own for under $20! Whether you want to make your own pantry door or not, we have a frugal tip that should help any homesteader.
Sweater before changing waistband and before washing. Photos by Jo deVries
This months’ blog post is a follow-up to last November’s Knitting with Natural Fibres. Most autumns, I start planning at least one knitting project. Knitting makes my long winters in Ontario, Canada, pass more pleasurably. It also produces a warm garment that keeps me cozy and happy while knitting it.
I usually start by looking through my inventory, to see if anything catches my interest. My yarn collection was severely depleted three years ago when I went on a knitting spree. I tackled all my unfinished projects that had accumulated, and knit up of bunch of odds and ends for gifts. What a great feeling to complete that task! The result: three sweaters, a headband, two pairs of bed socks, and at least six sets of wrist warmers.