Winter Projects

[FarmerChick]

Alot would depend on your winter weather situation, but for me being in the South our winters were FREEZING but mild enough to handle alot of projects we did not have time for in the summer when the farm was in full swing and making income.

We are all so active when that garden plants, when the harvest comes in and needs to be handled.

But heading into winter months, what projects are top on your list thru the garden downtime? Wondering what projects everyone is going to tackle?



It was so hot this summer we did was pull a big fencline to refence. Now I have to get it back up It is cool and that project will be starting soon.

Along with that I am dismantling 2 goat barns. A high of 120 Boer goats breeding kids left and right, and that herd is dispersed and only a few goats left. So my kidding barns need to be repurposed. It means dismantling the kidding stalls. Actually alot of work becaus they are good sized barns. But being cooler weather it is a good project to tackle before spring.



So what is everyone handling now?

 

[Marianne]

Biggest winter chore here is hauling firewood, looking for kindling, grumbling about firewood and kindling and figuring out what I'm going to cook on the woodburner!

The bitter cold wind we have most days during the winter makes outdoor chores pretty uncomfortable. So, the plan of the moment, subject to change, is to put down some flooring in the studio upstairs, some floor trim in the bathroom and smaller bedroom, a couple cabinets built in the bathroom and call upstairs 'finished'!!

Then I want a real kitchen!!! I'm gonna hold my breath until I turn blue, throw myself on the floor, go on strike, whatever it takes. I want some cabinets and real countertop.

Crap, it will probably be spring by then.

 

[ORChick]

I was gifted with numerous alpaca fleeces earlier this year, which prompted me to learn to spin. I have not had as much opportunity to continue with this as I would like, so I am looking forward to spending more time at it during the darker days of winter.
I also have stacks of books that need to be read! They keep whispering to me as I walk past, and it is getting annoying!
And winter is the time that I like to experiment in the kitchen, trying out new recipes and such. I never seem to have the time when the weather beckons to me to come outside.

 

[FarmerChick]

holy cow Marianne you are sure going to be busy!!

 

[FarmerChick]

ORChick
it really sounds like you have alot planned to use up that indoor time. and with good projects.

when you spin, are you making something? like an afghan or something. I don't know anything about spinning, yarn, knitting, --well nuttin'

 

[ORChick]

ORChick
it really sounds like you have alot planned to use up that indoor time. and with good projects.

when you spin, are you making something? like an afghan or something. I don't know anything about spinning, yarn, knitting, --well nuttin'

Well, so far my spinning is an attempt to make yarn of a consistent quality . I'm hoping to get better over the winter months. But I did just recently finish knitting a winter scarf for DH; the first project from raw fiber to finished piece. Turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself But I have 2 different colors of alpaca fiber, so I want to try making yarn for an Icelandic type sweater - all one color, with a contrasting pattern around the yoke; I've done this before, with bought wool. And I really want to get into dying yarn with plant dyes; I find that process totally fascinating. I have enough fiber (think 4 alpacas, and the shearing from 3 years ) that I may even end up weaving something, though I'm more into knitting at present.

 

[FarmerChick]

I never learned to knit. I had it on my list of things to learn but never got around to it.

WOW you must have alot of fiber. 3 yrs of shearings. That will keep you busy for a long time. when you spin your yarn, then dye it, then create a sweater, it will be a cool accomplishment. Handmade all the way!!

 

[Marianne]

holy cow Marianne you are sure going to be busy!!

Eh, building this house was and is a huge project. Whatever possessed us to build something this big??? We still don't even have all the drywall up on the main floor. But it's a good thing we started finishing upstairs. If we'd started here on the main floor, we probably never would have completely finished the second story. It's a pretty uncommon house, lots of detailed layered trim, architectural accents, plaster stenciling...

On the main floor, we have one bathroom and the dining room finished. The kitchen remains a quiet battle between DH and me. I want something fun, funky and highly functional. He's used to traditional cabinetry. Given that one side of the room is almost round, he's going to have to rebuild a minimum of four cabinets anyway, so why not build them all and save thousands of $$? We have two antique dressers that I'd like to use the drawer fronts in there, etc etc. That's my thinking anyway. His feeling is that he's pretty darn tired of building something all the time. Can't blame him. :/

Sad thing is that a year from now, my list will probably be pretty similar. We decided to have a life again after we started camping out in here, so it's been slow-go for a long time. But I have scrounged, bought all the light fixtures on clearance, mix marked down mis-mixed paint, anything I can do. It's saved us a lot of money. Then I bring up the kitchen.....

 

[FarmerChick]

that house is going to be super unique!


one side of the kitchen area wall is rounded? that sounds like a carpentry nightmare! Like it has a bay window type rounded wall? I can't picture that for some reason.

Any pics hanging around? I love seeing pics of renovations etc.

I hear you on starting a life again. Projects of this size and time restraints can just consume a person. My initial farm set up was years of just that and nothing else. Time can fly by and you barely remember anything but daily work from sun up to sun down

 

[BarredBuff]

We hope to get our pantry built. Then demolish our old buildings making way for a Barn.