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Rainwater Harvesting Design Improvement

We had lots of questions about our rainwater harvesting reverse French drain soakaway irrigation solution that we installed in a previous episode. We thought we'd take the time to show a small design improvement and answer a load of the most common questions. How does a French drain work? How does the water flow…

We dug a big hole and filled it back in AGAIN

Next up on our marathon of landscaping projects is picking up something we started over three years ago. Back in 2022 we installed guttering, a French drain and some underground pipework to move excess water away from our house that was suffering from damp issues. The original plan was to try and capture all…

Can We Build a Garden Wall from RUBBLE?

We've got tons of rubble and crap from the renovation of our old Portuguese stone farm house and we've kept it all in the hope that we can reuse it. Kylie has had a genius idea to use the rubble – bits of old concrete, stone, brick and gravel – to build some garden walls.…

Can We Become Self-Sufficient in Potatoes?

It's mid February and that means it's time to plant some potatoes. We've grown a number of varieties of potatoes here in Portugal over the last few years - mostly successfully but with a few hiccups along the way. But this year we're attempting to grow enough to last us for a whole year. Some…

Building RUSTIC Stone Steps to the Garden

It's time for some more landscaping and trying our hand at a new skill - stone masonry! Join us for an outdoor project as part of our Portugal farmhouse renovation as we attempt to build some rustic steps with local limestone. In case you missed our previous video where we cleared a lot of…

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Yarn Projects (crochet/knitting)

Knitting Needles

I've only just started knitting again and have had to upgrade from my original Symfonie needles (they tend to snap quite easily). I have a set of stainless steel needles from ChiaoGoo and also an ebony set from Lantern Moon.

I like both! The stainless steel was a little hard to get used to but yarn really glides on them. I like the look and feel of the Lantern Moon set too, but unfortunately they don't come in all the sizes I tend to use so I now end up switching between the two sets.

Crochet Hooks

I've tried loads of different single hooks to find the 'perfect' hook. I finally found what I was looking for in the Clover soft touch range. The hook glides well and the thumb rest is really comfortable. Unfortunately they don't seem to be available in a set, so I have a jar full of all the sizes I like to use.

Tunisian Crochet Hooks

My favourites are these from Lantern Moon, they're super comfortable and glide really well, and the best bit is that they swivel. They are also compatible with the KnitPro Symfonie hooks (these seem less sturdy but also glide well).

I also have a set from ChiaoGoo made from bamboo. These are very lightweight but I find that they can snag on some yarns (a nail file often helps to make the hook head better).

Yarn

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