Posts Tagged ‘architecture’

Georgia Visit and Beading Again!

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Time has been whizzing by as usual… This month, we took a trip to South Georgia to visit our youngest son, and got to have all 3 guys together at once which is rare these days.

Auto Parts Store Sign

There are many signs to help us along our journeys, but this and related ones aren’t the ones you want to have to look for…. Our trip from PA to GA began early AM Aug. 12, with plans to meet friends for supper that evening in Greenville, SC…. Well, that didn’t happen….. 2 hours from home we lost 2 1/2 hours while we had front brake hoses replaced. The front of the mini van began shaking and we thought we had a bad tire… The brakes were new, but not the hoses.  Then…. 2 hours on down the highway, the chugging and sputtering began…. not good in traffic on a busy highway in HOT weather.

Car Fix 2

The photo above shows Ken and Zack checking a part… this was I think the second auto parts store we stopped at (after the brake incident) to have a computer hooked up that didn’t really tell us what was wrong… We have learned that Advanced Auto and Auto Zone stores can do the computer checks. Thankfully there are lots of them along the route. It seemed that the heat and the AC running caused the most trouble. Once it got dark, we had no more trouble that day. We did miss supper with our friends and managed to stop on the way home instead. The  motel room late night was welcome.

Atlanta Traffic

The van didn’t do much better the second day, but we ended up going into downtown Atlanta GA to meet relatives for lunch. Lots of traffic getting out of there, and more chugging later, we got to our destination just above Valdosta, GA at our son’s house. (Needless to say, I didn’t do any driving with Zack along for an extra driver… I don’t do cities)

Nick's Driveway In

Nick’s driveway is a little narrower than ours at home, and it goes through a bit of a swamp. The road he lives on makes our gravel one look like a highway… red clay with a bit of sand on top that washes into the ditches with heavy rain, causing slimy ruts. I’ll keep our PA rocks and gravel, thank you.

Nick's Front Trees

The trees in Nick’s yard are really pretty with the Spanish moss hanging from them. It was very hot and steamy there, and with rain most days, I only got out for pictures in the yard one day. I had to let the camera lens warm up from being in the cool house- it fogged over just like my glasses did  in the “outdoor sauna”.

Crape Myrtle

There is one pretty Crape Myrtle tree in the side yard. The flowers were a bit shattered from heavy rains… the grass under it was sprinkled with pink florets.

Wild Taro

The Taro is something I can only grow in my greenhouse, and it is growing wild along the driveway and even larger ones by the front door. It seems to love the heat and humidity of this summer there.

Old Georgia House 1

Here is an old house we passed by a few times. Most of the houses in the South are smaller than here up North, and many of the older ones have porches on both the fronts and backs. A lot of the sheds and barns were constructed similarly.

Georgia Shed 1

This shed was in the back yard of the house… we saw a lot like this… lots different and smaller than the old barns and sheds around here.

Cotton Flower

Cotton fields were in bloom, so I had to get some photos. Above is a newly opened flower. I saw mostly pink from the road, but the flowers begin white and turn pink as they age.

Cotton Flower Faded

The faded flowers were the pink I was seeing from the road.

Cotton Boll

Hidden down in the foliage were even some cotton bolls beginning to open.

Travel Beading Studio

While riding in the car and while staying in GA, I got back to some beading… The above photo shows my old laptop case filled with a good selection of beads and supplies needed to add beads to art quilts or pins. I got a bunch of pins beaded… even the first Christmas trees of the year.

Orange Echinacea on the Rocks

The Orange Echinacea piece has been half beaded for a long time…. I finally finished it!! I added the beads to the upper left rocky section and accented the flower center, too. This is one of those pieces that wanted to be made…. the pieces landed next to each other on the cutting table, and I put it together even though it is not in colors I normally use.

Beaded Pins

These are some of the pins I got beaded, ready for the backs to be added. The photo is not great due to lighting conditions in the car while riding…  I got a few more done during the remaining ride home. It felt great to do something productive for a change.

Now that I am home again, I will be getting better photos and finish the binding of the art quilt so I can list them in my Artfire Studios.

One Final Photo…..  The main reason we went to GA and had the 3 boys together for a couple of days….

Nick and Megan

We gained a new daughter-in-law! They had a really nice small, simple ceremony with just close family and a couple friends… We will be going back in the Spring for the “big wedding” that will include all friends and family… Nick is now on his way to Afghanistan for a 4-6 month deployment. We look forward to meeting more of Megan’s family and friends after he returns home.

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The Wreaths are Done!

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

The wreath workshop has officially been closed for the season…. It will now turn back into a woodworking shop again.

I finished my orders of wreaths and grave blankets and all were gone by this past Monday.

Fraser Fir with Cone Spikes

Here is one of the branches of Fraser Fir that are literally a pain to work with…. the cones shatter, leaving behind the spiky centers… If I needed to use these branches for wreaths, I had to cut off the spikes… really adds to the time needed to construct things.

Concolor Fir

In direct contrast to the spiky, sharp Frazer cone centers, is the softness of Concolor Fir. The Concolor is used mostly in the grave blankets. The needles are a bit long and sparse to make nice full wreaths, but the flexibility of the branches make them perfect

Grave blanket Beginning

The grave blankets are constructed on a base of wire with appx. 1″x3″ openings. the stems of the branches are woven into the wire base until it is covered and the greens hang out the desired size around the edges. The Fraser Fir is the bluer looking variety, along with some Scotch Pine- longer needles.

Large Grave Blanket Finished

This is the finished product- This is the largest blanket I make- appx. 3′x6′ in size, with extra decorations in addition to the bow, cones and berries I usually use.

Grave Blanket Pile

Here is a standard size blanket on the top of a pile of a batch ready to go out. 3′x4′ or so is the normal size of most of our blankets.

Decorated Medium Wreath

Here is one of the decorated wreaths for the second large order, ready for pick-up. As you can see, my sneakers catch a lot of pitch from working with the greens. My clothes also get covered in the sticky stuff, too. I usually use one outfit or “uniform” for the entire season, so I only ruin one pair of jeans and one or 2 sweatshirts. Sometimes if enough waterless Goop hand cleaner applied to the clothes will remove much of the pitch. At least one shirt gets thrown away each year after wreath making is done.

Decorated Special Order Wreath

This is one of a few special ordered wreathe that get done each year, This wreath is a bit larger than most, and I added extra ribbon to brighten them up a bit more.

Snow Dec. 9 2009 Front Garden

There was quite a bit of cold and windy weather while I was making the wreaths, but the biggest snowfall happened after they were done… Our first 6″ snowfall for the year…. Most of it melted the day after it fell, but what didn’t melt is now rock hard from very cold temps.

Short Tract Shed 1

Now that wreath production is over, I can show a few more photos I took while staying with my grandmother. This is an old shed along the road a few miles before getting to my parent’s house.

Short Tract House 1

One day while going out on a shopping trip, I ended up having to take a detour, and found this run down old house in Short Tract, a tiny community not far from where I grew up… This house definitely has seen better days.

Marriott Granary Roof

I don’t always have to look too far to find old, worn buildings to take photos of that may end up in one of my quilts…. This is the granary and garage in the side yard of the home I grew up in… They are showing their age a lot now.

Marriott Sugar House 2

I remember spending time in this sugar house many, many years ago with my grandfather while sap was being boiled down into Maple syrup. It looks like one side is sinking into the hillside.

Marriott Sugar House 1

Another view of the sugar house… we used to play around here after maple syrup was no longer made…. A long time ago…. With the leaves off the trees and vines, the weathered wood and mossy stone foundation show up nicely. In summer, many of the old buildings I love are nearly hidden from view by trees, vines, and weeds.

If all goes well, I should be showing off a couple new art quilts soon. I began a number of them while staying at Gram’s. I just need to get back to the studio and finish things up.

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Its That Season Again…

Saturday, November 21st, 2009

Whew! The past month has really flown!! Zack came home, I left to stay with my grandmother, got home, met my sister for shopping. And then the wreaths began…… First here is a photo I took while with my gram of an old schoolhouse that her mom went to school at. I drove or rode past this building many, many times while growing up, but never really paid much attention to it. It is now pretty much hidden from view by the trees, brush and vines.

Old Fillmore Schoolhouse

I’m not sure where the year has gone, but the smell of evergreen boughs has been strong in the wreath workshop for the past week.

Stacks of Wreaths

This is the result of many days of cutting and clamping. We begin by cutting overgrown trees from a tree farm. The branches are piled into the truck and then piled in the workshop. Then my job begins….

Main Tools

More Tools

The most important tool I have is my pair of Felco #6 pruners. These are expensive, but very sharp and easy to use pruners. The #6 I use is the right size for my hands…. Of course the clamping machine is needed along with the Goop to clean up with. Also necessary for long days are chocolate and caffeine, and the best thing I tried this year- Latex rubber gloves from the dollar store… I hate using gloves, leather or similar ones are hard to work in. Last year I used lots of bandages to protect my fingers, but gave the kitchen glooves a try. They worked quite well! I was able to pick up skinny branches and held up better than I thought they would. I didn’t have to scrub sticky sap off my skin- just peeled off the gloves. They even held up through them covered in hand cleaner overnight and it took 4 days to “kill” the first pair.

Pile of White Pine

Piles of Fraser Fir

Piles of greens ready for clipping in the workshop. Just the tips of the branches that look like hands are used. Pretty longer branches are kept to use for swags, but most of the Fraser fir is chopped up into 6-10″ long pieces.

Here is a box of tips…. I usually cut piles of greens and fill 3 large boxes of tips at a time to have ready for clamping.

Wreath Beginning

This photo shows one of the rings I start with… this is 12″ in diameter and will make a wreath up to 24″ in diameter when done. To the right are some of the tips cut ready to group into bunches and clamp onto the ring. We use Fraser Fir, Scotch Pine, and White Pine mixed in our wreaths. I like the mixed look.

Decorated Medium Wreath

One of the finished 12″ ring wreaths. I also make wreaths with 10″ rings and some with 18″ rings. The larger ones seem to take forever to make! They end up over 30″  in diameter from the 18″ ring.

Stack of Trash

Stack of Trash

This photo shows the trash pile waiting for Ken or another helper to haul out. He does the cutting of the trees, and hauls the boughs in and out of the workshop. Also showing in this photo is the other item that is a necessity for my sanity, and helps me to keep going- the sound system. Ken got this recently from someone who no longer had any use for it. I need the radio going!

Greens for Swags

Greens For Swags

This is the last photo I have due to not taking one before leaving last night. The finished order left early this morning! This shows the branches ready for constructing the swags we make. We use long branches of each of the 3 varieties of branches and tie with wire. They are then topped with a bow and decorated with little red berries and pine cones.

One order done, one big one to go…. the first go out plain, for the next order, the wreaths all need to be decorated and is due in 2 weeks. I’m resting my hands this weekend….

I haven’t totally given up on my quilting.. (well, yea for the past week or so)… I have some photos taken of some works in progress that I began at my grandmother’s. ( any Facebook friends may have seen them already) I took a good share of my studio with me due to being there for over 2 weeks. I also had a couple of special orders to do while there, too. I think this link will work so if interested, you can see the Works in Progress Photos on Facebook.

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Rejected Photos and Morris Arboretum

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Today I received a very nice hand written note informing me that my photo, “Waterfalls”, was chosen for “The Eye of the Quilter” exhibit that will be at International Quilt Festival in Houston later this month! The exhibit will be a group of photos taken by quilters that give an idea of what inspires our quilts.  We sent digital images, and those selected will be printed and framed for the exhibit….. It should be a great selection of photos…. Here are the two photos that were not chosen…


Yellow Rose 1


Inniswood Arbor

Top is a photo of “Lemon Puff” yellow roses, and the lower one is a view from inside an arbor at Inniswood Gardens, Columbus,OH. The opening of the arbor frames the view of the gardens beyond.

Now that it has been two weeks since our trip to the Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA, I am finally getting some of those photos posted… I took well over 300 photos…. here are just a few highlights…..

Morris Arboretum Nest

Morris Arboretum Nest

A nest in an exhibit high in the trees that lets you see things from a bird’s eye view in the treetops. To give an idea of the size of the nest, we could walk in through the side and look up, out the top…. There were many walkways high up in the trees, a really neat experience.

Morris Arboretum 1

Morris Arboretum 1

After we walked out of the treetop exhibit, we wandered  through a formal rose garden complete with a fountain in the middle. This gazebo was on one of the outer corners of that garden. There are many beautiful huge, old trees of all kinds through the arboretum, like the one here.

Morris Arboretum Fernery 1

Morris Arboretum Fernery 1

One of my favorite places…. The Fernery…. This beautiful conservatory greenhouse has been restored to it’s original state. It is beautiful from the outside, but inside……

Morris Arboretum Fernery 3

Morris Arboretum Fernery 3

Morris Arboretum Fernery 2

Morris Arboretum Fernery 2

Ferns, ferns, and more ferns….. It was such a beautiful, calming, cool place to be. The photos above just aren’t like being there….. There were ferns of all kinds, moss, and other plants tucked into every corner… There were many paths to walk, ponds, waterfalls, fish, and more…. Lots of my most favorite family of ferns- the Maidenhairs…. many different versions were here.

Morris Arboretum Cool Tree

Morris Arboretum Cool Tree

I forget what type of tree this was, but it was another really hige one…. The tree branches hung down all around it, many to the ground… I should have gotten a photo of Ken while he was nearer to the main trunks…


There are lots of interesting garden structures…. Here is one at the Swan Pond. We saw one swan, napping along the edge of the water… There were a number of geese and ducks happily swimming in the pond while we were there.

I did take lots of flower photos, but won’t over do things with them… Here are a couple of pale pink late blooming Anemone flowers… They are great shade flowers that grow about three ft. tall.

Ginkgo leaves!!! I love Ginkgos, and as we were walking along, I noticed some of the leaves from this tree on the ground before I found the tree. There must have been a nasty storm the day before, because there were small branches and lots of  leaves scattered about. Here are some leaves with the bright blue sky behind them. This tree was the biggest Ginkgo I have ever seen…. Arboretums are so great…. they have such a wide selection of trees, and some really huge, old specimens.

Here is one of the last gardens we wandered through…. I love the gates that are at the entrances….. This garden was filled mostly with plants with foliage or flowers in shades of orange. Alongside this garden was another narrow one with a long pond filled with fountains, separated from this one by a wall of climbing runner beans and other blooming vines. Like walking from one room to another…

This was just a tiny number of photos I have to play with now….. There was so much to see…. I am thinking that next year, we need to visit again maybe in the spring…. Then another trip to explore the gardens in Columbus, OH area. There is so much more to see…..

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