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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.

Tags: architecture, christmas, inspirations, old buildings, wreaths
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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

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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Tags: architecture, christmas, inspirations, old buildings, wreaths
Posted in inspirations, Misc | No Comments »

Time Flew…..

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

Whew!! Were did the past 3 weeks go???? Christmas with it's visits and cooking and everything else passed sooo fast, and now we are over a week into the new year!

I had a post started where I was going to give you the recipes for some of my "must makes" foe every Christmas. Life happened, and all I did was get some photos posted. For anyone who may have popped by and found some odd photos, here is what they go to, even though the holidays are over, these treats are great any time, especially in the winter. Here is the recipe for my popcorn, this would be great packed in a pretty tin for Valentine's Day.

Popcorn Pan

I ALWAYS have to make my Molasses Popcorn– My Dad's favorite each year. I try to disguise it by packaging it and wrapping it differently each year- He usually guesses, but some years he gets it open without knowing The first photo shows one of my roaster pans full.
The popcorn is coated with a mixture of brown sugar, molasses, butter, and more. When I make this, I don't always keep strictly to the measurements listed, and will add extra molasses and corn syrup, and use more popcorn. With some playing, you may find you want more heavily coated popcorn. The recipe is for my large batch- You may only want to do half to start.

Sue's Molasses Popcorn Recipe:

10 quarts of plain air popped popcorn- no salt or butter
1 cup butter
1 cup molasses- regular (if the dark or "robust" is used the end result is darker, but still good)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-4 cups Peanuts or other nuts (optional- see notes below)

You will need 2 large foil roasting pans. I spray these lightly with cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 250 F. Pop corn, and place half in each of the roasting pans (I use more popcorn sometimes, too).
Sprinkle nuts over the popcorn in one or both pans- 2 cups or more in each. Plain peanuts or mixed nuts- whatever you like best, more if you really like nuts. I don't like nuts, so I only put nuts in one pan and leave one without.
Place butter, brown sugar, molasses, corn syrup, vinegar, and cream of tarter in a 5 quart or larger heavy bottom pan. I usually use a bit extra of the molasses and corn syrup, depending on the day- Place over high heat and stir with a heavy wooden spoon until butter is melted and sugar dissolves. Place a candy thermometer in the mixture, and allow it to boil rapidly until it comes to 250 F. Remove pan from heat.(The temperature will rise some after taking pan off heat) Add the baking soda and stir rapidly until well mixed and foaming.
Carefully pour half of the mixture over each pan of popcorn, gently stir to coat popcorn with candy mixture. Do this quickly, and Be Careful of the hot mixture, it can burn your hands.

Popcorn in Oven

Place both pans in preheated oven. The photo above shows both pans in my oven- a tight fit- they will fit better in a newer full size oven. Heat in the oven stirring occasionally until the candy coating the popcorn hardens to a crispy texture when cooled. I usually stir after the first 20 minutes, and again 15-30 min after that. Stirring will help to evenly coat the popcorn, and will separate the kernels. After an hour or so, place a few pieces in a small bowl to cool.

Popcorn Closeup

The popcorn is done when it is no longer sticky when cool. (Yes, you will have to sample this as it is made- I eat way too much when I make it- done when it doesn't stick to your teeth) When your sample pieces are at that stage, remove one pan at a time from the oven, stirring constantly, breaking up and separating the kernels from each other. Once cool they will no longer stick together. Allow to cool completely and store in airtight plastic bags or containers. I line tins with plastic bags. This will keep for a long time if not eaten right away, but it doesn't last too long around here. The closeup photo shows how it should look when done.

I will share my recipes for my hot fudge sauce and sugar cookies in another post. Both are great any time of year.

And now the family photos:

Family 2

These photos were taken at our first Christmas gathering at my step-daughter, Marla's house. We were missing only one son, Nick who had to work on Christmas and was still in GA, and our oldest granddaughter, Ally.
From L-R: Maia, Me, Ken, Marla, Derek, Zack, Aaron holding Jenna. In front- Jackie, Eva and Andrue. Derek, Maia, Eva, and Ally are Marla's kids(Marla is only 5 yrs younger than me). It is pretty odd seeing a grandson taller than my sons (Zack was slouching, too). Derek is between my 2 youngest in age. Our Daughter-in-law, Jonelle took this photo.