Maple vase

The redish line is the pith or heart of the wood. This piece has beautiful grain pattern on the other side (picture below)


This vase is turned from the same red maple branch that the mushrooms are turned from. I have a few pieces left and they will probably end up as vases or weed pots. The fun of turning a hunk of wood without a specific plan is you start out with an idea but usually, for me, it ends up becoming something else in the process. This was going to be a weed pot, short and round. As I took the wood off, this vase started forming and I went with it.

Kane brick

In a recent post I told about the falls down the road being named after the man who had our house built. I found this brick in Glens Falls and we have seen a couple others around the property. Pretty cool to have a piece of history in the house. I wonder how old this brick is, or what building it was used in and how many are still out there?

The Spark can happen when you least expect it!

I had been up by the barn two weeks ago and was nosing around the brush pile that has never seemed to go down since we moved here. It really grows any time we have a tree come down (on purpose or by Mother Nature.) Last year we had a big tree out front come down and snap off a beautiful red maple. The maple had been on my mind recently, since I have been turning more than usual. I noticed this one branch that had been broken off and thought I better put that in the barn for a later date. I was in the barn tonight and looked at it again and the spark was there. I came in the house and told Robin and I think she saw it in my eye already. So after some cutting and turning, this is what I ended up with. The three mushrooms are turned from the same branch as the base. The wood is spalted a little, which for a wood turner, is a good thing if you are lucky enough to catch it at the right time. Hopefully the bigger pieces of the branch will also have some spalting. They will probably end up being weed pots, maybe a spalted snowman? The moss is Robin's touch, she has such a great eye, you can't argue with it. But I think some of her talent may be rubbing off! I don't know if this is for sale yet, I wouldn't know what to charge, but I'm sure the boss will have a price on it tomorrow:)

Gourd Witches

These gourd witches were created by the bunch of 3rd graders we had over for a birthday party today. It was loud, but fun, and what a difference in the weather! We grew these for decoration and I thought they would make cute witches. Some of the kids went for the cyclopse witch with only one eye, and the others mostly went with different size eyes. It was a fun project, but I think hide and seek was still the favorite for them.

A view from the top

This is the view from the bridge. The water is really moving! In the top photo you can see where it takes a right turn and that is the top of the falls. I can't imagine the gallons of water going under me. In the 1800's this area was all mills and they used the falls for power. The falls are named after the man who had our house built for his daughter.

Froth from the falls

The white froth comes from the falls.. the water is churned up and then flows downstream..from a distance on the road it looks like chunks of ice floating down.


This is an area that is pretty heavily fished. You can usually see rocks that are out of the water across the width.

This picture and the one in the last post is downstream of the falls...the trees to the right are usually dry and it forms a small island. It's all underwater. Like I said this is common in spring or after a big storm like this one.

Water...Water....Everywhere!

Wow....We really got some rain. These pics show just how much, how quick. Just up the road from our place is a waterfall. Usually we can hear it during the summer , with the windows open. Every spring it roars with the runoff, and if the wind is right, you can hear it with them shut. This past rain has it roaring again.

Latest turning project

My friend Bob asked if I could turn him a black powder ball starter. I said Ok..... what is it? He explained and I did a little research and this is what I came up with. It's all one piece and I changed the design of the top, all the products I saw online were just a ball and a dowel. They also had a little thing on the side, I guess to start the ball in the barrel. Well it made sense to me just to put a dimple in the top to start it, and flip it over then get the ball started the rest of the way. Then you use the ramrod to get the ball to where it's got to go. As you can tell I am not a black powder gun owner. I also decided to dress it up a little with a brass cap. The lines on the top ball are done with a skew and then burned with a wire. A little stain and done... fun project.

Some things say it all

These are a few new products I have put together. I enjoy creating original decorating pieces that appeal to my customers who use country home decor. I start with a plain container, paint it and then decoupage from country wall border. I enjoy coming up with something different that I know I would purchase myself. The challenge I enjoy most is when I get to decorate for a specific customer who has an idea of what they want but are not sure how to put it all together. When I'm at a craft show, I will explain to my customers how to use a piece in their own decorating, but most times, it will sell itself.

The shop is open

To follow up on "the storm before the calm" post here are a couple of shots of my country home decor shop without all the mess and boxes from craft show season.

front doors

Our house was built in 1867, as I said before Robin and I love old things. The previous owners (the latest) found these beautiful doors and stripped them and had them installed, and as my grandmother would say they look like they growed there. Needless to say they are not too efficient keeping out the cold but we get many comments on them.

garden harvest

Here is what we harvested today from the garden. Still have some pumpkins lingering. Beets, onions, and some ghords on the left, and potatoes on the right. The gray thing in the middle is our lone hubbard squash, we grew one by accident a few years ago that was way bigger, we tried on purpose this year and we got this runt. Maybe there are different kinds? That's the fun in growing.

Garden cleanup

This year for a vegetable garden Robin and I tried a lasagna garden. Today we harvested the rest of our potatoes, beets, and onions. Being our first go at it, it was a learning process, but as far as yield we did all right. Summer squash, zucchini and pumpkins did well. We have heavy clay soil, so the lasagna method worked well amending the soil and from what we saw digging up the potatoes the soil is beautiful. Next year we will just layer over the top of what we have already.

Blanks and the lathe

Here are some blanks waiting for the lathe.








And here is my lathe. I bought it at a small hardware store in Corinth. It was one of those things you try in shop class and I had asked the guys where I could buy one and they had this old dusty box up on the top shelf for about 3 years and wanted to get rid of it. The price was right, I have researched the name and can't find the company, so I don't know how old it actually is, but it works for what I do with it.

Got to turn today

Today I got some turning in. These are some of the latest snowmen and Christmas trees that will hopefully be sold at Robin's Christmas in the Country craft tour. I like doing "production" turning because as you turn each one you stumble upon ways or tools that help you to a specific end result. Each snowman or tree or whatever you are turning comes out different because it's by hand. There is also a different feel to turning in the barn as apposed to turning in the basement. The area has natural light, a breeze, and as I mentioned before, it's old and I love my barn. Robin is starting to call it my man cave. When Bob and I had the floor ripped up I found an old gouge and what looked like a bowl someone had started to turn. I like to think I'm not the first turner in this space.

budding artist

This is a painting that #4 child did with her new paint set. She obviously loves her Mom. At least the sun is shining and the flowers are blooming.

woodcarvings

Our Uncle Bob has carved some interesting birds over the years. I just wanted to show you this, i think it's outstanding!

These are the nice beams that are waiting to be used in this stage.

barn pictures

This is the next phase in getting the barn on its way to another couple decades!

Craft Shows (the storm before the calm)

Now that Robin has completed the majority of the large outdoor craft fairs, she will be able to settle in to her shop without continuously packing and unpacking all her merchandise for upcoming events. She will not like me putting these pictures up but you will appreciate this space so much more when you see the finished product for Christmas in the Country tour. If you click on the link for our website you can see last years picture.

The dogs of the family

These are the dogs of the family. Eve is the black lab and Ginger is the tan terror. Eve is all about the outdoors and anything that can be thrown and chased after. Ginger is in her favorite spot, in front of the pellet stove, soaking in the heat. They are both about 2 yrs old, Ginger came from save a stray and Eve came from a litter from a Golden retriever in Argyle.

Tree face

This tree fell over a few years ago during a storm and when I cut it up I left this part of the stump. When I first cut it it looked like a heart, so I joked with Robin, that it was a tribute to her from me. Now over the years it has grown a smile and a pair of eyes. I think it's pretty cool what you can see in nature.

Wood turned snowmen and trees

Something new for Robin's Christmas in the country show. These are my first go at trees and snowmen, so the first ones are always an adventure. The fun part about hand turning is no two are exactly alike. I'll post pics after Robin puts her painting touch to them. Lots of blanks up in the barn, ready to make the shavings fly.

Preparing and setting up for craft shows is a lot of work and sometimes very time consuming. What makes them worthwhile besides being lucrative is the great people you meet. Crafters are always ready to help out a fellow crafter, share information about other craft shows, and entertain each other when the customers are thin. I have been fortunate to meet some very nice people and collect some very good friends along the way. This is my friend Therese who has been my neighbor at the Lake George shows for three years. She sells pieces of art that is made up of the wood, bark, and mushrooms she finds in the woods near her home. She applies paper mache faces to them and they become "Woodland Divas". They are the coolest things I've seen at any craft show. Therese and I have a great time together and she truly makes any long day fly by. Nothing happens by accident and I know we were put together for a reason. There are only so many people God puts in your life the you can truly connect with. The best thing is, we both feel very blessed for our "accidental meeting".

wood turned flowers

These are flowers that I turned on the lathe and Robin used them in a couple of tin pocket arrangements. They are assorted sticks and she just hit them with a little paint.

Barn restoration

Our 1800's barn is under renovation. It will be and has been a slow process, but a labor of love. Robin and I like old things and the barn , to us, is a treasure. We would like to have Robin's craft shop located in the first floor in front of the loft, with my woodworking shop below. It's coming along, although to some it may still seem to be an eyesore, to us it's a gem. So far my friend Bob and I have jacked it up and installed a new sill in the front, 4 new floor stringers, re-assembled the floor, fixed the slate roof, fixed the downstairs sliding door and loft sliding doors came from another barn. We have used all the old hardware and even pounded back in some square nails. Next up is the loft side corner beam. I was lucky enough to have a friend that wanted some practice with his new sawmill, and he cut 3 8x8x16' beams for us to do the repairs needed to back and corner beams. Inside the front 1/3 it seems to have been living quarters with the walls lathe and plastered. Over the years of weather (and kids) the place had been pretty torn up. Robin and I did the demo work on the plaster. There were some pretty cool finds behind the plaster like 1800's newspapers and some very old wallpaper. Here are some pictures. I will update as we progress as with anything it takes alot of time.