Apple Picking

I have been sorting out lots of different areas in our home lately - now that the floors are finally done we can start to move back in to the sections of the house that were affected.  I can't wait to get rid of the layer of dust that has settled everywhere!

 

I have also been trying to keep up to date with my digital photos - I have a backlog to work on editing and sorting (more about this another day).  Today, I have a few of photos to share from last weekend.  We stayed on for a couple of days after the wedding party and the rain finally stopped long enough for us to go into the orchards on Monday.

Years ago, my husband's grandfather started to convert the orchards to dwarf trees on trellis wires.  This system has worked out very well.

The trellis helps to keep the trees at a fairly uniform height.  Since they don't get too tall you can pick most of the apples while standing on the ground.

Some hand painted signs help to identify the many varieties of apples.

This is the type of three legged ladder that is used to reach high up in the trees.  These can fit in close the the tree trunk and three legs is supposed to be the most stable, but they do still worry me! 

The apples were all wet and many had fallen to the ground due to the heavy rains and high winds.  The "drop" apples can not be used for the fresh fruit market but they still are very tasty!

This type of picking basket helps to keep the fruit unbruised. You load in the apples from the top and then the soft bottom section unfolds so the apples can gently roll out in to the crate

Another variety - I can't remember how many different varieties there are at the farm but they each have a sign for one small claim to fame!

Here is our chief apple engineer and Grandpa - the patriarch of the farm - staying warm with lots of layers.

There are so many different colors when you look closely at the apples...

This crate is getting nearly full but it still needs quite a few more bags of apples to top it off.

We brought back a lot of apples - some for us and some to share with friends.

Have a wonderful weekend - we may get temperatures in the 80s here! 

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Upstate New York

I hope it is a beautiful weekend wherever you are.  We have escaped the floor refinishing fumes while we join my husband's family for the annual reunion picnic.  I have a few photos to share today - I took these quickly since it was a beautiful day on Friday but showers are predicted for much of the weekend.

The pears are looking good and there are lots of them.  The newer barn makes a colorful backdrop for this photo.

The apples are coming along nicely too - and just look at that blue sky!  Before long it will be time to pick these.

The original section of the old farmhouse is made from cobblestones.  These houses were built by workers who stayed in the area after the Erie Canal was completed.

 I take lots of photos like this one - they make great backgrounds for digital scrapbooking and other projects.  This old barn has been painted many, many times.

 

I think the textures and patterns around the farm are both peaceful and inspiring. I am sure there is a great quote I could add to the left side of this image to use it for a card.

One more photo of the finish of a beautiful sunset over Lake Ontario.  You can just see a thin strip of water here.  If the weather cooperates we'll get a better look at the lake later today.

Have a great weekend!  I am working on a post to answer some of the questions that have been popping up frequently in my email (my very own FAQs!).  I probably will finish that next week and I hope it will be helpful.  I also have something very pretty to share in my next Scrappy-go-Lucky post on Monday...

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Apple Mesh - two Design Studio versions

A lot of people liked the apple mesh I posted and  were eager for the Gypsy file to be "shareable."  Since I have no idea how long it will be before a software update is released allowing files to be transferred between the Gypsy and the Design Studio program, I decided to recreate the mesh in Design Studio.

 By using Design Studio, I was able to make a few refinements to the design, using features that we have heard are meant to be added to the Gypsy but are not yet available.  I used "hide selected contour" to eliminate the holes at the tops of the apple stems (the apples on the A Child's Year cartridge were intended to be used as tags).

One quirk of the "hide selected contour" feature is that if you hide only one contour in a shape it will not stay hidden when the file is closed and you will need to "rehide" the line each time you open and use the file.  The workaround for this is to find another line that you can hide - if you hide two or more lines, they will stay hidden when the file is closed and reopened.  I hid a detail line on the leaf along with the hole.

The other change I made was to flip every other row of the design to create a more graceful "wave" between the rows.  I have two versions of the file to share - one with the flipped and one with all of the rows identical (as in the Gypsy version).  I couldn't flip the rows in the Gypsy and have a successful weld with the flipped images but apparently this is something that was fixed in testing and we are just waiting for an update to be issued so flipped items can be welded together and cut.

Here is another view of the mesh with alternating rows of apples facing in opposite directions (on a black background).

You do need to be careful when lifting this mesh from the Cricut mat - the stems are very thin and it is easy to rip them if you move too fast!


 Apple Mesh

Apple Mesh - flipped rows

 

***REMINDER***

There are just a couple of days left to enter the amazing Workbox Giveaway. One lucky winner on my blog will get to choose a Ribbon box or the ScrapMaBob. The winner on my blog will then be eligible for the Workbox giveaway taking place on October 12, 2009. You must enter by leaving your comment(s) on the original post about the giveaway - here is a LINK for the full details. There are 10 blogs participating so be sure to visit all of the others to make more entries and have more chances to win!

 The deadline for leaving your comment(s) is 11:59 p.m. on October 8th (Thursday).  I will announce the winner for my blog on October 10th and that person will have a chance to win the Workbox.  Please be sure to leave your comments on the original post - that is the only list I will use to draw the winner.

Apples and the Gypsy

Today I cut a couple of the designs I created using the Gypsy on the car ride to and from the farm this weekend. I originally made a design with just the words "apple picking" using the Lyrical Letters font with two apples (from Doodlecharms and Happily Ever After) welded to the words.



I updated my Gypsy and my Expression machine (be prepared - this takes quite a while). I found that a new feature was added which allows you to add additional items to the mat and cut them after you cut the original design. I had a lot of leftover space so I added six apples in three sizes from the A Child's Year cartridge to use up the paper. This is a nice feature and worked like a charm - each set of additional items was placed exactly to avoid ruining the original cut.

Once I had everything cut and off the mat, I tried lots of different arrangements on a 12 x 12 page - I haven't decided on the final layout for the page yet...







































































I spent a lot of time designing a full page mesh of apples on the Gypsy. I think that it is much easier to do this sort of design using Design Studio. There are six rows of eight apples in this mesh (the apple is from A Child's Year) for a total of 48 objects that are welded together.

The design was relatively easy to create since the "duplicate" function was added in an update to the Gypsy software, but the preview process for this number of welds is very slow. At one point I thought the machine was frozen, however, after between 10 and 15 minutes of preview building time, I could finally see the full design and check the welds. There were a few places that I would have changed slightly but I was too impatient to go through the process again.



When I went to cut the design the time needed to send the file to the machine was quite long. As the items to be cut are read and transferred to the Cricut for cutting they turn gray and it took about 20 - 30 seconds for each apple to change color. So, with all the waiting it took a very long time to cut the design but in the end it did cut nicely.



When "hide selected contour" becomes available in the Gypsy software I will hide the hole in the top of each apple stem (they are actually intended for use as tags).



I did my test cut on some double sided paper and I really like the effect of the argyle pattern on the opposite side.

I am sorry that I can't share files yet - when the software is updated to allow transferring of the files between Design Studio and the Gypsy I will have to have a major file sharing post!

It is interesting to see how the Gypsy and Design Studio compare - I think each program has certain advantages. It will be wonderful if all of the best features of both programs can be combined to make it possible to do the same sorts of designs either at home on the computer or on the go with the Gypsy.

If you would like me to try to make some more videos to explain how I made these files, let me know - I think I may try my regular video camera instead of the Flip to see if I can get a clearer image (and I will definitely try to keep it shorter than the last one!)

Swedish Apple Pie Recipe (as requested)

We had a wonderful (though very quick) trip this weekend. It was a lot of driving coming so soon after our return from Italy but we were so happy to be together with lots of family for a day. I wish it wasn't such a long drive to get there...

Several people asked for the Swedish Apple Pie recipe, so tonight this is a food blog! I searched for a photo of the pie. I am sure that I have taken one at some time but I must not have titled it properly and it is too late to keep searching for the photos. I'll add the photo of the finished pie to the post when I find it.

Here is the recipe - simple and delicious!

5 medium apples, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, mixed together
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 egg
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Butter or spray pie pan (8 or 9 inch) and fill 2/3 full with apple slices.
Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture on top of the apples.
Melt butter, add sugar and egg and mix well.
Add flour and nuts, pour over apples.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (until apples are cooked and pie is golden brown)

Tomorrow I will cut out some of my Apple Picking titles and designs and get some pages done.

Happy Baking!

Apple Picking in upstate New York

It was a beautiful day and we had a great time with all of the family members who made it to the farm for apple picking - from Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, New Hampshire and Colorado.

I already have a title designed for some apple picking pages - I did it on the Gypsy in the car yesterday. It was a day full of fresh air and exercise and we need to get some sleep so I will just share a few photos from our day...



This is the old barn at the farm - the mural has been repainted several times over the years.



Our oldest son and his girlfriend picking apples.



Some of the bins of apples we all picked today.



How to empty your picking bag...lower it, open the bottom and don't bruise the apples.



The apples are big and juicy this year - there was lots of rain!



Chief Apple Farmer and Head Apple Picker (Grandpa).



Apple picking brothers!



I hope you are all having a great weekend - we head back to Massachusetts tomorrow (this was just a quick trip to get a chance to see everyone). I'll work on some more titles in the car tomorrow - it's great to have the Gypsy along!