irene is over, and not so bad here ,, we were spared

hi again,, i didnt get much carving done,, we were spared , no trees down here either at my home or at the farm,, only a washed out driveway, and well flooding at the bridge ....for rain its a plus to have the farm on a hill ,, when it floods i dont really worry except the barn use to flood till i fix it a few years ago,, by putting up rain gutters etc, i was surprised that so far i had no flooding in the barn but in part of the hay field near the barn it does flood,, the drainage pipe under the road is not working, but i happy that i only have the driveway to repair nothing a load of stone cant fix,, and i have the tractor with a grader that i will be able to fix it,, oh one shutter came off the folks house which i can take care of later, at least no trees to chainsaw , or clean up ,, we got about 7 inches of rain,, even moms plants on the deck were spared,, we have power at the farm but not at my home yet,, its been about 12 hours i have at least somewhere to go , i feel bad for those that have to deal with it without a generator, hopefully they will restore the power for everyone,, but i know it may take a while,, we had one storm about two years ago that i was out for five days,, not fun,, so i been there and done that,, well i put this to a close,,, hope you enjoy your week, and keep carving, arleen

hurricane irene well a good time to do some carving

hi folks,, if you watch the news the past few days,, you will know about the hurricane that is coming up the coast,, well we are about 60 miles or so west of philly, right now it pouring like crazy, and i sure by morning many of us will be out of power and lots of tree will make it hard to travel,, we are on the outer part of the path but we are going to get 5 inches of rain along with winds up to 50 miles an hour, it should last about 8-10 hours and it should be out of here by afternoon sunday,, but getting rid of the storm is only part of it,, its the flooding and uprooted trees that become the problem for if not just for tomorrow but for a few days,, my cousin from holland just got on a plane last night to return,, if they had plan it for 18 hours later he and his family would be in new york,, for sure a few days,, i think he got back in time,, i have not heard that he is home but i think i would have heard if he was still in new york,, i pray that everyone makes wise decisions during the storm,, its not to prove how brave you are,,,, take shelter,, as much as i would like to go home i decided to stay overnight with my elderly folks,, they feel better that i am here and i feel better too, in case they need some help,, i am here,, and i dont have to worry about traveling here, i only a mile away, but there are many trees along the way, and in the past i could not get here because of the numerous trees that fell,, and something happens to my house well i did the best to secure things outside,, and wait and pray for the best,, well i did get a couple of carving completed today,, so it was not a total waste,, but it best when you can be with your family, ok folks,, if your living in the east ,, do as i do, make sure your knife is sharp and have a few projects to work on,, and it will make the storm pass faster when you only thinking about your carving,, take care and keep carving, arleen

wow what a time ,,, :)

hi folks, my family from holland are returning back home tomorrow,, just in time before the hurricane, i sure had a nice time with them,, a very nice family we had lots of laughs and enjoyed going out to see lancaster county,,, some of those photos are on my facebook,,, of course i didnt get any carving done during this time which is fine,,, but three of my carving are going to holland, i gave each of the girls a pumpkin which i could tell they really like,,, it was small easy to take along and a few things for my fellow woodcarver my uncle ,, :) in holland . i gave him a dvd and a small pinecone, so i sure he will enjoy doing the projects on the dvd,,,

my dutch was not to bad,, by the time they left this morning , my folks and i were talking mostly dutch to each other lol normally my folks can talk to me in dutch which i understand most of it and i return it in english . it works either way,, sorry its taking me so long to get back on the puter theses days,, well as most of you know the hurricane is coming i dont think we will get the worse of it here in honey brook but will get some wind and alot of rain from what i hear,,, i wish all those along the east coast a safe couple of days as you endure the storm,, take care and make sure you have some wood you can carve while you wait out the storm,, arleen

getting ready for hay creek festival sept 9-11

howdy folks, i know i have not been carving or doing a lot on the net,, with company coming, it forces us to take care of things, but i will be going to hay creek again this year,, all are welcome to come,, i put a link up so that you will be able to get some information on it,,

http://www.haycreek.org/festivals.htm i had a good time last year, and this year will be nice too, i hope the weather will be good,, i have a nice white e z up tent with sides, so if it does rain it should be ok,, so much work goes into doing any shows, or craft shows too,, no one can understand unless you have been there and done that,, lol well folks if you come to see me,, i will be there in the craft market behind all the great food stands,, hope you all enjoy labor day, and keep carving,, i know i have not been carving much these days, but i will soon get back to it,,, i been painting ,, thought i got them all, lol look in another box,, and another santa waiting to be painted, :), take care , arleen

some changes to carverswoodshop luncheon

hi folks, as some of you already know that sept 12th 2011 will be our last meeting at the home furnishing outlet mall, for the carverswoodshop luncheon,, the reason is that the mall is in the process of being sold , i will continue to have the meetings as soon as i can find a place, not sure where that will be for now, but as time gets closer to oct meeting time, i should have more information, so sept 12th will be the last at the mall, i will plan a few classes yet in sept , i will have a carving class , and one of them will be a two day class of the morning santa, i was going to do this class in oct but will have it in sept,, so i will give you more information as soon as i know of the times,

just a word about the mall,, i had the been a security guard for the mall for weekends the past 21 years,, i enjoyed working there. i along with many that work there today, until our last day, which has yet to be determined, will be out of jobs, many of us hope to be rehired .,, the waiting for some, has been difficult,, as many around the country know what it is like to lose a job,, i trust that somehow things always work out,, i will keep the faith as i go along the next couple of months,

when the farm came to an end, well mostly a slow down,, i had to learn to get use to not having the daily chores, now i enjoy the fact that i dont have them,, i miss the animals, but i dont miss the worry that came along with farming,,

my feelings are mixed with the mall, i will miss the many folks i was able to chat with every weekend, and the many that crossed my path,, i also look forward to new things that might be coming to morgantown,, well like everyone else that is part of the mall, it will be interesting to see what will come to pass,, until then i going to keep carving,, arleen

mini mushroom # 3

mini mushroom # 2

mini mushroom # 1

a nice sunday afternoon

hi folks,, today was another hot day in pa,, some of you are also in the heat depending where you live, i only mowed the yard twice in the last six weeks,, it was so hot during the day i mowed it at night fall along and that was interesting,, lol i always wondered why they put headlights on riding lawn mowers,, lol they worked out just fine,, i dont think the neighbors were to happy i was done at 10 pm and it was still 80 degrees later in the week at 10pm it was 87 ,, so i mowed it on a cool night, lol .... we had company ( family) that came to my folks home,, from canada,, it was nice to see everyone, and enjoyed the visit,, they come to lancaster one a year with the whole family , so it was good,, to see them again,, hope their visit to pa was a good one,, well folks,, time to do some more carving, i will be going to the haycreek festival in sept,, i keep you posted on dates etc , soon, i am carving up a storm to have enough stuff to display,, got a bit of the carving bug again, which is nice,, ok take care and keep carving and stay cool, arleen

wow where does the time go ( i have no idea)

well lots going on,, and not much carving getting done,, i found out that where i was meeting for the carverswoodshop luncheon, is about to change, the mall might allow us to continue but i will have to speak to a few folks, but from the looks of it ,, i might have to find a new place, as i sit here i am thinking maybe should just go get a shed and start a shop here at the farm,, then i think i need to wait a bit,, i know the saying the one that waits will lose,, i torn to way to see what will happen,, i been so grateful for the use of the food court, the management has been very good to me, so it has nothing to do other than things are changing, and when things become more clear i will be able to share them with you,, and who knows, i might be able to continue there at the mall, but until i know for sure my last carverswoodshop luncheon meeting will be on aug 8th keep carving, arleen

raccoon at the farm,, also likes cat food!

possum at the farm

wood carving of philly phanatic

philly phanatic carving,, for you philly fans

hi folks here is my carving i did last night and painted late into the night,, philly phanatic, for the philly phillies baseball team,, this carving was done for a friend of mine, it did it from a block only, no cutout, just some photos on google and and block and a knife, and this is what i ended up with,, i am very happy with the way it turn out,, , i am not taking orders for this cause of copyright laws,, i gave it away just like i did with homer the amishman lol

video coming up soon

TIPS ON FACEBOOK CARVERSWOODSHOP GROUP

hi folks, i just started to put some tips about woodcarving on my facebook carverswoodshop group, you will find this on the link http://www.facebook.com/groups/134174053475 and you will see on the right hand side, you will see the word DOC , under this heading you will see the tips about wood carving for the beginner, how to choose wood, and how to soften hard basswood to make it easier to carve, many topics are covered here on the blog, but thought it might be nice to do for the facebook group i will add things as i go along, keep carving,, enjoy, arleen

woodcarving of homer the amishman "look what happen when you visit lanca...

SMALL flying EAGLE FINISHED

hope to have a video up on youtube later , in a week or so, enjoy, arleen

small flying eagle , will finish it soon

kittens at the farm 2011

calvin the cat in action LOL

Happy 4th of july to all

howdy folks,, as you know by now i was the only one born in the usa in my whole family,, all my moms side moved from holland to canada, and my dad side of the family stayed in holland, and then my folks with both of my sisters moved to the usa, and i was born a short time later,, so i take some pride in the fact that i am the only one that could legally be president of the usa,, lol ,,,,, i always have to say that,, LOL not that i would want that job even for a min,, but i am so grateful for my folks coming to a land they didnt know english but quickly pick it up, and learn how to read english, and came here to have a farm which we have today,, they came with very little, but worked hard, and soon was able to purchase a farm, and soon got there citizenship of the usa, and both of my sisters also,,

so this county means a lot to us as a family, we are grateful to be here, and we always remember those who keep this land free, hope you all have a wonderful day,, and to my family and friends in canada, i know you had your july 1 hope it was a great day for you too, keep carving, arleen

SMALL WOODEN SPOON #3

there are three videos how to carve this small wooden spoon , enjoy , arleen

raspberry time ,, some what like woodcarving LOL

howdy folks,, well its raspberry time here at the farm,, it was one of my moms favorite time, she would prune them in the spring and pick them first in the summer,, and then again in the fall, she made a super jam that many love , she gave them away as gifts, it was her hobby,,

as my mom is aging she could not for the first time go down to the berry patch to pick them,, i was never a fan of picking them,, the outside and plants were not my thing here on the farm it was more the feeding and caring for the animals at the the farm ,, i rather worked in the barn then do any kind of gardening, i wish it was different , if it were i would have a field of all kinds of produce, but i never found an interest, in it,,

but now my brother in law, and i did prune the patch last march, and thought by now my mom could go down and pick them but she could not,, and if you dont pick them they dont produce alot of berries,, so i decided every other day to go for an hour, to pick them ,, and ate alot of fresh red raspberries,

tonight, it was a wonderful night to pick them,, last time i pick 4 quarts, and tonight 2, froze some and others i gave away to friends

today as i was picking i found that i need to go over the same spot a few times, otherwise i would miss some,, and as i back tracked , i often found those that i missed again,, or looking at it from a different angle, well again more,, so i thought how often do we miss things in carving, not seeing what wood has to be removed if we dont look at it either from a different angle, or just putting it down for a while , and then coming back to see how we can improve a piece,,, well that is what i learned in the raspberry patch today,, always take the time to look at things from a different angle , you might be surprised what you might see, and learn, happy carving arleen

photos of wooden spoon that you can use for a pattern , enjoy

CARVERSWOODSHOP LUNCHEON PROJECT FOR AUG 8TH SMALL WOODEN SPOON

AN EASY PROJECT HERE IS A PHOTO OF THE COMFORT CROSS

hi folks,, here is a still photo in case you want the pattern you are welcome to copy this photo for the pattern , enjoy arleen

COMFORT CROSS ? WHAT IT IS, A EASY PROJECT TO CARVE

this is a very simple project for a beginner, enjoy,, arleen

new kittens at the farm,, his name is calvin

he is the chosen one,, lol calvin,, he is a good boy if your from the CRC church background this name makes sense. :)

wow information you can find on the web , so wonderful

howdy folks,, as some of you know i have a facebook page , called the carverswoodshop, and i posted a question about making spoons,, about what finish to use,,, i got a well of information from the folks there,, i been carving a long time, 30 years, i never did spoons,,, so i thought maybe i could come up with an interesting project about them for the luncheon,, i saw a few spoon carvers in some of the carving shows, and the neat spoons they made out of all kinds of wood,, my idea is in the same line but a bit different,, folks on the net are so willing to help you out,, its great, no matter how long you been carving you can always learn something new,, woodcarving is so many different things,, can be only birds, spoons, santas, chip carving, what ever you want to carve, you can carve with power, knife, and both,, so much to learn,, folks,, i keep you posted, but on our july 11th carverswoodshop luncheon, it will be a repeat of the 8 and 12 pointed star,, some folks missed it and so many enjoy it, that i decided to repeat it,, it always fun to venture into something new,, take care, arleen

next meeting for the carverswoodshop luncheon, july 11, 2011 1pm-4pm

hi folks , your welcome to come the the next carverswoodshop luncheon, on july, 11, 2011 we will meet from 1- 4pm please come and get some lunch,, you can come at noon if you like,,, its one hour later cause i had an appointment that morning that i could not get out of ,,, otherwise its normally 12-3pm

we had a great the last time we got together, i trying to have some small projects, to do ,, or you bring along what your carving on, and welcome to work on it there,, i am always looking for a new simple projects that everyone can do,, whether your a carver for many years, or just a newbie , just a time for carvers to get together , chat and carve, or do a simple project together,,

also at these meeting i will have future luncheon dates, along with upcoming classes that i will soon post on facebook and on this blog,,

i got some great feedback,, from those that were there last month,, and please if you have any questions, about the lunches and classes, please email me at carverswoodshop@yahoo.com

happy carving folks,, enjoy the summer and find a tree to sit under, to sit for a spell and whittle arleen

last meeting till sept 20 for the lancaster county woodcarvers club

howdy folks,, i know its been a while,, well things are so soo lol, , lost my voice so the youtube videos will have to wait a bit,, i do have a simple project for you folks,, but until i can talk without sounding like scooby doo, the cartoon,, lol i will wait a bit,, had this now for almost two weeks, slowing the voice is coming along,, but i will brave the doing the videos soon again,,,

lancaster had their last meeting last night till summer is over,, the lancaster club will not meet till sept 20. 2011 ,, its important meeting,, so if your part of this club please make a point of being there, some changes, that need to be voted on etc,, so do your best to come to that first meeting,

keep carving, arleen

6-13-11 carverswoodshop luncheon

hi folks , we had a good time carving the knife name tag,, we had 10 folks carving this project,,

some came from the lancaster county woodcarvers club,, thanks to all that came out,, it was great to have to come to morgantown,, they all did a great job on their name tags,, hope to see you next time in july 11 monday 1pm - 4 pm i will be teaching the 8 and 12 pointed star,,

hand carved hat at the 2011 lancaster show

did you ever see a chip-carved hat,, saw one at the show

hi folks i forgot about this , and i have some photos and a short video ,, of a hand carved hat,, it was chipped carved,, and he said its a bit heavy, he got the pattern out of an old magazine,, how neat was this,, soo cool ,,

whats next after the show,, and about the show, some thoughts

howdy folks,, wow we had a great weekend with the show, i always come away learning something new,, one thing i found was it was a relaxing weekend for me,, not meaning it wasnt a lot of work which it always is to set up at a show, but this being the second time around for this show for me, i really enjoyed just chatting with folks, and see so many that wanted to learn to carve for the first time,, i also enjoy many of the young folks that came, some of them came to our club meeting,, and i could see how much they enjoyed the show,, it was refreshing to see young people wanted to learn woodcarving that they can enjoy for years to come,, see them excited to learn yet more , thanks to those in our club that are willing to go to their school to show them and spend time with them to learn,, what i neat treat for me to see them talking about their projects, and the things they would like to try to carve in the future,, it was super,, well what is next > ? well for me a new simple simple project that some of you might enjoy, give me a day or two and i will have it up on youtube, and also working on my next meeting of the carverswoodshop luncheon,, its one meeting i have a feeling their will be a lot of folks there,, its a free time to get together and just carve, i doing some simple projects, in the 3 hours we are together i plan to do the knife name tag, if you in the area your welcome to come, it will be june monday 13, 2011 at 12- 3pm , at the food court at the home furnishing mall, morgantown pa,

if you plan to come let me know that i can have enough cutouts for the project ,, all i ask is that because the mall allow me to have the meeting there is that you purchase lunch at the c r barn, in the food court.. the meeting is free and so is the knife blank, ok folks time to close this and hope you enjoy the videos that i made, and have a great week ahead , keep carving, arleen

LANCASTER SHOW 2011 #5

LANCASTER SHOW 2011 # 3

LANCASTER SHOW 2011 # 4

LANCASTER SHOW 2011 #2

there will be two more videos coming tomorrow on sunday, i will interview two carvers

LANCASTER SHOW 2011 #1