Branches....

Branching Out......

I hope it will not Bore you, Dear Readers, to return again to the project of making the Lilac bushes for the Folly Garden, because as I have mentioned, I am determined to make these bushes in all their glory... several times over! As with many things, it gets easier with the second and third versions... but the first one can prove to be very challenging, especially when it is something you have not done before, and you are not sure of the methods to use, or even whether the ones you want to use will be good enough. I am sure you have all experienced this in your own projects.... there is always a "learning curve"! I will confess that I have been unsure of the "proper" method for making and attaching all the smaller branches and twigs for my Lilac bushes.... and aware that each bush would need many many branches. Above you can see the main stems and the secondary smaller "branches" which established the basic skeleton of the bush. Clearly this was just the beginning!

I know it is difficult to see in these pictures....

 but the joins where the smaller branches attach

 to the larger ones needed to be "strengthened" 

by wrapping an extra layer of the paper around them.....

This picture is the "before" picture......

Here I am testing making the smaller branches with "twigs" ......

 by wrapping the thinnest wire around the slightly larger wire.... 

and covering the join with glue.

 

Here you can see some of the "joins" have been wrapped with extra paper....

 and I have added some twigs... 

(I have to prop the bush against my paint box while the stems are gluing...)

 Then I decided that "twigging" both ends of the branch first

and then wrapping the branch around the stems...

was twice as fast.....!

 

And I also decided that if I started with the "front row" of stems..... 

the ones that would be the most visible in the end.... 

it would be easier to tell where and how many branches

 were needed in the "back rows" of the bush!

So I started making "batches" of branches.... 

and kept count so I would know how many

 were needed on the next bush(es)...

Here you can see only a few of the small branches

 have been added at the front.... 

but I needed to test how they fit.....

And I needed to let the glue dry on the branches as I added them....

 to avoid knocking them askew as I added more...

And as the stems gradually filled with branches and twigs....

I could shape them more realistically... 

with bends and angles as though the branches are reaching for the light...

And I had to keep testing the bush in place

 to make sure the branches fit under and around the porch eaves,

 and could still be lifted in and out with out damage...!

And then More Branches.......

(thirty-six twigged branches... and counting...)

The smaller branches and twigs are very bendable.... 

the thicker stems are quite strong and stay as positioned.

It is starting to look more like I thought it should!

And I am sure you will not be surprised, 

Dear Readers, that while all that glue was drying, 

I was also working on a small stitching project....

This is another of the kits by Janet Granger 

that I bought a while ago.....

(quite a while ago!)

It is stitched on 40 count silk gauze

 and is meant to be a miniature "stitching project" 

for the mini people.... it comes with 

a lovely miniature needlework frame

 to attach it to when you are nearly done with the stitching...! 

Bit by bit I have been adding the details of the blossoms and stems.....

(yes, I use a magnifier for this!)

And as if that weren't enough of Branches, Dear Readers, 

I have also been making a few small adjustments

 to the Hardwick Hall Attic Spiral Stairs....!

 

The original plan for the cupola above the Attic

 relied on a framework of "joists" to support the floor of the cupola

 at the height of what would be the "ceiling" eight inches from the floor,

 but several inches below the peak of the roof.

(See the original structure in the above picture)

I had assumed I would just use the right number of steps

 on the spiral stair kit to reach that height. 

 But while I was actually assembling the stairs

 it became clear that I would need to use all the steps...

 because the railings came in "three-step" sections.

I would need to use all 12 steps.... which rose to nine and 1/4 inches 

instead of the eight I had planned on.

 

 

And another issue that had troubled me was the method

 of securing the stairs to the floor.... 

it would need to have a hole drilled to receive the "post"....

 and the floors on this kit are waaay too thin for that!

So I decided to add the "stone" base for the stairs...

 being the height of one step.

And maybe because I was thinking so much about branches and stems... 

and because trees are such a theme in this house... 

It occurred to me that maybe I could make a tree that would spiral up the stairs.... 

and the branches would support the floor above...

 and form a part of the cupola frame.....?

And with a tiny amount cut off the ceiling panels.....

 making the opening a tiny bit larger and lower.....

The top of the stairs now reach to the level of the roof!

Which just means the cupola will need to be a little bit wider and taller....

About like this.....

I think it will suit the proportions of the house

 much better than the first design.... 

 and I'm really glad I had not got very far in building it yet!

I have only just begun to build this tree, 

and I have no idea how I will make the branches or the trunk....

But I think I have to try....!

 

 

And then I remembered that I wanted to make "buds"

 on the ends of all the twigs for the Lilac bushes... 

using the "glue trick".....

 and maybe I should have added the glue to all those twigs

 before I attached all those branches......?

Ah yes, Dear Readers,

I am a long way from Done with all these branches...

somewhere on the Spiraling Learning Curve.....

Branching out....!