Bucky you haven't burned up yet? How is the orchard? Good to see you on the forums still! We have been making dogwood wreaths for about 1 month, dogwood stars for 3 weeks, rosehip wreaths for 3 weeks, boxwood/rosehip squares for about 2 weeks, christmas wreaths were started about 2 weeks ago. Next up this next week is curly willow. 1985 when we first started making wreaths seems so long ago. We used a wrap form to wrap them. REF machines and rings: I have used Kelco it is nice, but very expense. Mitchell's machine is the cheapest, but it only has the clamper and wreath material comes lose often. The best machine in my opnion is the the wreath master from maple ridge supply, it has a clamper and arm that comes over and makes the wreath very tight. I have 3, a guy making wreaths about 35 miles from me has 4 and a guy that we trade with in CA has 2. They really are the best. Now to rings... Maple used to buy and resell Mitchell's rings. Here are the 4 that I have used: Maple ridge good but resells, Mitchell's usually the best price unless you are buying a pallet of 4,800 on a 10 clamp pallet. Cherokee the best price in the US that I know of, BUT you need to buy a pallet! Oregon wire is nice if you like them painted already or vinyl, but they are expensive. For christmas wreaths we are using douglas and sub alpine fir, juniper, rosehips, incease cedar, port orford cedar and pine cones. Wholesale prices have dropped to around $1 a clamp the lowest in years. Stars are more money of course we are charging $15 for a 10 clamp 4' star made of dogwood. Those of you only making a few may I suggest going to your nearest green waste facility or dumps. We by a forest service bough permit. It is .10 a pound and we cut boughs off the lower branches of the trees. The biggest problem we have is cutting or getting enough material for 3 wreath makers it takes 2 to 3 truck loads a day. Our bundles usually make 5 to 7 wreaths a bundle. Right now a 10 clamp wreath is selling for $10 to $11 wholesale and $15 to $18 retail. Good luck to all. With the economy we have seen wreath sells drop and wholesalers wanting 60 to 90 days to pay. With $10,000 of wreaths it gets difficult to pay labor, gas, and rings upfront. Bryan

I did a search on the net and this is the only store that I could find that sells something for hanging lights in a high tree. You can order it online or go to one of the two stores in VA if you live near there. I'd be surprised if one the home improvement stores you mentioned wouldn't sell something for this or give you a suggestion on where else to look. You could always print from this site and take it to the store when you ask them. http://www.merrifieldgardencenter.com/products.php?pid=99014422&openparent=1523 Here is a link that might be useful: Decorating Pole for hanging lights in trees

Trying to find this pattern somewhere, either the directions, the designer, or the company that published, need some information, please? This link will let you look at the elusive little stocking, and thanks so much for doing so. Appreciate your time and effort here. Here is a link that might be useful: 2 knit Xmas stockings

Well, you knew I'd have an opinion, didn't you? (Insert smiley face here..) The Christian celebrating of Christmas is relatively new, Easter being the highest of the holy days. The December dates for Christmas were chosen to coincide with the existing mid-winter festivals of pagan Europe, when the days began to lengthen again, and the seasons turn in the direction of spring. So the 24th (despite the fact that the actual shortest day of the year moves about a bit) reflects the moment when darkness begins to retreat, and the light comes back into the world. In my tradition, the religious season begins on the 24th (midnight), and ends at Twelfth night (January 6th). The more secular bits and the Advent celebrations start way before, and I think you should decorate when you want to, and when your family tradition says to. Some waves lap the shore, but some are tidal, and you might as well swim with them! When I was a child, we prepared for Christmas and began to celebrate through Advent - cleaning, shopping, baking, partying, that sort of thing - but we didn't put up the greenery and the creche until the week before, or decorate the tree until Christmas Eve, and we took it all down on January 6th. The youngest member of the household put the Baby Jesus into the little manger on Christmas Eve at bedtime, and the three wise men didn't get put in until the morning of the 6th. I brought those traditions along with me, until my DH finally said, couldn't we please start a little sooner? This from the humanist with Jewish heritage! So of course we did, but we always tried to put the brakes on the commercial excesses for which the children lobbied relentlessly.