Oregon Update

It has been a while since I have done an update, because I am busy baking for weddings and not doing anything creative except placing flowers on cakes. I do keep up with the posts, even if I don't comment. It is good to see what everyone is doing and where Sarah is traveling.

Most of my cakes and pies are quite the same. Last weekend I had two wedding and they were nearly identical. They both had the same sized two tiered wedding cake made with lemon buttermilk cake and marionberry filling (the clear top favorite flavor combination of the season) but one opted for vanilla icing while the other wanted lemon cream. They also both had peach pie and strawberry rhubarb pie. Having the same flavors made the preparation easier.

One of the weddings was at a brand new venue that is worth showing to you. Since the wedding industry is a big deal here in the scenic Northwest, many people are converting their properties to participate. This new venue is called the Tin Roof Barn. It was indeed a large barn with a tin roof that was decked out in luxury- giant chandeliers hanging from the rafters, beautiful wooden tables and a large collection of mix and match wooden chairs, antique furniture, lace tablecloths and overstuffed leather  furniture for lounging after dinner. 

                                       

      

A lot of creative thought went into creating this space, making if feel luxurious and casual at the same time, with lots of country flair fitting for a barn. It was impressive. I didn't take many photos since the reception was taking place but every nook and cranny felt special, inside and out. 

Here is a wedding cake I made for a different venue. The big trend this year is small two tiered cakes with other desserts on the side. It makes transport much less stressful than a towering cake.

    

I made one cake this season that was not like any other. The bride wanted gum paste flowers instead of real ones. I ordered them from a company rather than taking the time to make them myself. I thought about coating them with a Pearl dust but decided to leave them white like the reference photo she gave to me.

                                            

I was pleased with the final result and it was fun to do something different for a change.

                           

The photo on the right was taken at home before delivery. On the left is the venue location on a cliff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.

And to show that not everything turns out beautifully....I had a mishap at my last delivery on Sunday. I was careless and almost dropped a pie while loading my car. I had to put my hand on it to save it....so it wasn't pretty anymore.

I had no choice but to deliver it so they could serve the good parts but I wouldn't let the photographer take photos of it with the other pies.

I did do a bit of creativity of another kind today. At the quilt guild meeting I attended at the beginning of the summer I took one of the packets of fabric that were availble to be made into a charity quilt. Knowing I wouldn't have a lot of time for it, I took a packet that was intended for a small child's quilt. The fabrics are pastel tones of pink, green, yellow and white. It is a challenge to find a pattern with which to use odd amounts of fabric but I decided to make a sampler quilt, which is one where all the blocks are a different pattern. This will make it more interesting for me to make, rather than sewing eight or ten identical blocks (which I couldn't do with the limited pieces of fabrics anyway) I started with a house block and a boat-

                                    

                         

The weekend will be busy with two more weddings and a visit from family but I am hoping to make it to the next quilt guild meeting this Saturday for more inspiration.