Today is my day for the Leafs Me Happy Blog Hop. Now if you know what a Dolmade is, you know where I am going, if not - maybe the photo helps? I wanted to be inspired by a different 'leaf' for my project. Being on an old farming homestead, these are found almost everywhere! Wild Grape Vines!! And I'm reminded of my great Grandmother and great Aunties. Oh, the scrumptious Dolmades or Dolmas - stuffed grape leaves.
There was, also, tea from the leaves, grape juice and of course wine - shhhh, great gran's wine was well known and well loved. And the arbors were trimmed in the fall with the cuttings used for basket making, dolly furniture, and wreaths.
And there was Carnival Glass and Milk Glass with grapes and leaf design thru-out the house. And as I think back there was metal and tinware and plaster molds. And hearing Aesop's Fables - 'The Fox and The Grapes'. Rich memories which inspired my project.
First some background fabric and some iron-on batt.
Find one of those useful 'kitchen templates' and make a circle.
I found two verigated threads - yes, threaded both through one machine needle - and just follow that circle having fun free motion quilting and doodling and tentrils dancing. My grape vine wreath is made.
Add a second thin batt and backing and pin baste out.
Some meander quilting with a yellow thread and bind. No - I am not done yet...........
I hate to say it - I save it all. Old sprays, sprigs, pluck apart old flower decor and keep the leaves off flower picks. But there was a wonderful grape vine spray! So I cut off some leaves and tendrils and found some tiny grape cluster bits on another treasure.
I just chose a leaf and sewed a few leaf veins to hold, wanting a 3-D look. Make sure your leaves are simply fabric or have plastic veining/stems - no metal or you will break you needle and/or damage your machine.
And my finished piece. A 12.5" mini for my table topper stand. I hope you enjoyed.
GIVE AWAY
A mini star bundle of FQs of 'Fellowship' by Brannock & Patek for Moda. Just leave me a comment - you don't have to be a follower, but everyone is welcome. I will ship international. Comments will close midnight (est) October 10th and winner announced on the 11th.
Thank you Madame Samm for inspiring and Cherry for being Head CheerLeader (she keeps the daily schedule posted thru the Hop). Please be sure to visit these people who share the day with me:
Sewingly Yours,
Sharon
176 comments:
I really like your creativity with your wreath. I made a similar one with pulled apart flowers that had a spring time look to it. you could probably do one for all the seasons if you wanted. I am jealous you have grape leaves growing on your property( and grapes too I guess?). My mom used to make dolmades with just layering the grape leaves rather that was a little faster than rolling them. It became a casserole which was quite yummy actually!
Your mini quilt is really cute...love how you reused the leaves and added the fun stitching..TFS!
I love how you used your findings to finish your wreath quilt! Kitchen templates, such a novel idea. Thank you for sharing and the great giveaway.
what a cool idea and thanks for the giveaway-Happy Autumn!
wow Sharon that is so nice,love it and it looks great in the 12" mini stand,well done.xx
What an original work! Very interesting! Thanks for the chance to win!
Oooh I love the way you have done your wreath - very nice - will have to try one of those! Lovely giveaway too - thanks for sharing.
Your block look beautiful and the idea with the leafs is very creative!
You are a very creative woman. The miniquilt with wreath is very nice with the 3D leaves. I love it
Thanks for sharing and a beautiful give away.
wow that is a wonderful piece. Love that you had that wonderful collection of leaves to use. They are perfect, thanks also for the chance on that great fabric bundle.
Fabulous. What a great idea. I'm adding it to my to-do-list..... I'll get to it, I will I WILL!
How clever are you Sharon! Your little quilt is lovely. So effective!
Me gusta el bloque que ha presentado. Se ve muy otoñal. Soy seguidora desde ahora. Un saludo.
I love this idea for adding to a sewing project with bits and pieces I'm sure we all hoard away - it's lovely. the I've away is a great bundle of fabric
What a fabulous idea! Thank you Sharon!This could be made in other colours too!and what a great way to use up all those odds and ends we all save!
thank you for sharing!
Where in the world do you find so much time to be so creative? Boy, those grape vines remind me of home! Could not wait for the grapes to ripen...nothing better in the world. Your block brings back loads of memories!!!!
Love your grape vine! Nice interpretation for the leaves of fall.
I love grape vines and your block is such a Great Idea!!! I'm thinking I may try this as a table runner...a great Christmas present for mom...shhhhh....I hope she doesn't see this.....
sowingstitches [at] gmail [dot] com
I love your grape vine. It is inspired. Thank you for sharing.
I love your garden and I also love how you incorporated it in your block.
Your farm sounds like my grandparents farm that I grew up on. My grandparents cooked out hominy, made lye soap, granddaddy made grannys brooms with grape vines for handles and he grew his own broom straw... I dont think she ever bought a store bought broom... Granny picked out all of her nuts from the trees on the farm... and the list goes on and on... I think I might do a blog post on them soon. :)
BTW: Love your block!
I love your wreath, you made an original miniquilt!
I wish I could think od interesting things to make. I need a pattern for everything. I am a follower.
great idea for a table topper!
Your machine quilting of the grapevine wreath with tendrils is great. I love your finished project. Thanks for sharing.
That's so clever. I really like the look of it.
Gorgeous project and so original! Thanks for sharing.
What a great block.I also did not know you could use two threads in one needle.I like the idea of using the double threads for the wreath.
I love it. What a great way to use up those tidbits we can't seem to part with!
What a cute little project! Great job! (I'm already a follower.)
I remember wild grape vines from my childhood. My grandmother made grape jelly from them.
Okay, now that was creative thinking at it's finest! That little wall hanging is adorable! Thanks for sharing.
Great idea Sharon. Well executed. I especially love your fancy "kitchen template".
Clever idea to use the xtra leaves. I like the effect. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love your creativity, Sharon, and can always depend on you for something inspirational. Thank you for sharing your childhood memories which you so cleverly designed for Fall blog hop. Judy C
Adorable mini quilt! love the stitching and leaves.
how cool that you sewed on the leaves!! great project
That is one sweet mini quilt. I just love it!! I do follow and thank you for a wonderful giveaway!
This one is terrific....love your inspiration idea, too. It can't get any simpler or more attractive than this one!
That was so creative and turned out so nice.
Sharon, your background story brings both smiles and tears. Thoughts of a time gone by. Love that you up-cycled. Your block is gorgeous. Thank you for including a tutorial.
How pretty! Good that you saved all those leaves, such a nice result!!
Sharon, coming from your background, this was such a natural. I loved the free dancing! Beautiful.
Sharon...How clever to use flower picks to make your mini quilt 3D. It is so pretty! Thanks for your generous giveaway!
That was very clever, I will have to try that someday.
What a cool idea! I would have never thought of that.
Oh what great memories! Thanks for sharing them! Your block is fantastic! Thanks for participating & inspiring us!!
Love the wreath, very creative.
lyn.robyn.smith@gmail.com
I LOVE the block. That was a fabulous idea and it feels so "fallish"!!!
Hi!!! I love your wreath block!!! Sew creative!!! I love the history you gave us!!!! Thanks for the fun!!!!
Your block is very creative. And beautiful! Don't you love having those special memories and being able to create something that shows that. Awesome.
How creative Sharon! It is so neat!
Sharon! That's inspiring! I really do love this one -- definitely putting this on my bucket list! I hope I get one of those little mini-hanging things for my birthday so I have a reason to make blocks like yours to put in it!!! Hugs! :)
HI Sharon..how is you...feeling fallish...absolutely...
I adore your ingenuity...your creativity..well you...and I think you made our......wink
It's wonderful Sharon. I also really enjoyed your story. I felt like I was right there. Of course I would love to have a glass of that wine. ;)
Such a beautiful place you in. I know the air must smell divine this time of year.
Hugs to you my friend.
Love your table topper, very creative! I think we all have a plastic bin around somewhere with old silk flowers and the like. Great use for it.
How wonderful! I would never have thought to put the leaves from left over decorations on a wall hanging like that! Great block! I love the farm memories too!
Sharon, you are the Creative Queen! Love how you designed your block from something in nature...it is awesome! And thanks for the chance to win a lovely giveaway!
What a clever idea! And I love the way it turned out!
That is really pretty. I will have to file it to a future use. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the great tutorial! I just happen to have a bunch of those silk grape leaves! Wouldn't this be perfect for my friend who also makes dolmades!! Great block! Also, thanks for the chance to win the beautiful fabric!
Nice project, good idea for using those leaves. Haven't been by your blog in a while. Nice to see you are still quilting away.
Very creative - love what you did! Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway!
Very creative! I'd love to be included in your fabric giveaway.
Very nice and festive
Such a unique little quilt. It's great.
That wreath is just stunning, I hoard all sorts of oddments and use them when wrapping presents, I use plain paper and white ribbon, that way the decorations really stand out.
Sharon you always inspire me! Two threads at once what a great idea! I so have to try this and yes I would use a plate too!
Your wreath block was very creative. I love it. Thanks for tell us how you made it. Thanks for the lovely give away. This has been a fun hop.
What a fantastic design! I never thought to combine sewing and silk leaves like that, but it turned out fabulous!
Serina
I really love your block, that is awesome! How long have you been cross-stitching? I do more of that than quilting.
Fawn
Sharon-I love your wreath idea of using leaves-Michael's carries so many seasonal pics that it never occurred to me to use them in a block. You're so clever, thanks for sharing.
What a clever design, I just love this. It's a wonderful piece!
Thank you for the tutorial and for the chance :)
Sharon you never cease to surprise and delight with your creativity! I just simply love your wreath!!! And the walk with you down your memory lane was delightful =^..^=
Ahh, you got my attention with the first word. What a great leaf, huh?? Your mini quilt is adorable. I love the way you made it. Thank you for the tutorial and the great idea.
NEAT TUTORIAL!
THANKS FOR SHARING!
msstitcher1948@yahoo.com
I just love your little block for your stand! It is so creative. Thanks for being part of the hop.
Oh I like your originality with this mixed media quilt!! Love it!!
Sharon what a wonderful idea - I would never have thought of that but I love it! blessings, marlene
Beautiful giveaway. Thank you
Your wreath is lovely! Thanks for sharing.
Your wreath is lovely! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, my, that is a wonderful idea! I love grape vine wreathes. I will definitely be "borrowing" that idea!!!
Love the block. Your creativity is wonderful. Thanks for the opportunity on the draw.
bonnielarson58@gmail.com
Very clever block! I love the 3D leaves and berries. thanks for the chance on you lovely giveaway!
Wow, this is beautiful! I love the way you did the wreath
I lke the use of kitchen templates. Thanks for sharing.
Like your grape wreath mini quilt. Thank you for the chance to win the beautiful fall fabric.
thelady at hotmail dot com
I love your beautiful stitching and your idea to put those leaves on the mini quilt. Very cool! Thanks sharing your ideas. :O)
Good afternoon Sharon, your creativity is always inspiring, I definitely enjoyed your block and your ingenius template. Thanks for sharing in the hop and for the chance to win the star FQ bundle. Have a wonderful Wednesday and happy stitching. Pauline
Wow....what a cool mini quilt....and I am a follower....
How very creative Sharon , I love the grape vine wreath and the use of the leaves was perfect ,thanks so much for sharing !!
Sew creative!!! I love the way you made this wreath using "found" objects! Also nice to find another "saver" like me cuz I just know I'll use it somewhere, sometime!!!
WOW, I love your grapevine block.
It is on my to do list.
Thanks so much for sharing.
I am now a follower of your fantastic site.
Really great idea! I love the way you made the twiggy wreath!
how creative you are. great block.
your wreath is fantastic. Thanks for sharing and a chance to win.
I love your little mini-quilt! It will be unique and yet it is fallish as well in my mind. My father had a little wild vine he used to care for and he would prune it back in the fall and get it set for winter.
ohh that's great, I'm making a felt autumn wreath but yours is scrummy
That is very lovely and interesting! I've never seen that done before!!
I love your grapevines. My mother's homestead had them growing all over as well--it's one of the few things I remember from the old farm. Thanks for sharing.
love it! as I am reading your post I am eat sowm grapes picked from my daughter vines. I have been makeing jam jelly and juice..... mmmm....mmm..... good.
in stitches
I love grapevine wreaths-- and your idea to make one with fabric and thread is wonderful!! It turned out so pretty--- I especially love the tendrils! :-) Thank you for the chance to win! I am so happy that Fall is finally here and the cooler temperatures are flirting with us! :-)
I like your combination of machine drawing and recycling of leaves. Very nice.
Your block is beautiful! We have a vacation home in the Finger Lakes...NY wine country and I love anything grape viney!!
Wow! A very cute, clever, inspiring design. Love it.
Sharon, what a great mini quilt. Loved the story with it. Now you have a great quilt to remember your gran and aunts and all the grape items in your families life.
Wow what a beautiful block and sew different! Thanks for being part of the "Leaf me Happy" blog hop.
Sharon, your block is stunning - you know how I love 3D work! Just beautiful!
Your creative wreath is amazing!! Oh my, that must look so wonderful in your home. I love grape vines too. My mom would send us out to pick grapes for her along the brooks behind my house. When we got enough she would make the BEST tangy grape jam. We ALL loved it. I never thought of making those wonderful stuffed grape leaves. How would you get the leaves ready to do that, do you know? I have eaten them and LOVE DOLMAS, but never thought to make them with wild grape leaves. HOW FUN!!
Oh! That's darling.....and so unexpected! thank you for shairing.
Your grape vine wreath is wonderful!
Thanks for the giveaway.
Hiya Sharon,
LOVE the creative of way to making your 3D grape-vine wreath. I thinks it's prefect for this time of year. Yummmmm stuffed Dolmades!! Being in Michigan, we sure don't want for a Greek restuarant. I got a cookbook (Opa!!))based on Detroit's Greek restuarants & love making their stuffed grapes leaves... even if no one else eat them in this house. Ohhhhhhh Swooon!!! Those fq's are soooo pretty & fall inspiring. Thank You for the chance the chance to win them and for sharing with us.
Sincerely,
Tricia
Your mini quilt is wonderful. I love your free motion wreath and tendrils. I`m from Pennsylvania, wild grapes everywhere in our rural area. Thanks so much for a fun visit!
Rosemary B here:
SO nice, love the wreath, and the added leaves, so cute, This is a great idea. Wow, you are super creative!
thanks for the give away of these nice fabrics
I love your grape wreath. I made a similar hanging several years ago for a pumpkin wallhanging swap. You are so creative, adding in bits and pieces to make an original design.
LOVE your use of mixed media for this most original piece of art! I took a peek at your blog early this morning and I've been thinking about it all day. Love it.
What a clever project. I just love this hop since Fall is my favorite season as well.
Your grapevine wreath truely shows your creativity. Thanks for sharing and for the chance at your giveaway.
Wow,that`s absolutely beautiful.Thanks for sharing and the giveaway!
I really like the way you did this wreath. A good combo of different crafty skills!
Darling grape wreath. You are definitely a great FM quilter. What a neat idea to make it 3D. Thanks for sharing your block and your grape story with us hoppers!
Dear Sharon
I love your block! Very clever.
Happy fall!
cheers
maggie
maggiemine42@gmail.com
Sweet Creative leafs! Oh My! Simple and sweet and I will have to use your tip on using two threads. What size needle do you use for the two threads? Thank you for sharing today,,,Judith, Texas
I love the way your wreath turned out... very creative an unique!!
love your pretty wreath! looks like fun to make! enjoyed your pix and post on the grapes.
wonderful idea thanks for the giveaway
Wonderful wreath! You always do such a nice job.
Your creativity shines. Thanks for inspiration.
I usually think of grapevine as a weed. Now I will look at them with new eyes! Very nice!
Your fall projects is so unique, love it! awolk at rogers dot com
What a talented lady your are. To find a project from nature and it suits fall. Loved your project.
What memories! You ceated a very imagitive block. Thank you for sharing it.
Great block! Thanks for sharing and for the giveaway.
Hahaha i love your kitchen template. Very lovely fall piece. Love the pack you picked for the giveaway also.
This is so cute; thank you for sharing your inspiration!
What a pretty wreathe. Good idea!
I love the wreath. Glad to see you could use those threads in your machine. So pretty.
What a creative block. And you did a fantastic tutorial for it. Well done!
Love the wreath..great idea...and also the fabric you are giving away. Thanks.
Love your wreath! Really thinking outside the box! Thanks for sharing.
Love the creativity with the wreath. Thanks for the giveaway.
Sharon we can always count on your for your creativity..it looks beautiful...yeas I am a follower and very glad that I am....
Great tutorial and creative block. So cute hanging on the table stand.
Now look what you have done. Made something so cute I'm jealous. that is sweet for sure. Thanks for sharing and your great giveaway.
Love your grape vine wreath block.
Thanks for sharing!
wigglypup2(at)yahoo(dot)com
How creative, thanks for sharing.
Very creative, thanks. Vivian
Your mini quilt is fantastic! You're always so creative!
Love your project !!! Loving fall as well :)!!!
Thanks much !!
love the grape vine wreath--beautiful. I'd love the fats and yes, of course I'm a follower!
I love that little quilt and how you made it.
Thanks for the great give away !
Hiya! Love your mini---so creative. And I remember grapevines at my Grandma's place when I was little too. She just usually made jelly from her grapes. But it was delish! Thank you for participating and sharing, and thank you for having the giveaway. Blessed be, hugs!!!
playamom57 at yahoo dot com
Wow, what a great design! Thanks for sharing it with all of us. :)
The wreath is so clever. I would never have thought about doing that. Oh no, more ideas in brain. Thanks!!
Your wreath is beautiful. Great technique. Inspirational. I definitely want to try to make this. Love it. Thanks Sharon.
SewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
Thanks for taking time to participate and share. And I thought I had to cut all those leaves out of fabric! How clever! That's part of what about this process of blog hopping ~ this old female dog is learning some new tricks. Now she just needs to implement them. A nice project!
Your grapevine wreath is brilliant! I love the 3D effect and it's proof that hoarding little crafty bits is not a bad thing!
How wonderfully clever, Sharon! It turned out so beautiful and I bet it feels wonderful to have given those sprays a new lease on life. :o)
Thanks for the inspiration!
Beautiful block. Very nicely done.
Love the block! And the memories :o) I lived in Greece for a fall season and miss the fresh dolmades so much! Thanks for sharing Sharon :o)
So fast and cute for FALL decorating. Great Tutorial Sharon. You could even find some leaves at the Dollar Store for this.
So fast and cute for FALL decorating. Great Tutorial Sharon. You could even find some leaves at the Dollar Store for this.
wow that is so pretty and so darn creative!!
Your wreath is beautiful.
Thanks,
Peggy
peggy_verdongibbs@att.net
I love the leaf wreath. You are so creative!
Your block is beautiful and I love dolmas. Great giveawy
Very pretty. Congrats on being one of the chosen.
Your wreath is quite lovely. I was interested in the way you started to develop your wreath.
nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com
What a great idea! !! LOVE how it turned out!!!
rachel.garibay.55@gmail.com
Very interesting...thanks for the chance to win.
I just found your blog and all I can say is, "OMG" This is awesome! I just started quilting and just love, love your ideas! Keep up the great work. You are very creative. I know your blog will be visited very often. you are in my favs!
I love your new display!
I love the creativity that is in your new little fall quilt! Just beautiful! Great inspiration for those of us who love the fall season.Thank you for a chance to win lovely fabric!
Great job Sharon, I love the mini. The grapevine wreath is perfect.
The dolmades wreath is lovely as is the beginnings of your Treasure Box in autumn fabrics - always a favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing!
Very cute! Love the free motion grapevine, so clever. Fabric giveaway is awesome! Pretty fabrics!
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