"Garland Fair" Wreath

Many happy hours have been spent by me in this little "nest." My Bird Nest on the Ground. My sanctuary. One of the things I do a lot is embroider, applique or quilt LEAVES. I have mentioned this multiple times here in the blog, and am very likely to mention it many more. Leaves are one of my favorite motifs to stitch.

The other day, I caught myself standing in front of this wreath, thinking it might be a good thing to post on my blog.

It has leaves! I can remember making this and enjoying the making of these flowers and leaves. But, probably the most interesting part (to you) would be what inspired this piece to be made in the first place.

I was asked to make "the Arkansas portion" of the Blue Room Christmas Tree skirt in the Clinton White House. A person from every state (and the territories) was chosen to make a specified size piece which would be made into the skirt for that particular tree. Actually, someone else from Arkansas was asked to do it and they didn't. It was suggested that I might, so I was asked...and I did. If you are ever at the Clinton Library and that skirt is displayed, you will see my handiwork. I don't have a photo...that was before my "camera" days.

Each piece was to have elements on it pertaining to the state it was made in. Our state bird is the mockingbird, so I added one of those. The state musical instrument is the fiddle, the state tree is the pine, we have the only diamond "mine" in the U.S., and our biggest crop is rice....the state flower is the apple blossom. You get the idea. OK...the apple blossom. More leaves to make, but what to do for the blossoms? To make those I made yo-yos in various sizes and then took stitches in them to look like individual petals. They turned out to be a very nice representation of apple blossoms. I was very proud of what I made and still am.

A little time went by and I kept thinking of those blossoms, so decided to make something else using fabric yo-yos. I made this wreath. If I remember correctly, I used a fifty-cent piece, a quarter, and a nickel to cut the circles for these particular yo-yos. I think they are pretty cool. And, notice the leaves.....a chain stitch stem and fly stitch leaves....so simple, so much FUN!

One of the things I also like to spend time doing is writing on fabric. I found this verse, attributed to an antique valentine, and thought it would go nicely with the embroidery. After making the oval shaped embroidery, I decided to back it with the same fabric, making a cover for some foam core. To attach it to the wreath, I sewed some ribbons to the back of the covered piece and tied it to the back of the wreath, as pictured.

The verse: "Would that this garland fair Might weave around thy life, a spell to shield from care, a guard from every strife."

Kind of a weird thing, this wreath, but I have enjoyed it for a long time and it does make me remember my apple blossoms for the White House. Pat