We have a winner!

 

Thank you so much to the 41 people who entered my giveaway!

The gourd count responses ranged from 7 to 71.

(I think my favorite response was 9 1/2 ;)

 

No one guessed the exact number which was...19!

Not bad for cityfolk! Especially since we didn't even plant the gourd plant!

 

The closest guess was Ronnie with 18.

Ronnie, please send your mailing address to me at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com and I will get your pumpkins in the mail.

 

I see that I have just reached 300 followers! Are there really 300 people who want to see and hear what I do?!?! Wow! I guess that I will have to plan another giveaway to celebrate soon ;)

 

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

~ Phillipians 4:13

 

Blessings, Patti

What's in a name?

 

Karen at My Colonial Home is having a challenge, asking how we began our blog and came up with our name. I may be too late, but thought it would be fun to share anyway :)

 

In 2008 I was enjoying many blogs and started thinking that I might try my hand at it. Lana of Honeysuckle Lane and Suzanne of Pear Tree Primitives were so helpful and supportive, that I went ahead. My first post on June 3, 2008 showed how thrilled I was that I actually got it up and running. When Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm left my very first comment I was so over the moon thrilled that I sent her a velvet strawberry :)  

 

How my blog name came to be is a longer story...

When I was little I remember helping my mom at a few craft shows and how fun it was. The year I married my husband, I started doing craft shows with my sister-in-law another kindred spirit. After about 10 years, we decided to step it up a notch and get business cards. So we had to think of a name. My sister-in-law's name is Joy and so she came up with the sweet and clever name of "Joyfully Yours". I thought hard and had such a tough time. We had just moved into our first home after living in a condominium for 10 years. We were so thrilled with our home on Vine Avenue. Here in Chicago all of the streets are very straight and form square blocks, but Vine Avenue is a little meandering and slightly curvy compared to the other streets. So I came up with the name Winding Vine Designs.

 

It also helped that one of my favorite bible passages talks about a vine:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other."

John 15: 1-17

 

For my blog name I chose Winding Vine Wanderings. Keeping Winding Vine, but adding the "Wanderings" for I feel like whenever I start reading blogs, I am on a wandering path that leads to other kindred spirits and fascinating places.

 

Thank you so much for letting me share here for over 4 years and for your kind comments!

Blessings, Patti

Stress Relief and a Giveaway

 

"Flowering Vine"

design by Maggie Bonanomi

 

A few weeks back, we moved our oldest son into his dorm for his first year of college.

He seems to be adjusting well and enjoys his classes and new friends.

 

I'm having a harder time adjusting, just like so many moms before me. It's hard to adjust to a new stage in life and I feel like a part of me is missing. I'm fortunate in that he is very close by and has been stopping by once a week, but I things just won't be the same anymore...

 

Thank goodness for my needlework!

It is such a stress reliever!

It calms me, focus me, and helps me to realize that everything will be fine...

 

"Dance under the Harvest Moon"

design by Stacy Nash

 

Now that it is Autumn, my favorite season of the year, my needle is certainly inspired!

 

And now it is time for another giveaway:

 

 

A few posts ago, I mentioned a gourd plant that just appeared in our alley. (You can read about it here.) This weekend it was time to harvest my gourds.  

 

For my giveaway, give me your guess as to how many gourds I harvested. The one who guesses the right number, or closest to it, will win the two corduroy pumpkins and one antique shirting quilt top pumpkin pictured above. As always, you can post a comment here or send an email to me at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com with "Gourd Count" in the subject line.

 

I'll be back next weekend with the winner!
Blessings, Patti

 



A Dream come true... almost

I have a bucket list of primitive places that I really want to visit one day.

One of these places is Notforgotten Farm.

I've dreamed of visiting Lori's shop (and doing some major shopping), meeting Pinnochio and Daisy (I don't think I've ever met a donkey), and of course meeting the talented Lori Brechlin herself (a kindred spirit).

 

I may not be visiting Notforgotten Farm myself (yet), but some of my handmades will be visiting :)

I am thrilled to be participating in Notforgotten Farm's 4th Annual Gathering of Primitive Friends.

You can read more about it here on Lori's blog.

If you live near Amherst, Virginia, be sure to stop by on Saturday.

These sneak peeks are some of my offerings that have made the trip.

 

Be sure to say Hi to Lori for me and give Daisy and Pinnochio a pat.

At least until I get the opportunity to visit myself in person ;)

 

Blessings, Patti

 



A Welcome Surprise

I haven't shown many photos of my garden this year.

Between the drought and extremely high temps, my garden isn't much to see.

We did get some lettuce and enough eggplant to make eggplant parmesan twice, but that was about it.

 

So I was really surprised to see what was growing in my alley.

I'm not sure how it happened, obviously it was a volunteer.

I'm just wondering how it can be so healthy when it has never been watered:



A gourd plant!

Filled with gourds!

 



Why didn't my vegetable garden look this lush?!

Look in the bottom right hand corner of the photo above - twins!

 



 

Here they are closer up as babies.

 

 

The vine is even growing up our telephone pole!

I also found another volunteer gourd plant climbing up our pine tree!

 

This weekend I couldn't help myself and picked a few. It's early in the season, but I just couldn't help myself :)

 

On the right are the twin gourds all grown up :)

The one in the middle came from the plant growing up the tree.

I'm thinking I might have a wheelbarrow full when I pick them all!

 

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

~1 Timothy 6:17

 

Blessings, Patti

Life in miniature

 

When I was a preteen, I became interested in miniatures and really wanted a minitaure antique general store. It must have been all those hours watching "Little House on the Prairie" :)

 

I was the luckiest girl in the world when I received the building for Christmas along with the basics - storefront counter, post office and shelves all created by my Dad. We were fortunate to have a few miniature stores in the area and my mom, sister and I would go shopping to buy more little treasures for the store. Sometimes my mom would help me make things - the bolts of fabric, little letters and packages. And sometimes I would have things in mind that I wanted like the wagon wheels that I couldn't find. So my wonderful Dad would create them, including the cane propped in front of the counter like something out of "Miracle on 34th Street". 

 

Before we knew it the General Store was pretty much done except for little tweaks.

Next up... my very own dollhouse! Another dream come true! The details are endless - a matching little doghouse to hide the transformer to light the house with appropriate light fixtures in each room. Hardwood floors throughout. "Antiques" in the attic along with a handmade ladder and a little tool box complete with tools that my Dad whittled by hand. Grouted ceramic tile floor in the bathroom. Crocheted matching bedroom linens created by my Mom. The list goes on and on.

 

 

 Some things never change - I would still love to live in a kitchen like this:

 

 

Once we had an adult cat jump in to this kitchen and had his entire body inside. When I screamed and he jumped out only one blue willow cannister was tipped over!

 

When my house was just about done, my Dad built my Mom a dollhouse:

 Over the years, there were barns, log cabins and other houses.

 

The final miniature creation by my Dad and Mom was the ultimate masterpiece:

 

 

My maternal grandfather & great-grandfather were florists that owned their own flower shop.

For my grandfather's 80th birthday, my parents surprised him with a recreation of his flower shop, Crawford Floral Co.

Everything but the metal items were handmade by my Mom and Dad.

 

 My Mom quilled the flowers, made the dried flower arrangements and wreaths.

My Dad made the flower cooler, counter, crates and shelves all by hand without any patterns, but memories of the shop.

My Dad is a man's man. An auto mechanic by trade, an avid fisherman, and handyman extraordinaire. With huge biceps, the strongest man I know.

But when he worked on the miniatures, he had a patience and steadiness of hand that you just wouldn't believe.

He had a severe brain aneurysm in his mid-40's and the steadiness of hand was a casualty, so he moved on to larger wood working instead .

But all of his creations stand as testament to his incredible workmanship. Many packed safely away to be shared with future generations.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

WE LOVE YOU!

Blessings to you as we have been so blessed by your talents!

 

And Blessings to all of you for letting me share :)

Patti



Girl Clubs

The Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin offers some wonderful Girl Clubs. I've been in the Maggie Bonanomi Club and the Stacy Nash Club since their inception. I've always tried to start the project as soon as it arrives and definitely have it completed before the next one arrives. This year Jeanne started a new club, "Prim Sisters" - it features favorite designers - Notforgotten Farm, Pineberry Lane and Primitive Bettys. Oh My! Of course I had to join this club too!

 

Now that I am in three clubs, I am having a hard time keeping up. But that is ok. ~ I'll get to them all eventually ;) In the meantime, just looking at the kits makes me happy!

 

When I saw the Club kit for this sewing pouch, ideas immediately came to mind. I'm not a pink person. I think I overdosed on pink in the 1980's. (I love my pink shrub roses, but I think 90% of my wardrobe was pink in the 80's.) Instead a faded blue reminiscent of my antique tickings came to mind...

 

 

So I just changed the pink out to an overdyed blue.

 

 

I'm pleased with the result, and decided to switch out the lining to...

 

 

a favorite faded antique ticking. I remembered some pretty antique lace trim I had come across and added that as well.

 



 I loved this design the moment I saw it and couldn't wait to put needle & thread to linen.

But after is was sititched, I loved the entire piece so much, that I couldn't make it into a drum. I wanted to see the entire piece at once.

Now I can admire the whole design at once.

I found several cottons in my stash that looked so nice with it in addition to the pieces in the kit. I found that I couldn't decide...

So I ended up piecing the front and the back to use them all :)

I can't decide which motif is my favorite...

 

Now the next tough decision... which club kit to stitch next ?!

 



"The goodness of God endures continually."

~Psalm 52:1

Blessings, Patti

September is here!

When September arrives, it brings thoughts for me of apples and acorns and thoughts that autumn is near.

The TDIPT Mercantile artists have again updated their offerings and they can be viewed here. There are two new artists this month that you won't want to miss.

 



 

Thank you for your response to my offerings. My "Merry Autumn in the Country Pillow is still available and you can view it here. 

 

I hope that you enjoy this final holiday weekend of the summer!

Blessings, Patti