[pinit]

Technically, it is still Summer. But here in NE Ohio Fall is in the air. Soon it will be time to say goodbye to green grass, fireflies and cooking out. The time for picking apples and going back to school is at hand.

Even though my schedule doesn’t change much since I don’t have littles going back to public school there is no mistaking the change of seasons when the nights are cooler, it rains more and the apples begin to thump to the ground.

We have two very old apple trees in our back yard that were once part of a much larger orchard. They have been much abused by the weather over the years but we do our best to help them limp along year after year because the fruit is so delicious. In fact, my husband is learning all he can about grafting so that we can possibly save one of our trees that is in desperate shape.

I hope it works!

So my most current gratitude flag mixed media collage is an ode to those grand old trees.

Here is what I used:

• Jacquard Stabilized Fabric cut to 5″ x 7″
• Jacquard Textile Color 114 Turquoise,  120 Brown
• background fabric
• fabric trims
• green wool for leaves
• free motion sewing foot & sewing machine
• thread

I painted my background at the same time I created the background for my Bird Song Gratitude Flag.

I have found that creating multiple backgrounds for things like this make it easier for me to create more. I mean, part of the work is done already, all I need to do is add a bit more to it.

I created the apple tree with a flat paint brush. Notice how all of the branches don’t connect? I figured that I would be adding leaves over top of the branches so there was really no need to paint them all in.

And then I snip, snip, snip cut out lots of little leaves, no pattern needed, and sewed them in place with a dark brown thread.

I don’t know if you can really see it or not but I also used the dark brown thread and stitched “bark” onto my tree. Complete with a few knots.

Then I added apple buttons with just a little red thread.

[pinit]

And like the gratitude flags I’ve made before, I stitched the top to a background fabric and added fabric trims to the bottom.

I love the texture and dimension of this particular flag along with the colors.

Other Gratitude Flag Fabric Collages include; Ocean Breezes and Summer Flowers.

Tell me… what do you look forward to in the Fall the most?