Tuesday, March 8, 2011

* Pussy Willow Wonderment *


Pussy Willows
Close your eyes
and do not peek
and I'll rub Spring,
across your cheek-
smooth as satin,
soft and sleek-
close your eyes
and do not peek.
by Aileen Fisher

The signs of spring are slowly but surely revealing themselves. The days are getting a little longer, the birds are active, the sun is shining a little warmer, but judging by what hit in the last day or so...


winter isn't done with us yet!

The pussy willow is the true harbinger of spring! These fuzzy little friends won't be bursting forth for awhile yet though, so I decided to take this "spring matter" into my own hands!
These lovely ladies helped feed the fire of inspiration! 

To create these pussy willows you will need
brown felt
cream colored roving
brown thread 
thin branches

Pinch off a piece of roving and roll it in your hands until it becomes a little ball.


Cut out a rounded triangle from your felt.


Place your roving ball inside and stitch up with a couple stitches.


Place your pussy willow where you want it on the branch, wrap your thread around the bud and branch until it is on securely and knot in the back.


Once our pussy willow creation was complete it seemed to be begging for birds to live in it... how could I resist the need for a wee nest?!


To create the nest ~ sew some blue glass beads onto a piece of felt (we used a felted sweater).
Cut a small circle around the beads you have sewn. 


Place a dab of glue inside your acorn cap and press the sewn beads inside. Glue the felt down the sides and pinch together at the bottom. Then trim off the excess felt if necessary. 


There you have it ~ a pussy willows fix while the snow still blankets us... pure delish!

Pussy willow wakened from her cozy winter nap,
For the frolicking spring breeze, on her door would tap.
“It is chilly weather, though the sun feels good;
I will wrap up warmly and wear my furry hood.”
Mistress Pussy Willow opened wide her door;
Never had the sunshine seemed so bright before.
Never had the brooklet seemed so full of cheer;
“Good morning, Pussy Willow, welcome to you, dear.”
Never guest was quainter, than when Pussy came to town,
In her hood of silver gray, and tiny coat of brown.
Happy little children cried with laugh and shout,
“Spring is coming, coming,
Mistress Pussy Willow’s out.”
     — Author unknown



We placed our newly crafted pussy willows on our nature table (with some dried real ones from last year) and thought they did a fine job of "playing the part" to welcome spring! 

Would love to hear what ways you welcome spring in your home?

* Love & Light *
Shanti



20 comments:

  1. HA! That's what I call forcing spring. A wonderful idea!

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  2. Thank you for sharing. What a sweet idea.
    Warm wishes,
    Tonya

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  3. Such beautiful photos and a lovely tutorial! Thank you:)
    xo Linda

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  4. ooh, I love it! love the poems too.

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  5. They look so real! I always save them from year to year in vases, so I have some around, but that would be fun to make a few more. We've brought some branches inside to make an indoor tree during Lent...forcing spring indeed! The snow is pretty, but we need a little colour too.

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  6. Oh they're great! And they turned out so cute sewn onto the branches :) Thanks for the link :)

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  7. I love it and your bird! Gonna make that bird! x

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  8. My eyes are bulging at the time this must have taken! They're just gorgeous (the photos are amazing!)...I'm afraid I'm going to have to wait for the real ones, though. Love the idea!

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  9. Just this morning on the way back from mass, Mimi spotted a willow tree and was counting all the buds that would soon open out. So it was nice to see willow when I opened up your blog.
    Bee

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  10. Steph believe it or not these were quick to whip up over all (about an hour) ~ I must say though I only did the one branch! They serve as my reminder that spring is right around the corner!

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  11. You always so inspire me. So I want to share a little inspiration with you and your readers. Why not join me in committing random acts of beauty... for more see http://dreamingaloudnet.blogspot.com/2011/03/random-acts-of-beauty.html

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  12. Aww these are beautiful. I labsolutely love the little white bird at the end! Do you happen to have a tutorial on how to make that?

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  13. Those are from a lovely lady who you can find here..

    http://softearthart.blogspot.com/

    She might be able to help you out.
    much love
    Shanti

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  14. They look so realistic! Wow! Must have been very satisfying to make. And what always impresses me about you, is how observant of nature you are. I mean, the attention to detail is phenomenal!!

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  15. Your writing is perfect and complete. safetoto However, I think it will be more wonderful if your post includes additional topics that I am thinking of. I have a lot of posts on my site similar to your topic. Would you like to visit once?

    ReplyDelete

We ((LOVE)) your comments!!! Thank you with all our hearts for visiting us here at Twig and Toadstool. xo

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