A work in progress

This is turning out to be one of my favorite projects ever. A blanket for one of my favorite customers, based on a DreamScape I did a few months back, The Seasons of Rox's Apple Tree. It is obviously far bigger than the DreamScape, and needed to incorporate all 4 seasons on a single tree, so that was a challenge. There are many, many hours going into this blanket, and I am in love with it so far. I keep adding to it as I go, so I am going to start at the beginning and post pictures of each season as I go along and decide that season is finished.

Hand dyed bamboo velour, hand drawn/cut velour tree applique

Winter

A bare winter tree with little mounds of snow appliqued on. A little cardinal sits in the tree, while below, a bunch of cardinals get in a snowball fight, and another lone cardinal apparently has fallen into a snowbank and can't get up. snowflakes are falling. I may go back and add a snowdrop flower as the snow melts on the way to spring ... I have to see on the scale so I don't have gargantuan flowers. Scale has been tricky on this!

Spring is here! (Don't I wish!!) Spring blows in with lots of rain, creating loads of little mushrooms and spring flowers on the ground. Leaves are budding on the apple tree now, and apple blossoms are starting pepper the tree. A mama blue bird feeds a worm to her newly hatched babies in their nest, while a little brown squirrel looks out from his hole in the tree ...

The wheel of the year turns and brings on summer. The apple tree has lots of green leaves now. Flowers spring up in the grass. As the season turns to fall, a great sunflower grows and attracts bees ...

There is a chill in the air now. Fall is upon us. The leaves on our apple tree have turned yellow and orange and brown. Apples weigh down the branches. A hedgehog sniffs around, looking for a nice fallen apple to eat. A chipmunk and a raccoon busy themselves getting ready for winter in the tree.

Some close ups ...

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And the whole thing, not made into a blanket yet -