September 24, 2023
Monarch
by Pamela C. Perkins 2023
Tiny egg all yellowy-white,
Its’ secret hidden out of sight.
Then pop! It opens, and I see
A caterpillar, striped and wee.
Caterpillar, not a sound,
Creeping, creeping all around.
Down each branch and up each leaf:
Munching, munching ! Eat! Eat ! Eat!
Caterpillar turns around:
See, it’s hanging upside down!
Oh my, such a sleepyhead!
It tucks into a green-gold bed.
Slumbers til one sunny day
Its covers open all the way.
Then to my wonder I behold
Two furl-ed wings softly unfold.
Upon a branch to pause and rest,
It gives its wings a cautious test.
Then flutter, flutter in the breeze,
Now off it flies up to the trees.
Here in the Midwest, the monarch is a harbinger of autumn. Delicately floating along the blue skies on sunny days, one might mistake them for one of the first few falling leaves, especially as they dance downward in pursuit of nectar. When Pamela sent along this quite timely poem for us to share, it inspired the idea of wet wool felting autumn leaves and butterflies.
Wet-felting can be quite simple and the results can be much like a fiber version of watercolor painting in its quality… so soft and pleasing. LivingFelt offers a free YouTube tutorial, as well as a free PDF version of instructions, for felting autumn leaves. Her edges are crisp and more realistic, but I also really appreciate more raw edges such as ones seen in this simple wet-felted flower tutorial, which can easily become leaves instead. And, lastly, this fiber artist transformed her wool scraps into some beautiful butterflies with a bit of basic embroidery.
If you choose to explore some wet-felting as well this autumn, we would love to see your results on social media!
Happy Autumn!
