We had our first frost last night and the crisp air really feels like fall. In this series of trees, I’ll explain a bit about how I made some of the parts. This first closeup is from Apple Orchard, an early piece (1992) which I wrote about in another blog post here. The apples are made from wooden beads, covered with a sheer red fabric.
Apple Orchard, fabric relief 1992
The apples from this illustration in Mary Had a Little Lamb, are made from small red wooden beads. The leaves are cut from larger artificial leaves and sewn to the end of thread wrapped wire branches.
detail from "Mary Had a Little Lamb" 1995
In this scene from In the Heart, the hearts and leaves on the lawn are painted with a home made stencil.
detail from "In the Heart" 2001
Here’s a fall tree from my board book version of Jack and Jill.
detail from "Jack and Jill" 2006
These last two are from my new book Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. They are illustrations from the rhymes “A wise old owl lived in an oak”…
detail from "Pocketful of Posies" 2010
and “Hush-a-bye-baby”.
detail from "Pocketful of Posies" 2010
SALLEY MAVOR 
I can’t begin to tell you how much I love hearing about and seeing your work! It makes my day!!!
Beautiful! Love them all! It is wonderful to see such close-up detail.
(It certainly turned very cold very quickly. Wonder if we will have Indian summer?)
I simply adore your inspired art pieces, the sprightly goldenrod blooms under the tree from ‘ Mary had a Little Lamb’ 1995, are glowing in the autumn’s sunlight. Thank you for sharing the joys of the Harvest Season. Your vision, patience and talents are enjoyed deeply by your public.
Wonderful!!! I love your stitcheries!
I just love the way you made the knots in the oak tree and in the apple tree look so realistic!
You are so incredibly talented, Salley, with a very fertile imagination.
No nippy fall air here in Seattle, which I am still hoping for. It was 74 degrees here yesterday!
You must be an incredibly patient person – tiny wood beads covered in red fabric?! Amazing details. I just love those fall leaves from Pocketful of Posies!
Jan, I’d say that doing this kind of work takes being consumed with a healthy obsession more than patience.
Your work is outstanding – how much would I love to be able to make art like this. How long does each page take?
Wendy, each picture is different, but it takes a month on average. Time disappears when I’m sewing and I’ll add that it has taken a lifetime to learn this technique. Read my older posts and you’ll get a better sense of how I work.
I love that you explain the process. I agree with Jan, your patience is unbelievable. I’ve been a stitcher for over 25 yrs. It relaxes me. It takes me ‘away’.
Beautiful trees! The delicate stitching and details are truly amazing and imaginative. Thank you for sharing such delightful and happy art with us!
I love the many differences of all the trees, but especially like the oak.
Jody