Winter arrived overnight on Cape Cod and snow is still falling as I write this. It’s the kind of snow that comes down gently and sticks to every branch. No howling wind and drifts to shovel, just a blanket of peace and quiet. What better way to feel the spirit of the holidays?

With that in mind, I’d like to let you know about the opportunity to see my Pocketful of Posies tree and come to an all-ages Storytime at the Cahoon Museum. For those of you from far away, I’ve posted photos of the tree, with lots of closeup views.

Pocketful of Posies Holiday Tree
If you live locally, please stop by the Cahoon Museum of American Art in Cotuit, MA. My collection of nursery rhyme ornaments are displayed in the Pocketful of Posies Holiday Tree thru Dec. 21st.

Storytime with Salley Mavor
Please join me on Sat., Dec. 20 at 11 AM for an all-ages Storytime. After I read selections from My Bed and Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes, I’ll be available to greet visitors, sign books, and answer questions.

I originally made these ornaments in 2012 to decorate a tree for the Concord Museum‘s annual Family Trees: A Celebration of Children’s Literature event. Every year, the museum organizes a slew of volunteers who craft handmade decorations for dozens of story trees inspired by classic and recent children’s books. When I was notified that my book, Pocketful of Posies, was selected as one of the titles in 2012, I offered to decorate the tree myself.

Over a period of 2 months, I made a collection of vignettes that feature different nursery rhyme characters from the book, from Humpty Dumpty to Old Mother Hubbard to Little Boy Blue.

The rhymes are acted out inside felt covered wire and wood frames that serve as little stage platforms. When I made these, I’d just completed Birds of Beebe Woods and was looking for other ways to incorporate felt covered wire into my work.

The figures are variations of the doll projects in my how-to book, Felt Wee Folk. I loved revisiting the nursery rhyme characters in a totally 3-d form!

The ornament collection was recently displayed with my Self Portrait: A Personal History of Fashion, in my exhibition, Bedtime Stitches & Other Works at the Mariposa Museum & World Culture Center in Peterborough, NH. Before the show was extended, I’d already promised the ornaments to the Cahoon Museum, so they were taken down and shipped home. Everything else in the show is still at the Mariposa thru Jan. 4, 2026!

I hope that you enjoy this glimpse at the vignettes. Season’s Greetings to you!

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