Nesting

I pruned our Bay leaf tree this week and came across the most precious nest. The industrious bird that created it must have subscribed to the shabby chic movement, the swath of lace confirms that it is "soo in" this spring.


Theres nothing like a little craft imitating life, to bring out the challenge can we make a nest? Well I guess being bird brained would help, so does getting together with your friends as I did this week, and the results (drum roll please)
was some of the best fun ever.




Building a nest is an intuitive thing, very hard to break down into step by step instruction, however I do believe a picture (or as in this case several) tells a thousand words, I hope they inspire you to create your own little nest.

Start with a few strands of raffia , wool roving and nice fluffy wool. see above picture .
Wind these in to a circle (approx the size of your nest) Needle felt some of the fibres together using a felting needle.

Thread some raffia into a large darning needle and weave this in and out of the , going around in circles to hold the nest together. Using a combination of stitching and tacing with a felt needle until it all meshes together.
Add wool roving to the bottom of your nest and weave this in using the raffia.

Complete the process by weaving in some shredded paper, old lace and sewing in some buttons, and top of with a few hand felted eggs.
This would also be a perfect way to present a gift to a friend or to celebrate a birth, you could even needle felt a little baby bird (or child), too nestle amongst it.
To finish I would like to share a painting a I completed a few years back as part of a "portrait of my mother" series.


"The Nesting instinct"
painted 2002
Victoria Te Tau