Celebrating Autumn: Leaves, bunting, and wool

Fall decorating is therapy as Mother Earth tucks in for a long winter sleep.

 

 

Oh how I love autumnal color.

The rich russet, yellow, and gold of the season compliments muted moss green and woodsy brown punctuating the iconic change of seasons. At our high altitude (7000 ft. above sea level) the autumn is fleeting, just a week and maybe two, of gold tinged leaves before the wind blows them asunder obliging winter's threatening arrival. How sad the bare trees of autumn make me feel.

Above is an image I captured last week in the Bridger National Forest where the quakin' aspen trees intermingle with the lodgepole and ponderosa pines. Fall comes early in these mountains and this view shall be blanketed in snow before the next full moon. For now the forest prepares for rest, for winter's long sleep. What better way to nod off than painted in spectacular color, a triumph of a season well lived.

The fall spectacle that  nature gives freely only to take so heartlessly is breathtaking and too short lived. Like so many home decor crafters I try in a small way to halt the fleeting season, to stall it, and savor it for just another day with my indoor displays. Silky faux leaves, mini-pumpkins and gourds, twigs and wreaths and branches entwined all serve the season well when arranged in artful displays festooning the autumnal home. Candles (flame or flameless) lend a warming glow. Woolen fibers in plaid and felt evoke a cuddle-me-softly comfort for which the season yearns. Warm embers in the fireplace and tea in the kettle invite lingering, conversation, quiet reflection, and pause. Perhaps autumn is Nature's call for time out: I am listening respectfully.

I have freshened my traditional autumnal decor this year with festive felt buntings in rich colors of warm wool. The raffia wreath on the summer deck door is strung with two pennant swags and tied with lavender and natural raffia. This is the first year I've used lavender in my autumnal color palette and I think it a fresh and complimentary addition. Above, the 4-inch embroidery hoops are stretched with mustard color wool felt, tied with lavender raffia and trimmed with wool pennants. They shall be hung from burlap ribbons adorning the antique hutch in the dining room.

And so the autumnal decorating has begun!