Another harbinger of spring

As I mentioned yesterday, my current goal is to make spring happen by thinking spring-like thoughts and doing spring-y things, like switching to iced coffee and buying new sunglasses (picking them up on Friday). Today's piece is inspired by another harbinger of spring, the pussy willow.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine shared a post on Facebook about the origin of the pussy willow and its association with spring. The story goes something like this: a momma cat is sitting on the banks of a river crying because she can't save her kittens from drowning. The willow tree sees the momma cat and wants to help, so it reaches its branches into the river, and the fluffy kittens cling to the branches and are saved. Every spring, the willow branches sprout fluffy, white flowers, like the tiny kittens in the story. Apparently, this is a story told in Polish Catholic families around this time of year since pussy willows are used in place of palms for Palm Sunday since palms aren't as readily available in Poland (and other Eastern European countries). Now, my family is Polish and Catholic, but I've never heard this story before. However, it does explain why I used to see pussy willows in some of the old churches in Detroit when we'd go visit. 

Enjoy another harbinger of spring!

Details:

Stitches: whipped back stitch, satin stitch, back stitch
Thread palette: DMC B5200 (3 strands), Sublime Stitching 115 (3 and 6 strands)