I was sewing that strip of blue with the flowers onto my Raven quilt when out of the corner of my eye I saw shades of blue and bright white. It was two Blue Jay, hopping from one branch to another in the green of the lilac bush outside my studio window.
All that blue in all that green.
Blue Jays come to the feeder outside my window in the winter, but I’ve never seen them in the Lilacs this time of year.
Yet, I wasn’t surprised the Blue Jays visited me while working on my Raven Quilt. Because of the story that Sue, who is buying my Raven quilt, told me….
Years ago I owned a horse farm and you know all the activities related to that. Well one day I was bush hogging the back of the acreage and realized when I was finished that I had lost my watch! I looked everywhere for it and could not find it. It bothered me terribly because I am not one to lose things.
Several days later I was leaning on the fence to one of the paddocks talking with one of my horses. In the tree next to me I heard loud squawking. I looked up and there was a blue jay in the sun. He took flight and dropped my watch right in front of me! I was so astounded. It had a piece of grass stuck in it and it was still working. The jay circled around and then landed back in the tree, all proud of himself. It was just shocking. So I thanked him and told him how much it meant to have it back. That day is burnished in my memory forever. It began my love affair with Corvids.
When I read Sue’s story of the Blue Jay returning her watch, I got chills. I knew the quilt was meant for her.
The fabric I choose for the backings of my quilts needs to work with the front of the quilt. That doesn’t necessarily mean the same colors. It can be the tone or the print of the fabric. I know if a fabric works because it feels right.
I got the backing and batting sewn on my Raven quilt today.
While I was washing the fabric for the backing, I did a few drawings for a Zip Potholder.
After taking the picture of Zip peeking under the barn door, I thought it could make a good potholder.
So working from my photo, I did a drawing.
I still have to work it out on my sewing machine. I think I’m going to stitch this one, then use some black paint for Zip’s face. That’s my plan anyway. I’ll have to see how it works out when I actually do it.
But that will come next week. Tomorrow I hope to finish tacking my Raven quilt.
There was a lot of excitement on the farm today since we let Zip out of his crate. And this evening, instead of going to my Bellydancing Class we’re having our annual potluck dinner. For the past six years, I brought fruit to every dinner and Hafla.
But this year I made borscht.
I just got done putting the beets, onions, and broth that have been simmering all day in the blender. I’ll top it with sour cream.
In between I sold another of Suzy’s Shawls. This time to a regular blog reader who asked me to let her know when Suzy had a blue shawl.
Suzy sent me a picture of her blue and soft rose Shawl. Judy loved it. I’ll have another of Suzy’s shawls for sale tomorrow.
I also finished piecing together my Raven Quilt.
It’s another busy day tomorrow. I’ll be picking up some fabric for both me and Sue Silverstein’s sewing class from a friend and supporter of the Army of Good. But with Zip quickly acclimating to the farm, I think I should have a good chunk of time in my studio to work on the backing of my Raven quilt.
That green fabric surrounding my Raven quilt has a pattern that makes it tricky to photograph well. I think once I hang the quilt on my wall the colors will show more accurately. It’s frustrating not to be able to get a good picture of it at this stage.
But I’m still working on it, so that photo will have to wait. I’ll bring it outside the get the colors right if I have to.
For now, I am just about done piecing the top together. It’s just those blue strips on the sides that need to be sewn on.
Jon had an unexpected visit to his foot surgeon this morning. He’ll have another surgery on his foot next Monday (you can read about it here).
But that didn’t stop me from working on my quilt and even if it’s not all sewn together, now I know what it will look like when it’s done.
My plan is to finish the top tomorrow and start working on the backing.
I got a little work done on my Raven Quilt today. I’ll add another of my Raven paintings to the quilt. This one is on the ground.
I painted the back of the grounded Raven to show the old hand stitching on the quilt I painted the bird on.
I’ll do more of the same with the strips of fabric to incorporate this second image into the quilt.
I don’t know if I’ll have time to work on it tomorrow. I want to finish up my Flour Sack Potholders. Half of them are already sold, but there are 16 of them, so there will still be plenty for me to sell in my Etsy Shop.
The Ravens continue to show up on the Farm. One flew right over Jon’s head as he was taking pictures of his flowers this morning.
For only the second time this summer, I heard the call of a young hawk. In the past a pair of hawks have nested close enough by for me to hear the young hawk’s repetitive cries, and see the parent Hawks, hunting in the fields.
But this year is different. The Ravens seem to have taken their place.
Last night, when I got up to go to the bathroom, I heard a Great Horned Owl. I went outside and listened to a conversation between two owls, one close by and the other some distance away. There were also screeching sounds that I think were begging calls coming from a young owl.
I heard these last year too. It’s the young owl calling out to its parents for food.
Tomorrow I’ll send out the Raven Magnets that people have been buying since I posted them for sale in my Etsy Shop yesterday. But this morning I was able to get to my studio and work on my Raven quilt before driving Jon to the dentist.
I got some more done and have the next step laid out on my floor for when I get back to work tomorrow afternoon.
Saturday morning I woke up thinking about my Raven Quilt. I had done some work on it and at that moment I knew it wasn’t right.
So Saturday afternoon I went to my studio and took apart what I had done the day before. Then I laid out some fabric that felt good to me. It all came about quickly, but I didn’t have time to sew it all together.
On Sunday I woke again thinking about my quilt.
This time I saw one of the mushrooms I had made when working on my Raven fabric painting. It didn’t make it into that piece, but I knew it would be perfect for my quilt.
The mushroom, ( the color isn’t quite right, I’ll try again tomorrow when the light is better)
I only got to my studio after lunch because I was busy mailing out my Flour Sack Potholders in the morning. But when I got there, I didn’t have to think about what to do next, the fabric was already laid out on my floor.
Standing Raven
Next, it was time for the standing Raven and the mushroom. They needed to be grounded on the bottom of this section of the quilt.
I wanted to keep working, but it was time to feed the animals, and I knew I wouldn’t get back to my studio. So I stayed just long enough to lay out the next step….
I woke up to the Ravens calling to each other out our bedroom window. I thought they were crows and didn’t think it unusual until I went out with the dogs a little while later.
What sounded like a throaty bark came from above me.
I looked up into the old maple tree thick with leaves but couldn’t find the bird. Within moments a similar sound answered from the other Maple. The tree, outside my studio where I hang my potholders on to take pictures.
I couldn’t see a bird in that tree either. But I knew they were there. Back and forth the single bark went as if it were the trees themselves talking.
Then another cry. This one a screech that came from the trees across the pasture in our neighbor’s yard.
The barking and screeching went on for a while. I didn’t know what they were saying , but I had no doubt that the three birds were having a conversation.
Then a big black bird flew from the tree above me as if shot from a cannon. I watched it wing its way across the pasture in seconds and land in the group of trees the screech came from.
Not a minute later another big black bird materialized from the other maple and headed for the same trees.
Now they were quiet and I went back into the house. I made myself a cup of tea using mint that I’d dried from my garden, then sat on the back porch steps. The sun warmed me and I watched the bees and flies hum in the garden.
Then suddenly, one of the big black birds was back.
It landed in the birch tree in front of me. This time I could see it clearly. The tree is old, probably dying, and the leaves are small and thin on the branches.
The throaty barking began again. Two or three at a time. The black bird paced the bare branch only stopping to call out. It wasn’t long before the other big black bird flew in, landing on the other side of the tree.
As I watched I was thinking of my Crow Red Quilt. But these birds looked bigger than the crows I’m used to seeing sitting on the electrical lines around the farm.
I didn’t hear the screeching again and eventually, after being quiet for a while, both birds flew away.
I used the Merlin App to figure out that these birds were not crows but ravens.
Next, I went to Carol Law Conklin’s website Amityfarmbatik and looked up the batik that started it all. The name of her piece is Crow Alone. That settled my mind about the identity of the bird in the batik.
When I looked up the physical differences between a crow and raven, all the sources I came across said that size was how they could most easily be differentiated. Then when I read about them in Ted Andrews’ Animal Speak, he too suggested that the birds have similar meanings.
My Crow Red quilt came directly out of my own personal need for grounding as I have been transitioning through a new psychological awareness that I wrote about some weeks ago. Coming to more fully understand the effects of the trauma I experienced in my childhood is a process that I’m moving through.
So when I read in Andrew’s writing on both Raven and Crow the idea that they are symbols of creation and magic in our everyday life, it made sense to me.
“Each of us has the magician within, Andrews writes, and it is Raven which can show us how to bring that part of us out of the dark and into the light.” Raven teaches how to take that which is unformed and give it the form you desire.”
I know the Ravens who came onto the farm that morning were talking to each other. Possibly the one who was screeching was calling a warning or was an adolescent.
But their presence made me also feel like they were talking to me too. Bringing me a spiritual message.
So I’ll take their message as an affirmation of my ability to make the changes that I need to in order to move on in my life. To morn the past and let go of it. And to believe that can manifest something better for me, from its’ darkness.
When Pat bought my Raven Pillow she told me it was a gift for her sister. I was delighted to learn that her sister was Kathy who I made the Woodland Animals Quilt for.
This morning I got an email from Kathy with a picture of the Raven pillow at home.
My Raven Pillow is 17″ square. It is $90 + $10 shipping. You can buy it here.
“The creative life force…that Ravens access…can be used to work the magic of spiritual laws upon the physical plane. It can be used to go into the void and stir the energies to manifest that which you most need” Ted Andrews Animal Speak
Whenever the ravens fly over the farm, I take it as a reminder that I can create my own reality, by the way I think. That is their message to me.
But ravens can mean different things to each of us. They are such a part of my life now, I have come to accept them as another being that will always be with me. More and more I look to nature to help me make sense of my life.
I painted and stitched this Raven when I was making my Raven fabric painting. I didn’t use it in that piece or my Raven quilt, but it was just right for a pillow.
My Raven pillow is about 17″ square. It is $90 + $10 shipping. You can buy it in my Etsy Shop, just click here. Or you can email me at [email protected]. I take checks, PayPal and Venmo.
