“the spirits like to see us dance,
on the shifting sands of change,
keeping just one step ahead of the game”
as Old Man Crow sang back in 2007
https://itscrowtime.wordpress.com/welcome/
Jenny Orchard’s Guardian Totem crowned with a Deep Blue Electric Pink Bromeliad,
let’s Dance!
Such a Magic Day!
Every morning in the quiet hours before dawn I enjoy stitching on whatever project is in hand
This morning I am stitching the border on Aries for the Zodiac signs revisited 1999-2026 series
this will take until well into 2027, as you can tell in the reversed colour of Pisces the ideas are getting progressively more complex
the starry cathedral windows pyjama bag is nearly finished, just needs 3 or 4 big buttons and finishing the embroidery on the big sun/star on the back, I love the technique, it’s very time consuming and creates an airy cloth with a wonderful hand
thinking about stars and lace and what to do with the 40 odd crocheted stars I made last year, I started pinning them to the tiny silk tea bags that I get from the Intentional Tea I enjoy drinking
This vintage flannel flower was stitched by a friend’s grandmother, to honour the remarkable craftsmanship I started a flannel flower cathedral windows quilt
exploring the Edge of Blue is an ongoing quest since 2022 when I first moved to the Blue Mountains, an impossible dream perhaps but an intriguing one as you can never get there, it keeps receding for ever just out of reach…
the Long Cloth of Grief and Wonder is a lifelong project, started when Old Man Crow left the stage I mark the days in tiny stitches and significant moments in embroidered text
these ongoing projects sustain my heart and soul, the gardening grounds me & the bushwalking sets my soul free
Magic Days
Time flies, it’s nearly 4 years since Rake the rescue cat & I made Dunmovin our home
a lot has happened since the Fire Horse galloped in on the New Moon in February and 60 years since the last time we saw the wild free energy of the Fire Horse race in with the power of music
Dunmovin at the beginning of autumn
Brugmansia aka Angels Trumpets, the perfume at night is intoxicating
the beginning of autumn, we had such an easy summer this year with gentle rain and warm sunny days
passion fruit flower is so tropical, too cold up here for fruit but the flowers are magic
a posy from the garden
Chia is the fastest growing volunteer plant I have ever seen, it will burst into sky blue flowers soon
a ring tail possum visited one evening looking for a new home
love the prehensile tail!
this photo is of a very burnt piece of flat bread under the griller, went outside for a minute to gather some herbs & fiddled around pulling weeds for so long the kitchen didn’t evern smell of smoke… A perfect offering to the Fire Horse!
view of the Grose Valley from Horseshoe Falls, I love this mountain life!
Wyn the Wonder Horse (aka Whinny) is the carousel horse of my dreams, found him yesterday in a second hand shop a few stations down the mountain. He was delivered last night just in time for the Full Moon so we danced in delight all day to Old Man Crow’s music ((Wyn was Roderick’s middle name)
Stormy fed the dream of having a horse back in 1970 when I was 15 and so was he. We had 10 good years together til I retired him to be a quiet ride for the wife of a sheep station manager in South Australia.
For the past 50 years I have dreamed of carving a life size carousel horse out of wood but at this late stage of the game simply ran out of the energy to carve on that scale. Wyn has made this long time dream come true at a smaller scale: 92cm H x 77cm W x 22cm D so he can fit in my little cottage here at Dunmovin.
Just finished stitching today into the Long Cloth of Grief and Wonder
Magic Days!
May Everything Come Back Together: Ode to the 11th House podcast #118 with Michael Meade is such good soul food for these troubled times
https://onthesoulsterms.com/
Aaaarrrrkkkk! It’s 4 years since Old Man Crow left the stage
his music lives on
The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow Part 1
The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow Part 2
The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow Part 3
The illustrated lyrics of Old Man Crow Part 4
Old Man Crow videos
Full Moon in Cancer illustration for Celestial Times Astrological Diary © 1999
Sun in Capricorn illustration for Celestial Times Astrological Diary © 1999
I loved taking this journey through the Zodiac 26 years ago, still fascinated by astrology and mythic magic listening to On the Soul’s Terms podcasts
bushwalking is the best soul food
enjoying the challenge of stitching a traditional cathedral windows quilted cushion
The Long Cloth of Grief and Wonder continues
house painting in process
the next door neighbour is a handyman, carpenter, house painter, jack of all trades and all ’round good guy who had a few days spare up his sleeves just before xmas to paint the house, studio and laundry a pale blueish green named Spruce Grove & the window frames in a Dark Velvet Green gloss enamel that wasn’t quite right… so I am very slowly and messily painting them an Elegant Evenings tealish blue which I like a lot better!
Michael Leunig’s Wish List from awhile back still holds true
Dream no XIII
19cm x 19 cm
indigo dyed moon & shibori cloth by Eliene St Romain
vintage Guttermann silk threads from Margaret Johnson, indigo dyed silk from Els Sneider & Glennis Dolce aka Shibori Girl backed with fine linen, a leftover parchment star from I dream of a world where love is the answer, boar bristles on the front & a border of very thin old silk on the back
filled with dreaming herbs:
Mugwort, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Rosemary, White Sage, Sweet Bay and Rose Petals
finished this morning at dawn for the Summer Solstice & then stitched the days into the Long Cloth of Grief and Wonder
this beautiful diamond back python visited the garden on Saturday afternoon
a garden is a spell we cast within the world
Dream no XIII
in early November my dear friend Eliene St Romain sent me a bundle of her indigo dyed cloth, this moon called out to become the last dream pillow for this year
a leftover parchment star from I dream of a world where love is the answer, boar bristles stitched down with indigo dyed silk from Glennis Dolce Shibori Girl, indigo dyed vintage scrim from Eliene, backed with fine linen.
Gathered more dreaming herbs today to celebrate the tail end of the Sun in Scorpio & briefly this evening the New Moon will also be in Scorpio. This month so much energy has shifted with Scorpio’s sting in the tail… thank goodness for the good friends who have gently pushed me back on track this month… So wish I could learn to just shut up and listen but have been saying that for 50 years…
The garden here at Dunmovin is such a joy, here’s some pics
Waratahs shining like beacons in the early morning light a few weeks ago
Ursula Romero travelled the world painting blue flowers in situ for 5 years
her work is sublime, she is hoping to publish a limited edition book “Blau Blume The Blue Flower” with the help of everyone around the world via Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inkyleaves/blaue-blume-an-limited-edition-book-by-inky-leaves
Let’s help make her dream come true !
You can follow her work on Facebook & Instagram
It's Crow Time 