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Ode to the Vulture

2/2/2022

 
Today is a big day in the blog. I'm going to share the finished vulture quilt and all of my vulture art! I will also explain how I came to love vultures.
​Let's start with the quilt.
Picture
I sooo love this quilt! Anne made this for me for my 60th birthday. The original quilt ended at the tan stamped border. I needed it a little bigger for our bed so I asked her if I could add another border and that's what I did. It took me much too long but now this quilt is on our bed and we are sleeping under the protective eyes of vultures. The quilt is now about 92" square.
​Anne got the pattern for the vulture blocks from Sally Trude's blog. Sally makes so many great pieced animal blocks and is a very prolific quilter when her feline owners allow.
I decided to use a reversible technique to add the borders. Mom and I took a class from Sharon Pederson many years ago and I use the techniques that she teaches in her book. I bet my Mom has made at least 2 dozen quilts using the reversible technique. I stopped once I got the longarm but it was the way to go for this project. If you notice, each large vulture block has a 2-tone frame. Those frames are made with my Color Wheel fabrics so I knew that I could match those elements of the quilt perfectly and I decided to reference those frames in the border. Each corner of the border uses the 2 colors from the frame in the opposite corner.
She had given me all of her stamping leftover bits and there were 4 that were perfect to use in the corners. By the way, she carved all the stamps and printed the tan border fabric.
At her local quilt shop we were able to find more of the backing fabric that she used. I dyed a dark brown for the reversible sashing strips. All in all, I'm pleased with the added border.

Now, before I share all of my vulture art I'll explain how I developed my love, or maybe just strong appreciation, for vultures.

When we first moved to Montpelier, VA in 1998 I had not lived in a rural setting for a very long time. So here I was on 10 acres feeling like I was out in the middle of nowhere. I just wasn't accustomed to so much nature. Of course, now I feel like I want to be in the middle of 100 acres! But 24 years ago, nature intimidated me. One day we saw that a huge, probably pregnant, beaver had died on the edge of the pond. It completely freaked me out and I kept bugging Chris to "do something about it". He's a nature guy, so he ignored me. Well 2 days later I look out the window and there's a wake of vultures feeding on the beaver. For the first day it kind of creeped me out but by day 3 I realized that I had just witnessed the miracle of nature's vacuum cleaner. There wasn't one tiny bit of that beaver left to pollute our pond. I was grateful and impressed! There have been many times over the years that the vultures have come around to clean up one mess or another.
After that I officially declared the vulture as my favorite bird. 
Picture
Picture
I didn't take my vulture fascination anywhere until I was on Facebook one day and saw a needle felting artist making this. I lost my mind over the detail that she put into each feather. I messaged her immediately and bought it before she even finished it. I immediately took it the a framer and it hangs in our downstairs hallway keeping a watchful eye on anyone going to the bathroom.
Picture
Then I added a vulture block to my mosaic wall to watch over me while I'm quilting. Then my friends got wind of my vulture obsession and things started getting out of control.
Picture
For my 60th birthday Anne made the quilt for me and our friends from England commissioned this piece from a local artist that they know. Her instagram page is worth checking out.
Anne has also give me these festive gifts. What's Christmas without a vulture ornament? It's very sparkly! The vulture puzzle is really cool.
My friend, Lora, is a collage artist and painter and she's made me several vulture themed pieces of art. Two are Christmas paintings. The collage vulture is hanging in the upstairs hallway and the stamped piece (that she carved) is on the mantle with the vulture puzzle. 

I know. It's a little "out there" but the good news is that I'll never be inundated with themed vulture art because there just isn't a lot of it around. Imagine what my house would look like if I said I loved frogs or pigs? It's better this way.
Debbie Bailey
2/2/2022 11:05:15 am

Definitely a one-of-a-kind project! Enjoyed the story of your love for vultures.

KAREN GOAD link
2/2/2022 11:41:19 am

yes they clean up road kill here in front of the house all the time! I am thankful for them.
I wouldn't mind being in the middle of 10 acres - last year the two houses across the road from us both went up for sale at the same time - same family owned them for 30 years and we all barely knew each other that whole time and minded our own business - now new neighbors in both house - one we barely ever see and the other has kids and dogs so now we have to get used to hearing people across the road instead of just knowing they are there.

Polly Mello
2/2/2022 02:28:25 pm

I like vultures. Your vulture collection is wonderful.

Mary Anne
2/2/2022 03:55:31 pm

Nice to see your vulture collection and very smart of you to choose a 'collectible' that hasn't flooded the commercial market (at least not yet!). A number of years ago I bought myself two little teddy bears that I fell in love with and proudly displayed them.. Unfortunately that led to my friends all thinking I was a 'collector' and I got inundated with them. I think I got rid of nearly a hundred when we moved. Now I'm careful not to start anything that could be viewed as being collectible!

Gene Black
2/3/2022 08:14:49 am

I suppose I have just never had the reason to appreciate vultures.
I love that woodprint in the last photo.

Carole @ From My Carolina Home link
2/3/2022 08:27:06 am

As another rural dweller, I also appreciate nature's way of dealing with all things in the cycle of life. Your vulture quilt is just so unique, the birds themselves actually cute. You are so right, no way you'll ever be overrun with vulture art!

patty
2/3/2022 09:05:50 am

What a smart way to make that quilt bigger and what a score to find the same fabric for the back! I see a lot of big birds flying around where I work looking for an easy meal - don't know if they are vultures, but they are black and big! The stuff vultures eat - yuck - but I am glad they don't mind!

Becky Turner
2/3/2022 09:25:51 am

Vultures work in soooo many ways!

I started with dragons 40+ years ago and its sort of got out of hand .....I quit counting 1500.
I told people to just think of me and send me a blessing wish whenever the saw one....

Marsha
2/3/2022 09:54:54 am

Rebirth and purification are symbols of the vulture spirit animal. It represents good things. I looked that up when we had one land and hang out on our hot tub for a while. I think it was a confused young bird. We also drag roadkill into our yard so the vultures can feed in peace.

Sylvia Anderson
2/3/2022 09:59:50 am

Having been a city dweller all my life, I've never really had a favorite among God's wild animal creatures, until I started watching all the programs on cable devoted to animals. I'm so happy that you finally have your vulture quilt finished, and keeping you warm at night. Have a good day.

Ramona link
2/3/2022 10:03:39 am

What a gift your friend made for you. From carving the stamp and then making a quilt... how wonderful. I've wondered how you came to love vultures and now I know. Nature's vacuum cleaner is a great way to describe them.

Kay Welch
2/3/2022 12:59:54 pm

Vultures aren't my favorite bird, however I learned to appreciate them and their role in nature. My favorite bird - raven. I became acquainted with them when we moved to Tesuque. There were many that visited daily. Birds are fascinating creatures. Back in the day, I had two pot belly pigs, and yes I was inundated with all things "pig". I still have a few favorites, but most went to new pig lover homes. Thnaks for sharing the story, the art, and the wonderful quilt.

LuAnn Kessi link
2/5/2022 12:59:14 am

What's not to love about a Turkey Vulture! They are the world's clean up crew. They are not predators. They only eat dead things. It is always FUN to know someone who appreciates these beautiful birds that soar so elegantly through the sky. Way to go Vicki!

My Best,
LuAnn

Alycia Quilts
2/5/2022 10:43:30 am

How interesting - to see natures vacuum cleaners... and now you have a love for the bird!! Great story!!

totally right - Vultures aren't as collectible as pigs... so you are unique!!!


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    About Vicki

    I'm Vicki Welsh and I've been making things as long as I can remember. I used to be a garment maker but transitioned to quilts about 20 years ago. Currently I'm into fabric dyeing, quilting, Zentangle, fabric postcards, fused glass and mosaic. I document my adventures here.

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        • Shaken Not Stirred Quilt
        • Pleiades Quilt
      • 2014 >
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        • Fractured Spiral Quilt
        • Autumn Leaves Quilt
        • Sea Dreams Quilt
        • Woodland Star Quilt
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        • Innova Angles Quilt
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      • 2012 >
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        • Crossing The South Anna Quilt
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      • Curing Metallic Fabric Paints
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      • Life of MX Dye Concentrates
      • Testing Soda Ash in fabric dyeing
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