My Big Dream Catcher

Back in the beginning of February, I wrote a post about the large dream catcher I was planning to make. You may have wondered, if I forgot to post the end result or just abandoned the project all together, as I never spoke of it again.

Well, neither, really. I did go ahead and make it .... and make it .... and make it!

It appears to be one of those things that took on a life of it’s own and kept on growing and evolving. And even now, it’s by no means finished. I know that I still want to weave in a few more strands of relevant gem stones, take it up the sides a little more, etc.

Yes,  it still doesn’t feel done! However, I has been hanging above my bed for quite some time now as it’s evolving, so regard this post as a “progress update”, rather than a “I’m showing you my finished work” kind of post. Another one of those “work in progress” projects I mentioned in my last post.

But this one really lends itself to that status. As I add things that are precious to me, little knick-knacks and reminders of people and places, it grows and evolves and maybe it will never be entirely finished!

 

 

The interesting thing is also, that as I got started with the dream catcher, I had a completely different room. The long overdue and long wished-for re-design/reshuffle of my bedroom happened just in the last 2 weeks or so, too. Nothing fancy! Nothing expensive either - but oh so much more ME right now!

The room was in quite neutral greens and browns ever since we moved in, but I had such a desire to make it look and feel brighter, lighter with punches of color, especially lately! And some of my art work! And a little sacred corner!

So, I ended up with white, natural (light) wood tones and pops of orange and teal! Rather daring for me, I must say! But I love it!

This also started showing up in my otherwise quite neutral dream catcher!

See the Courage feather in there? I love that it ended up being the longest point of the dream catcher and with that, the closest in proximity to me! I think it is fitting!

So, what exactly do I have in this cream catcher?

 

 

Well, first of all, rather than weaving the inner part of the dream catcher, I strung a crochet lace doily to the metal loop, which I had left-over from my pantry project (I used the rings on the lazy Suzan's to stop the cans from sliding off.)

And then I have such an array of things. Feathers, obviously, lots of feathers. Some I found, some I bought, some were given to me!

 

 

Gems, pearls, beads, rocks, a piece of wood gathered by a friend for me on a walk, a copper triskelion I made for another project, a little earthen goddess I inherited from my mother, rose glass beads strung on lace, a heart shaped gemstone, a carved Buddha bead, silver wire pieces, lamp work pieces...  The list just goes on and on! Each piece, large or small, is there for a reason. And for a reason that is important and meaningful to me - nobody else. It’s a very personal piece and I love that about it!

 

And honestly, collecting significant pieces together for this project has been just as much fun and meaningful as the whole dream catcher itself! I also love that a lot of my little treasures now have a home, other than in a box or drawer!

My 8-year-old daughter has started to make her own dream catcher for her room, since mine has been up on the wall. She hasn’t asked for any help in making it and she is just using things that she finds in her room, making it out of bits of plastic, paper feathers and tiny little treasures she has collected over time!

How awesome is that!!

 

Here is a lovely story I found at Dream Catchers.org:

History of Dream Catchers:

Long ago when the word was sound, an old Lakota spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision. In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and searcher of wisdom, appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred language. As he spoke, Iktomi the spider picked up the elder’s willow hoop which had feathers, horsehair, beads and offerings on it, and began to spin a web. He spoke to the elder about the cycles of life, how we begin our lives as infants, move on through childhood and on to adulthood. Finally we go to old age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.

But, Iktomi said as he continued to spin his web, in each time of life there are many forces, some good and some bad. If you listen to the good forces, they will steer you in the right direction.  But, if you listen to the bad forces, they’ll steer you in the wrong direction and may hurt you. So these forces can help, or can interfere with the harmony of Nature. While the spider spoke, he continued to weave his web.

When Iktomi finished speaking, he gave the elder the web and said, ”The web is a perfect circle with a hole in the center. Use the web to help your people reach their goals, making good use of their  ideas, dreams and visions. If you believe in the great spirit, the web will filter your good ideas and the bad ones will be trapped and will not pass.” (Source: www.dream-catchers.org).

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