A few years ago, all the news from the Middle East seemed to be about the Yazidi, a non-Muslim people living in a small community in northern Iraq. They were under siege, of course, and the Americans were planning to relieve them. Why were they under siege? They weren’t Muslim, and they were going to be forced to convert (probably violently).

Who did they worship instead? A deity called Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, whose taloned feet were encircled by a serpent, and whose hampered dance helped create the world.

Pretty cool story.  The Yazidi and the peacock angel stuck with me long after the story faded from the general news.  I’ve tried following the story from time to time, but I’ve had difficulty tracking it, or separating propaganda from truth. Eventually, the news faded from my consciousness, and I was left with the story and image of the peacock angel, Melek Taus.

Whose name and attributes inspired this quilt, of course.  It’s just the top right now. I have to decide whether to put in no batting, and just back and bind it as a wall hanging with a set of loops along the back top; or to put in batting and make it into a large-ish baby quilt.  If I border it in blue, I might have a crib quilt.

I would say that I’ve never made anything quite like this quilt before.  It’s mythological, and its connected to a sticky story about a deity I don’t worship myself but who is still worshipped in the world. I don’t know that I have any idea who this is intended for, but I think I’m going to wait a bit before I back and bind it, to see if an intended owner presents themselves.  Probably about $300 as a wall hanging, $400 as a baby quilt (to cover additional materials and time).

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