Valley Grove Tapestries: The Oak Tree Centerpiece

The first Valley Grove tapestry is a celebration of the oak savanna, and I’m happy the centerpiece oak is done. I wrote about the importance of the oak, and my experiments in how to weave it in a previous post: “Valley Grove Tapestries: The Great Oak.” I’m moving on to the final animals in the top portion of the border.

A wonderful part of this project is feeling increasingly connected to Valley Grove–to the beautiful old church buildings, the graveyard, and the marvelous land surrounding the site. My friend Kelly Marshall and I camped overnight at the adjacent Nerstrand Big Woods State Park at the end of September. We hiked every trail in the park, through prairies and woods. We spent time at the churches before heading back to the city.

Perhaps this bur oak near the church will grow to be as broad and majestic as the one I depicted in my tapestry.
The wooden church glowed with the sun behind the steeple.
This is a window of the stone church. By next summer, the tapestry underway may be hanging under the sconce you can glimpse in the glass. One of the four will be there!

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