Bring a Friend for Free for CRAZY QUILTING in a HAUNTED INN....next Sunday!

BRING A FRIEND FOR FREE!!!

It's August, friends, when everyone and their grandmother goes on vacation, which means we still have some room in our class at the Inn next Sunday!

Introduction to Appalachian Crazy Quilts: Piecing and Embroidery will be held INSIDE the 1747 Inn (and yes, we have air conditioning units!) and all proceeds go to benefit the restoration of the Inn. Your instructor, Tava Baird, has twenty years of teaching experience and an excellent stash of ribbons, fabrics, Reiki-charged herbs, and threads to share with you as you crazy quilt your way into making a dream pillow!

100% of the tuition goes to benefit the restoration of this historic haunted Inn. Have you ever stitched with a Witch as your teacher and spirits looking over your shoulder while you keep alive the Appalachian tradition of "making do" with upcycled fabrics? If not, register now and bring a friend for FREE!

Here's the link...and thank you for working to save The Blue Ball Inn - Est. 1747!

https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/blue-ball-inn-benefit-class-introduction-to-appalachian-crazy-quilts-piecing-and-embroidery

Darkflower Newsletter #4: Invasion of the Poppet Army

Hello All! Whoowhee, has it been busy lately. There's a bunch going on that you might want to know about as we get closer to SPOOKY SEASON!! New classes, fundraisers, products, and a big ol' update on The Blue Ball Inn, our friendly (at times) neighborhood haunted house! We now have the names of some of the spirits, and I'll share them with you below. Let's get started....

Firstly, I have completely revamped the Darkflower booth for the next season. I have grids, and things are going UPWARDS. And I am making poppets like nobody's business. One of these little guys above wants to go home with you! Come visit them at a festival! There are tons of new events that Idol Hands and I will be at this fall, including Ravenwood Faire and VA Witches and Pagan Pride in Fredericksburg this September. Want to go to a fall festival? Click here to see what's going on in your area!

https://www.tavabaird.com/markets

Also, Darkflower now has original paintings, books, mountain spell kits, prints, and handmade poppets at Abija Blue in Winchester on Old Town Mall. Here's the deets if you are in the area: https://www.abijablue.com/ And there are CLASSES now at Abija Blue too! Check them out on the class page: https://www.tavabaird.com/classes

Need beach reading? WYLDWOOD has been updated and is out in hardcover in a new, smaller size than the paperback!

I know, poppets, I'm totally shocked too! The others in the series will be out in hardcover shortly! Fetch yourself a hardcover at https://www.amazon.com/Wyldwood-Scottish-Borders-Spiral-Pathways/dp/B0D94W8P8W/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fZM23qJIkQdDKFlGEdW3sA.tJF8vT08oNxhytoLMK0giG55CDAMSbwgsn--yj66khA&qid=1721611954&sr=8-1

And the Birdie MacLeod sequel, The Angel and the Blackbird, should be out in late August / early September! I'm 150ish pages in and things are heating up! Get ready for LILITH and MEDUSA to enter the Spiral Pathways universe!

And now.... Haunted Blue Ball Inn updates!

First up: Want to go on a Paranormal Tour at the Blue Ball Inn? Public Investigations are back! They are booking fast, so don't delay! Check this out:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3514245388873395

And also.....PARACON will be held at the Blue Ball Inn September 28-29. There will be a Paranormal Investigation you can get tickets for then, too! And I'll be vending and teaching hand broom-making in the backyard! Info is here: https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/paracon-at-the-blue-ball-inn-in-clear-springs-va

AND....the Inn needs a new chimney, and painting, and more, so I am holding classes IN THE INN with proceeds being donated to saving the Inn! Want to learn tea leaf reading with me at a tea party hosted by a ghost? I've got you covered! Check out these classes and look for the ones that say "BBI BENEFIT" to know that your class fee goes towards the Inn:

https://www.tavabaird.com/classes

Here's what's on offer:

SUNDAY, AUGUST 18, 10 AM-12:30 PM: Introduction to Appalachian Crazy Quilts: Piecing and Embroidery: Make a unique lavender dream pillow using crazy quilt and embroidery techniques with a mountain theme. Dive into our stash of cloth, ribbons, buttons and yarn to express yourself just as our Appalachian grandmothers did. Class fee includes all materials. Held inside the Inn, but you are welcome to sit and stitch outside under the tree as well!

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 6-8 PM: The Art of the Dreamcatcher: Learn how to make a traditional dream-catcher to guard your sleeping space or that of a loved one utilizing techniques taught to your instructor from the Mattaponi, one of our Virginia tribes. Once you make one, you won’t be able to stop!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT PARACON: Learn to Tie Appalachian Hand-Brooms: Join us and launch your journey into traditional broom-making! In this class you will learn to tie a 14” handle-less hearth broom and learn all the techniques you will need to move into more advanced brooms in the future. A rare and endangered skill…come help us keep the tradition alive! TWO TIMES AVAILABLE: Noon or 2 pm. Class is one hour and will be held in the backyard of the Inn.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 10 AM -1 PM: Colonial Bookbinding: Learn to hand-bind your own leather soft-cover journal with a beaded spine. A fantastic introduction to the art of bookbinding! Leave with a one-of-a kind journal and the skills you need to make more books!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 10 AM-NOON: Tea Party in the Parlor with Mary Elizabeth and Tava: Join your hostesses Mary Elizabeth (deceased) and Tava Baird (still embodied for the time being) in Mary Elizabeth’s parlor inside the gloriously haunted Blue Ball Inn. We’ll enjoy tea, scones, and muffins and have a class on the history and practice of tea-leaf reading from Tava. Fancy or historic dress is absolutely encouraged!

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1 PM-3:30 PM: Appalachian Coiled Basketry: Borrowing coiling techniques from Native American Arts, we will put an Appalachian “make do with what you have” twist on the art form by incorporating a variety of fabric, thread, and natural materials into a little trinket basket. Basketmaking is an endangered art form in the United States and one of the arts humans have practiced for eons…come join the circle of basket makers and preserve age-old traditions!

Let's raise some funds to save the Inn and have some fun!

The link to register for all classes is here: https://www.tavabaird.com/classes

Please pass it on!

ARCHAEOLOGY UPDATE:

Our archaeology digs have been PHENOMINAL! We dig at least once a week. And every single time we have found animal bones, pennies, button, children's toys, bullet casings, bottle glass, blacksmithed nails, pottery, glassware, tools, and more! If you are in the Winchester area and want to come dig, you can join our archaeology team...just drop me a line.

DIG DATES for the rest of JULY and AUGUST are below! Please contact me if you would like to come so I can send you details, our guidelines, and our dig information. ALL DATES are 9 am-12:30 pm.

JULY:

SATURDAY, JULY 27

AUGUST:

SUNDAY, AUGUST 4

MONDAY, AUGUST 5

TUESDAY, AUGUST 13

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20

MONDAY, AUGUST 26

We also need people to clean artifacts, historians and genealogists to help us research (if you love ancestry.com or libraries, we can use you), and volunteers to help work inside on renovating the house (just be prepared for a lot of spirit activity...things happen nearly every time we are out there.) There is a book about all this in the works and if you volunteer, you'll be acknowledged in the book! And if you research for us, you don't even have to be local and can do things online from your home!

Owner of the Blue Ball Inn Joseph Durbin in his BBI Archaeology t-shirt that says, "You Archaeology Kids GET OFF MY LAWN"

Joseph is a disabled dad who bought the property next door, and it came with the Inn. It was packed to the rafters with garbage when he acquired it, and he is single-handedly trying to install plumbing, get the chimney rebuilt, seal the roof, upgrade the electrical, get the house painted, and generally keep the lovely haunted 1747 Tavern from falling apart. He's formed a nonprofit to try and preserve the Inn, but he can't do it alone. We're building a community around trying to support him (and the spirits who call this place home) on their journey.

That being said, we are looking for donated items to help make the Inn more comfortable for the living (and the deceased). Here's what we are looking for in case you know of someone getting rid of these items or willing to sell them for a low price:

A CORNER SINK: Now that we have a working toilet (thank you archaeology team who finally found the septic system when the county couldn't find it) we need a corner sink for the bathroom. This is essential to holding classes/paranormal investigations so people can wash their hands. We would also love a Lowe's gift card in any amount to help buy sink-installing supplies.

THE INN NEEDS DRYWALL. Got any sheets lying about, or know someone who does? The Inn wants it!

KITCHEN COUNTERS and CABINETS: Know someone ripping out their kitchen? The more antique-looking, the better! We need kitchen counters and cabinets!

CEILING FANS: Man, it's warm in the Inn in July! Fans help keep it comfortable for volunteers and events!

WINDOW A/C or portable A/C units: These help us be able to hold classes and host paranormal investigations so that we can fundraise for the Inn. Got any of these? Text Joseph at 540-316-0880 or feel free to reach out to me here and I'll tell him when I see him at the next dig!

For more information on the Inn, visit https://bbi1747.com/

Thank you for helping us with this project. We've actually had several psychics, mediums, and paranormal investigators come out of the house and relay information from the spirits (in one case, they actually told us where to look for something) and then we research and FIND the historical evidence. It's a new way to do archaeology, but I am all here for it.

Each time we dig we bring flowers or gifts for the house. There are lots of children's spirits up on the second and third floors who have a history of scratching and biting, and so we thought they might need something to occupy them. Our volunteers have now donated marbles, play mats, blocks, a turn-of the century rocking chair, doll cradles, and other items for the children and there is now a decidedly lighter tone (and less biting) on floor three (here's hoping that lasts).

We sing in the house regularly, and go inside to say hello when we arrive and thank them for hosting us. We also introduce ourselves and let them know when we'll be coming and going. We celebrated a birthday of one of our team the other day by bringing cupcakes into the house and singing "Happy Birthday" inside so the spirits could be included in the party.

And we now have some names from entities that have been communicating regularly. We often have people who are very sensitive to energy go into the house and come out with the same names and descriptions of spirits...including some from out of town who didn't know anything about the history of the house. Here are the first names we've gotten:

Mary Elizabeth McAboy (Born May 1887, Died October 30 1973, buried in Berryville, VA) is one of the most present and there is regular activity in the parlor, where she tends to reside. She is a grandmotherly, matronly type, and has a very VEHEMENT dislike for Ouija Boards and most forms of divination, but also really like sunflowers. For weeks she kept telling anyone psychic coming into the house "get rid of the Ouija Board!" but no one could find one on the property. Then we found, weeks later, that a piece of donated furniture had one tucked inside a drawer we hadn't known about. Mary Elizabeth has a favorite chair near the kitchen door in the parlor she often sits in, and neighbors have reported seeing her in the windows of the house from the street for years.

Thomas (not certain of last name yet) often carries the scent of cigar smoke when he is around and appears as a rapidly moving shadow or a man dressed in black. He has been seen both inside and outside the house, and at times can be aggressive and seems to trouble the other spirits (multiple mediums have come out of the house saying, "no one likes Thomas") although he lately seems to be making more of an effort to communicate in a civil way. People often also experience blurred vision, their heart racing, intense sensations of heat, and touches on the neck (sometimes strong, very upsetting ones) in the house, and we think some or all of that may be due to him. He has spoken through a spirit box at length in the green room (first floor) and hangs out various rooms on the second floor. There's a room with blue wallpaper on the second floor where he stands in the corner and stares at you, and I avoid that room like the plague, because he never seems to be in a good mood when he's in there.

There is another spirit, a boy around the age of thirteen, who is either named Albert or Alfred or is talking about someone (we think his brother) named one of those names. I have been looking into him lately, and he has been known to fling items around with great force (regretfully, my phone is often one of them) when his name is mentioned indoors. Sounds of footsteps on upper floors often accompany a visit from him, and he has been known to walk right up to people as soon as they set foot in the house.

The children (no names yet) on the second floor often appear near the staircase, looking over the railing at the goings-on downstairs. They will also pull or tug on the skirts or trousers of women of mothering age who are walking through the house. They can be very territorial about the third floor regarding adults but seem fine with living young people coming to visit, who often report that they feel welcomed in the attic while the adults decidedly do not.

Thanks so much for reading, everyone! More updates to come as SPOOKY SEASON approaches!

Blessed Be!

Tava

GOINGS-ON: INTRODUCTION TO WICCAN SPELLWORK CLASS!

Hello Dahlings! A few updates for you!!

The Shepherdstown Street Festival is THIS SATURDAY and it is going to be a blast! Live music, food, and TONS of vendors! If you want to come out for the party (yes, there is a beer garden) and need details, click here!

https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/shepherdstown-streetfest

The Darkflower booth will now NOT be at the rescheduled Brunswick Arts Festival on Saturday as well...trying to staff two booths in two different states suddenly seemed BONKERS, especially since Shepherdstown runs until 9 pm. We hope to pick it up again next year.

And have I got a BRAND NEW CLASS FOR YOU in Winchester on July 6!

CELTIC SPELLWORK 101: SYMBOLISM AND PRACTICE

Interested in learning to set up a Celtic Wiccan sacred space and how to write your first simple spells? Join Tava Baird, a mentor in the Pagan community for over thirty years, for this introductory course. We'll be crafting a set of Witch Bells and then creating a traditional Magick Circle in which to bless them, as well as answering all your questions on how to get started in your own practice complete with history of the modern Witchcraft movement, reading lists, and all the great resources Tava shares with those she mentors. If you have ever wanted to explore Wicca this is the beginner's course for you! Bring your questions and your sense of wonder and join us in the Circle!

Course is from 10 am-12:30 pm and the $65 fee includes all materials!

TO REGISTER CLICK HERE:

https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/celtic-spellwork-101-symbolism-and-practice

AND also coming up that same weekend in Winchester:

SUNDAY, JULY 7th in Winchester at RAVEN CONJURE, 6:00-8:00 PM: SINGING TO THE BONES: An Introduction to Casting Bones, Stones, Shells, and Charms

An introductory course covering the history and art of bone-casting. Come help us preserve this ancient and beautiful form of divination! Cost of $60 includes a starter bone-casting kit, casting cloth, and a copy of Singing to the Bones. You'll walk in a novice and walk out with a beautiful and endangered form of divination in your soul! Class time: 2 hours.

To REGISTER: https://www.tavabaird.com/event-details/singing-to-the-bones-an-introduction-to-casting-bones-stones-shells-and-charms-3

AND ALSO......NEW DIG DATES at The Haunted BLUE BALL INN!

Want to come dig? We're finding tons of tools, toys, animal bone, ceramics, and more! Come volunteer to help excavate and research at this historic site near Winchester, VA! No archaeological experience necessary. The site has an INTENSE amount of spirit activity and no working restroom at this time (except for # one, lololol) so please do not bring children under age 16 without speaking with me first. If you would like to dig please email me at tavabaird@gmail.com and I will give you all the details!

DIG DATES (all dates are 9-12:30 AM, or for whatever part of that you can make it).

SUNDAY, JULY 7, 9 AM-12:30 PM

SATURDAY, JULY 13, 9-12:30

***NEW DATE WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 9 AM-12:30 PM

SATURDAY, JULY 20, 9 AM-12:30 PM

Thank you for your support!! See you all soon!

P.S. Thank you so much to all of you who have visited my new etsy site at https://darkflowerbooks.etsy.com.

The sequel to The Ballad of Birdie MacLeod is 100 pages done and should be out late summer!

And stay tuned.....there's a podcast in the works within the next few weeks!!!