"This is supposed to represent raven feathers, and this is supposed to look like jagged, irregular, shiny, sparkly, sleek, raven feathers and tail," said Crickets Meyeres, pointing out the details of an elaborately crafted, handmade shawl.
The beautiful black piece, which graces a mannequin in her Kanab, Utah home, is actually a replication of the original shawl she knitted for Stevie Nicks.
Last September, Meyeres learned of a competition hosted by talenthouse.com, which called upon it's regular readers and visitors to submit designs for a "show-stopping" shawl for Nicks.
Meyeres couldn't resist the chance at dressing the rock icon. Soon, a design was flowing from her mind through her fingertips.
"I was absolutely obsessed, and when I was finished I was both excited and terrified about winning, but I didn't think it would," she said.
Meyeres says her design was inspired by the ravens that live year-round in the harsh red rock wilderness near her home.
"They are ever-present" she said, "just like Stevie".
"I wanted to give her something back of me, not just 'OK this is Stevie Nicks' style, I'm going to make something her style and regurgitate it to her'. I wanted to give her a gift from Utah," she said.
Meyeres' Native American ancestry also played a part in the design, showing up in a subtle tribal pattern amongst the more than 3,000 stitches which make up the shawl.
In a brief statement announcing the winner of the talenthouse.com contest, Nicks noted the tribal element as a primary reason she chose Meyeres as the winner, awarding her a $2,000 prize.
The contest rules stated Nicks would provide the winner with a single photo of herself wearing the shawl, for the designer's portfolio, and then return it. But it now appears she's taken a shine to the piece custom-created for her 5'1" frame.
Meyere explains, "I sent a note along saying Stevie could keep this if she wanted. She did like it. Her representatives asked if she could keep it, but I didn't know she was going to wear it on stage every night during her concert tour with Fleetwood Mac. She wears it during the song 'Rhiannon' which is a huge classic hit. She spreads it out like ravens wings and I feel like she understands the same things I understand about the raven."
Selling hand-made creations online has been Meyeres' full time job since 2007. Click here to see more of her items.
Fleetwood Mac is currently enjoying a wave of rave reviews for their "On With The Show" world tour which kicked off in September.
