November 07, 2024

Stash Artists Doors Are Open!

If you love stash-friendly and scrap-friendly patterns, you'll be happy to know the Stash Artists membership doors are now open for new members!
Stash Artists membership | DevotedQuilter.com

Here's what is included in the Stash Artists membership:

  • 6 new patterns per year, released every other month, with a focus on stash-friendly and scrappy designs. Let's use that stash!
  • monthly virtual Sew Together Sessions. Because sewing with friends is more fun 😊
  • a Block of the Month pattern - new one starting in January!
  • the Reverberate and Twisted Hourglass patterns are available for download right away
  • a library of video tutorials
  • monthly devotions
  • discounts on my patterns, workshops, and QALs outside the membership

Click here to join Stash Artists!


Twisted Hourglass quilt pattern | DevotedQuilter.com
Twisted Hourglass is the newest Stash Artists pattern, just released this week, and it's available for new members to download as soon as they login to their account. The scrappy, twisted strips give the quilt a fun 3D element and fabulous texture!

Go here to learn more and join Stash Artists. I hope to see you inside!

November 05, 2024

Twisted Hourglass

Do you have a list, actually written down or just in your head, of quilts you want to make someday? I've never written mine down, but there's a long list of patterns and techniques I want to try someday. I've crossed one of them off the list with this quilt 😊

Meet Twisted Hourglass! 
Twisted Hourglass quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Twisted Hourglass is the latest Stash Artists pattern, available to members now 😊 (Pssst...Stash Artists doors will be opening on Thursday, and new members will get access to Twisted Hourglass as soon as they join. Sign up for The Bulletin to be notified when the doors are open.)

Can you guess which technique I finally tried, after wanting to play with it for years?

Twisted strips! I love the fun, 3D element they add to the quilt.
Twisted Hourglass quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
Each strip uses two fabrics, and I had a lot of fun choosing which fabrics to pair together. I love how bright the scraps are against the solid navy background, too.
Twisted Hourglass quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
I avoided the strips when quilting, which gives them an extra bit of pop, and gives the whole quilt such great texture.
Twisted Hourglass quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
I have enough of the navy that I could have used it for the back, but I wanted the quilting to show up more on the back, so I chose a light grey instead. The double loop quilting in navy thread shows up really well! The unquilted strips show up, too, so the hourglass is subtly visible on the back.
Twisted Hourglass quilt back | DevotedQuilter.com
We took the quilt to the beach for pictures, but it was really windy. It was okay for getting pictures of the quilt folded up, so long as I didn't mind smoothing it out again regularly, but there was no chance we'd get full shots of Paul holding it up. Thankfully, by the brook was much more sheltered, so we were able to get the full pictures there.
Twisted Hourglass quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
When I was testing my thoughts on how to make the twisted strip blocks, I didn't have my navy fabric yet, so I made a few with white for the background. I liked them, too, so I kept going and made enough for the mini size that's included in the pattern. It's not quite as vibrant as the navy background, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out. I haven't decided yet how I'll quilt it, so it's just waiting for now.
Twisted Hourglass quilt top | DevotedQuilter.com
The Twisted Hourglass pattern includes instructions for the mini and throw sizes I made, plus baby and queen sizes. Stash Artists members can login now to download the Twisted Hourglass pattern. And if you'd like to become a Stash Artists member, sign up here to be notified when the doors open on Thursday.
Twisted Hourglass quilt | DevotedQuilter.com
I wonder what I'll cross off my "to-make someday" list next!

November 04, 2024

The Woman at the Well

Devotion for the week...

I'm starting to prepare for the Easter 2025 QAL, which had me thinking about the Moments with Jesus devotions, so I'm sharing one of them today.


You’re probably familiar with the story of the woman at the well. She had been married four times and, at the time of her meeting with Jesus, she was living with a man who was not her husband. Her reputation among the people of Sychar was so bad that she chose to draw water at noon rather than going at dawn when it would have been cooler, but she’d also have to face all the other women. On top of that, she was a Samaritan and Jews never associated with Samaritans.

Yet, with all that, Jesus "had to go through Samaria on the way" (John 4:4) from Judea to Galilee. Except He didn’t have to, because Jews would purposely travel the long way around, adding miles to their journey, just to avoid going through Samaria. The reason Jesus 'had to' go through Samaria had nothing to do with the route from one place to another and everything to do with meeting this unnamed woman.

When she came to the well where Jesus was sitting, even she was surprised He would bother to speak to her, let alone ask her for a drink of water. "The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, 'You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?'" (v. 9). You can almost hear her surprise and confusion, can’t you?

"Jesus replied, 'If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water'" (v. 10). That’s not really a straight answer, is it? But it is a hint at what Jesus plans for this conversation. This unnamed woman, one who preferred to avoid the company of others so she could avoid their judgement, she was the one to whom Jesus said, "I am the Messiah!" (v. 26).

This woman wasn’t accepted by her neighbours, but she was accepted by Jesus. Society says our sins make us unacceptable, worthy only of judgement, shame, and scorn. Jesus seeks out the people who are shunned for their past. He said Himself, "For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost" (Luke 19:10). He talked with this woman, answered her questions, and treated her kindly, something her fellow townspeople weren’t in the habit of doing. He didn’t pretend her sins didn’t exist, but He accepted her anyway. In fact, when she went to tell everyone to come meet this extraordinary man, she said, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?" (v. 29). The fact that He knew everything about her and still accepted her was amazing to her.

When we are weighed down by our sin, Jesus still accepts us. When society says what we’ve done is shameful and terrible, Jesus offers us forgiveness if we only believe in Him. That He knows everything about us and accepts us anyway is no less amazing now than it was to this woman in Sychar back then.
Are we more like the people of Sychar, or more like Jesus? | DevotedQuilter.com
Jesus’ time with this woman brings a question to mind: are we more like the people of Sychar, or more like Jesus? Do unbelievers try to avoid our company because we make them feel full of shame, or are they drawn to us because they feel love and acceptance from us? If our default is one of judgement, how can we change that so we are more like Jesus?