A Prayer for 2025

Devotion for the week...

Happy New Year to you and yours! As has become my tradition, I'm letting the apostle Paul speak for me for the last devotion of the year. This is my prayer for you for 2025.

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen" (Ephesians 3:16-21).

Stay Cozy Cushions (and Tutorial)

I've had it in my mind to play with bias tape outlining applique shapes for a while, and I finally got around to trying it! I love how it looks!

This was my first time making my own bias tape, and I wrote a post about that. I'm thinking now about other ways I can use bias tape, and which colour I should make next 🤔

I designed this Stay Cozy cushion specifically for doing this with bias tape, but after putting the bias tape around the first one I thought it would be fun to do a 'This or That' post on social media, asking people if they prefer with the outline or without. The results were pretty mixed. On Facebook, 57% liked it better with the bias tape trim. On Instagram, only 35% preferred with the trim. Also on Instagram, there were people voting both ways who suggested maybe using a lighter colour for the trim or trimming with a blanket stitch instead.

I had a second cushion front with the applique pieces already fused on, so I decided to switch it up and do a blanket stitch with black thread for that one.

Which do you like better? 

Personally, I love them both! I love the bold line of the bias tape, which reminds me of cartoons for some reason. I also love the softer look of the blanket stitch.

Want to make your own Stay Cozy cushions or mini quilt? Download the applique templates here, then follow this tutorial.

You'll need

• background fabric
• red fabrics for the letters and mittens
• white fabric for the mitten cuffs
• fusible product like Heat 'n Bond or Lite Steam a Seam 2
• black ¼" single fold bias tape (optional)
• thread to match the applique fabrics and bias tape, if you're using it
• scrap of fabric for the back of the cushion front (this won't be seen)
• batting approximately 15" square
• red fabric for the back of the cushion
• 14" cushion insert

Cut your fabrics

I cut my background pieces at 14 ½". I changed my mind after the quilting, though, and trimmed it ¼" on all sides to make it 14", so the cushion would look more full. You can go with either for your cushion. If you go with 14 ½", you'll need to cut your cushion back pieces 14 ½" wide as well.

Background - cut 114" square

Scrap for back of cushion front - cut 115" square (this will not be seen)

Red fabric for cushion back - cut 2 14" x 10" rectangles

Make the cushion front

This is why I keep small bits of Heat 'n Bond cut off from larger projects! They were just right for these small letters! Follow the manufacturer's instructions to trace and fuse the letters to the back of one red fabric.

Since the letters are small, I found enough pieces of this print in my red scrap box to get all the letters for both cushions. I love having my scraps sorted by colour so I can easily find what I need! If you'd like to get your own scraps organized the way that will work best for the types of quilts you like to make, download my Escape Scrap Overwhelm guide.

I played around with a couple of different arrangements before settling on having the words staggered in the bottom left part of the cushion.

Following the manufacturer's instructions, fuse the letters to the right side of the cushion front. I used the edge of a piece of paper as a guide to keep my letters level. I'm terrible at eyeballing that sort of thing!

Again following the manufacturer's instructions, trace and fuse the mitten templates to the other red fabric and the mitten cuff templates to the white fabric. Arrange the mittens and cuffs on the background, then fuse them in place.

If you're using bias tape to outline your shapes, carefully pin it in place. You could maybe also glue it in place, but I haven't tried that. I did each mitten in two section, first the body of the mitten, then the cuff. When pinning the bias tape around the cuffs, be sure to cover the ends of the bias tape around the body of the mittens. I overlapped the end of the bias tape around the cuffs slightly, and stitched across the end to secure it.

Stitch about ⅛" from the sides of the bias tape, using matching thread. I found it helpful to reduce the speed of my machine so it was stitching very slowly.

If you're not using bias tape, stitch around the applique shapes using a blanket stitch. You can use black thread for a contrasting outline or match the thread to your fabrics for a less noticeable trim. For my blanket stitch, I set the width at 4.5 and the length at 3.5.

Layer the cushion front with the batting and the scrap of fabric for the back, then baste them together.

I did the same quilting on both cushions. First, I quilted the letters in matching Aurifil 50wt thread. I often like to stitch my applique shapes down with the quilting, so I'm only stitching around them once. Work smarter, not harder, right? I use my free motion foot for this, so I don't have to keep turning the quilt top, but you could also use your walking foot.

I used white Aurifil to quilt around the outline of the mittens, then I did a meander with loops and snowflakes in the background. Since the cushion fronts are so small, it didn't take long at all to quilt them. I left the mittens unquilted.

Once the quilting is finished, trim the excess batting and backing even with the cushion front.

Fold one long edge of each backing rectangle ¼" to the wrong side and press. Fold it over and press again to enclose the raw edge. Using matching thread, stitch ⅛" from the fold to secure it. 

Lay the cushion front on your table, right side up. Lay one backing rectangle on top, right side down and with the folded edge towards the middle of the cushion. I layered the bottom piece on first, which means the bottom is the outside piece when the cushion cover is turned right side out. Honestly, that looks upside down to me 😆 If you'd rather have the top piece as the outside one, put the top piece on first.

Lay the second backing rectangle on top, also right side down and with the folded edge towards the middle of the cushion. The two backing rectangles will overlap. 

Clip all the way around the edge, then stitch with a ¼" seam, backstitching at the beginning and end. Carefully trim the corners just past the stitching. 

Turn the cushion cover right side out through the opening in the back. Put the cushion insert in the cushion cover and you're done!

I managed to get the labels on both cushions to be right side up this time, unlike the cushions I made last Christmas. The bias tape cushion was gifted for my book club gift exchange before I even finished the second cushion, and the second one is for me 😊

Don't forget to enter your email address in the form above to get the link to download the templates to make your own Stay Cozy cushion! If you make one and share it on social media, tag me so I can see it 😊

First Foray into Bias Tape Making

Note, products for this post were given to me by Clover for review. All opinions are my own.

I've been quilting since January 1997 (that'll be 28 years in a couple of days 😯), but this is the first time I've ever made my own bias tape. It's not the first time I've used bias tape; I used pre-made bias tape for the binding of my first quilt. You can read about how that went here.

I have a few different ideas in mind for using bias tape now, though, so when Clover offered to send me some notions to review, I jumped at the chance. I requested bias tape makers in the ½" and ¼" sizes, along with a pair of Bordeaux scissors. All three ended up being used for this first go at making bias tape.

First, I followed this tutorial to make the strips for the bias tape, starting with an 18" square. It worked really well, except the tutorial doesn't mention that you have to offset the lines when pinning, not match them up, to account for the seam allowance. Thankfully, I realized that after only sewing a few inches, so I didn't have to rip out much. Once I re-pinned with the lines offset, everything went smoothly.

Cutting the strips apart made me very thankful we don't have to cut every piece for our quilts by hand anymore. That line going around and around and around the tube seemed to go on forever!

I thought I would want to use double-fold bias tape to go around the applique shapes on my cushion, so I cut the strips at 1" wide to go in the ½" bias tape maker (which makes it ¼" when double-folded). Pulling it through the bias tape maker was soooo quick and easy! Apparently I didn't think to take a picture at this point, though.

Since I really wanted to see how the black bias tape would look around the red applique mittens, I tested it out after I had pulled about 1' through the bias tape maker. I'm so glad I stopped to check! The double-fold bias tape was too thick, and the ½" was much too wide to use as edging around the appliques.

I looked at the long, long, long 1" strip I had just cut apart and debated what to do. I could pull it all through the ½" bias tape maker and press it, then set it aside for some future project, or I could cut it in half along the whole length to use with the ¼" bias tape maker. I decided to cut it in half, using my new Bordeaux scissors. I figured my large shears were too long, and I wouldn't have enough control to stay in the middle of the strip with them. These little ones (the blades are less than 2" long) would probably work better.

They worked perfectly! They gripped the fabric nicely, so it didn't slip at all, and they cut cleanly right to the tips. I still didn't stay perfectly centered all the way along the strip, since I was just eyeballing it, but it's good enough. At this point I had two very, very long ½" strips.

Time to try the ¼" bias tape maker! Again, it was really easy to get started feeding the strip through the bias tape maker and it came out perfectly folded. I found it a bit fiddly to try to press those little 1/8" sides without accidentally flattening one side or the other, but once I got into the rhythm of it, it went well. It helped to pull the bias tape maker back slowly, and to keep the iron pretty close to it, so the sides of the fabric didn't have a chance to open up at all before being pressed down. 

All was well, until I got to the first seam allowance joining strips together. The seam allowance wouldn't pull through the bias tape maker at all. Looking at the teeny-tiny end of the bias tape maker, it's not surprising...it's only ¼" wide, after all. I pulled the strip backwards and cut it just before the seam. The piece of folded bias tape I had pulled through already was long enough to go around one mitten, so it was fine. See the finished cushions (and the free tutorial) here.

I cut off the seam, which had gotten a bit mangled as I tried to pull it through, then I started again and when I got close to the next seam joining strips, I stopped and trimmed the seam allowance down to ⅛". With a bit of extra force, I was able to pull that through the bias tape maker. That extra force meant it pulled too far through the bias tape maker and didn't stay folded, though, so I had to manually fold each side over and press it down. This only took a few seconds, but it did reinforce my belief that I wouldn't want to be folding over the sides of the whole strip 😂 If I had to make bias tape by hand, it would never happen!

Once I had the sides folded over at the seam, I continued pulling the strip through the bias tape maker. Easy-peasy! When I got to the next seam allowance, I trimmed it down again, then pulled it more gently than I had the previous seam. It came through the bias tape maker and stayed folded well enough that I could press it down cleanly. Success!

I kept going, pausing before each seam to trim down the seam allowance. It should be noted that the tutorial I followed to make the strip did say to trim down the seam allowance, but I chose to ignore that at the time. Because I obviously knew what I was doing, right? Ha, I paid for that by needing to stop at every seam all along the strip to trim it down.

I suggest using steam as you press the strips as they come through the bias tape maker. I don't put water in my iron, but I started misting a bit of water onto my ironing board to create steam and that really helped to hold the folds in place.

Before long, I had all the bias tape folded and ready to put around my applique shapes! If you want to see the finished cushion, head to this post. I wrapped the leftover bias tape around a piece of cardboard so I can store it until I'm ready for the next project with it 😊

After using the Bordeaux scissors for a few weeks now, they've already become the scissors I reach for first. They're really sharp right to the tips, and they grip the fabric well. I also really like that they come with a leather sheath, so I can take them with me without worrying about them poking holes in anything. I've been using them to cut hexies for my new EPP travel project, especially. I'm using ½" hexies, and these little scissors are perfect for cutting the (very small) hexies out of my scraps. That project hasn't made it to the blog yet, but it will sometime soon.

As for the bias tape makers, I was impressed by how well they worked! Like I said, if I had to fold over the sides myself, I'd never make bias tape. That's especially true at the ¼" width! With this little gadget, though, it went quickly (other than my snafu with the seam allowances, but that was my own fault). I never did pull a seam through the ½" bias tape maker, so I can't say if it's as important to trim the seam allowance at that size, but I suspect it would still be a good idea.

Now, what else can I use bias tape for??? 🤔

Advent 2024 - Love

Devotion for the week...

It's the final week of Advent 😊 So far this Advent season, we've looked at the hope, peace, and joy that Jesus brings to us. Today we look at love. It's fitting that Advent ends with a focus on love, because it was love that motivated Jesus to come rescue us. 

Sometimes we quote John 3:16, saying "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life," while only focusing on the fact that God loved the world. That's a big, kind of generic concept and it's possible to believe God loved the world while also feeling 'he couldn't possibly love me.' It's easier to accept that God loves the world in general than it is to accept that He loves us each individually. After all, I'm fully aware of my faults, just as you are aware of yours. We know how unlovable we can be at times.

And yet, it was because He loved them that God sent an angel to the shepherds with a special invitation to meet Jesus. They were considered the lowest sort of people, and would have been scorned by society, but God loved them and specifically invited them to meet His son. That's the kind of love (and invitation) He has for us, too.

God didn't wait for us to get ourselves cleaned up and presentable before showing how much He loved us. Romans 5:8 says, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." He loved us even when we were stuck in our mess and He made it possible for our relationship with Him to be restored. All we have to do is accept the gift of love He sent us, and that gift is Jesus.

Advent 2024 - Joy

 Devotion for the week...

It's week three of Advent already! So far we have considered the hope and peace Jesus brought when He came to the earth to live as one of us. This week we're going back in time to revisit a devotion from 2019 as we look at the joy He gives. I have to start this week's devotion with a prologue, though.

If you've been reading these devotions long enough, you may remember that I've said before that I struggle with writing about joy because there are people in the church suffering from depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. These illnesses rob people of the joy that should be theirs. The church, unfortunately, sometimes compounds this by claiming that 'true Christians' don't need medication or counseling to manage their depression or other mental illness, they just need more faith. Even worse, I once sat through a sermon during which the pastor claimed mental illness was caused by demonic influence, which had me practically grinding my teeth because I knew there were people sitting in the congregation that day who deal with mental illness.

Mental illness is just that - an illness. It is not caused by demonic influence or by a lack of faith. There is no cause for shame or condemnation. Please, please, if you suffer from depression or anxiety or any other mental illness, please speak to your doctor. There is help available and you deserve that help.

Having said that, let's have a look at what the Bible says about joy.

In the Old Testament, before Nehemiah's time, the people had been exiled because they had turned away from God. They had been taken captive and lived in exile for decades, but in Nehemiah's day they were allowed to return to Israel. During the restoration of the temple, the Book of the Law of God had been found and they gathered all the people together to hear it read. Hearing it was a shock to the people, as they understood how very far they had fallen from the standard God had set for them. But Nehemiah told the people of Israel, "Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!" (Nehemiah 8:10).

Now, this might sound odd. The people were crying in their distress, but Nehemiah told them to celebrate! Why? Why would they celebrate when they just learned that God wanted so much more from them and for them?

Even today, this same sadness is often how people react when they first learn about God and how He wants us to live. They feel miserable because they know how they have lived and how far that is from the holy lives God wants us to live. People feel like it's impossible for God to love them because they have been too bad.

In His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, though, Jesus prayed, "I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy" (John 17:13). Jesus taught His disciples about living the way God wants, both through the things He said and through what He modeled for them. But none of that was meant to bring them sadness. In fact, it was to bring them joy.
God is not standing over us, waiting gleefully to punish us for our sins. Rather, He is waiting expectantly, longing for us to turn to Him for forgiveness. If we now understand that "everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard" (Romans 3:23), then we are free to "repent and turn away from [our] idols, and stop all [our] detestable sins" (Ezekial 14:6). In other words, now that we know we are not right with God, we can change our direction and become right with Him, which is certainly cause for joy!

Nehemiah could tell the people that the joy of the Lord was their strength because now that they knew God's standard, they could begin to follow it and to live as He wanted His people to live. The same is true for us now. Once we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we are filled with joy that has nothing to do with our circumstances. It is the joy of knowing our relationship with God is secure and our sins have been forgiven.

Jesus said, "There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!" (Luke 15:7). Our repentance brings joy to God and to us, and it was made possible by Jesus coming to save us. That is the joy that comes from Christmas.

Advent 2024 - Peace

Devotion for the week...

It's the second week of Advent! Are you finished decorating for Christmas? Ours is done, and now I'm starting to think about making some cookies to have on hand. We don't usually have much company in over the holidays, but I still like to have lots of cookies ready just in case (mostly because I like to eat them, too 😆).

Last week, for the first week of Advent, we considered the hope Jesus brings. This week we're looking at the peace He brings. As we see everywhere at this time of year, the prophet Isaiah wrote:

For a child is born to us,

    a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

    And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). 

 

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but you may have noticed that the world is still full of trouble. Thankfully, even the trouble isn't a surprise to God. In fact, Jesus told His disciples to expect it! "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

The other day I was listening to my Christmas playlist, which includes Casting Crown's version of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, and it felt perfectly made for this week's devotion. The poem that eventually became the classic carol was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the midst of the Civil War. It captures the disconnect between Christmas' message of peace on earth and the reality Longfellow saw around him. In the second last verse of the poem, Longfellow wrote,

"And in despair I bowed my head:

'There is no peace on earth,' I said,

'For hate is strong, and mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good will to men.'"

Those words still ring true today, don't they? There doesn't seem to be much peace to be found and hate is still plenty strong.

Ah, but Longfellow didn't stay in despair! The last verse says,

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men.'"

That, right there, is the source of our peace. Even though all around us is madness, God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. We can have peace, no matter what trouble and sorrow we face, because we know that He is in control and that He "causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God." (Romans 8:28).

Advent 2024 - Hope

Devotion for the week...

It's the first week of Advent! As I type this, our house is a disaster with Christmas stuff in boxes and plastic totes all over the place. The tree is up and the lights are on it, but that's as far as I've gotten so far. Despite the mess, I love this process of getting the house ready for Christmas.

I also love the process of writing Advent devotions to get our hearts ready for Christmas. Jesus came to earth to bring us hope, peace, joy, and love, so we're going to focus on those four things this month. Today we begin with hope.

We listen to a radio station called The Joy FM, broadcast out of Florida. We've been listening to them for years, so we're very familiar with the on air personalities, and one of the ways they describe themselves is by saying they're 'real people, living real life along with you.' One morning a few weeks ago, that was very obvious. The morning crew, Dave, Bill, and Carmen, are usually very upbeat and funny, but as soon as I heard their voices this particular morning I knew something was wrong. Carmen sounded like she was barely holding back tears, and they were all very solemn. Turns out they had suddenly lost a friend the night before, someone who worked at a sister station and who had once worked with them at The Joy FM. You could tell they were reeling from the news, processing their grief even as they talked about their friend's faith and his love for Jesus.

The next week, the first morning they were back on the air after their trip for his funeral, they talked about how surprised they were by the first song played at the funeral. Glorious Day is such an upbeat song, it took them by surprise when it first started to play. Then they realized what a perfect song it is for a funeral because of the chorus, which says, "You called my name, and I ran out of that grave." It's a celebration of the incredible hope we have in Jesus.

Jesus was born as the baby we celebrate at Christmas so that He could become the sacrifice we remember on Good Friday, and the resurrected Savior we celebrate on Easter Sunday. Not only that, but because He died and rose again, we have the assurance that we won't stay in our graves, either.

"But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back" (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

Unless Jesus returns first, the grave will someday claim us all. Thankfully, that's not the end of the story. For us and for all those who believe in Jesus, we have this hope: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).