Family

Devotion for the Week...

When I made heart blocks to send to Christchurch, New Zealand following the shooting there, the man at the post office remarked "You quilters are just like one big family." Hearing that made my day! It's wonderful to be a part of this wonderful, world wide community that is so willing to jump in and do what it can to help others. We've seen it time and time again, when illness strikes, after violence and after natural disasters, when quilters rally together and make quilts to show our love and support to those who are hurting, even if those people are on the other side of the world.

And when it was quilters who lost everything, as was the case during the Camp Fire in California in 2018, quilters rushed to help get them back to sewing by donating fabric, notions and even basic sewing machines. Sure, those things weren't going to replace the homes they lost, but giving them a way to start sewing again was giving them a way to feel normal again. It was a way to give them back the hobby they likely used for self care and 'me time' during a time they needed it most.

Of course, we quilters like to celebrate with people, too! Quilts are made for new babies, weddings, graduations, birthdays, Christmas and any other occasion we can think of to give a handmade gift. It feels good to share in someone's joy by giving them something useful and beautiful that was made by our own hands. It's a tangible expression of our love and our joy for them.

The Bible tells us that Christians are to "Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). Like family, we should be sharing life with those around us in such a way that we feel their pain and their joy. We should be jumping in with both feet, ready to assist or celebrate with them as the moment requires. Like quilters wrapping quilts around people who are hurting, Christians should be there with open arms.

Many of us do this naturally, but sometimes we find ourselves holding back, or at least I do. Do I know that person well enough to offer to bring them a meal? Would they even like something I cooked for them? Do I have time for it? That's a big one, to be honest. But God doesn't want us to hold back. He wants us reaching out, extending His love to everyone around us, especially in their times of need.

Like quilters, Christians are one big, world wide family. We can celebrate and mourn with our fellow believers. More than that, though, we can also celebrate and mourn with non believers as a way of showing them our love and support, which in turn can show them the love God has for them.

A Little Thing

Devotion for the Week...

Are you prone to worry? Generally, I'm not, but there are a couple of situations that trigger it for me. One of them is when I have a new child about to start coming to me for child care, especially if I know that child doesn't go to sleep on their own (I can't leave the older kids who don't nap unsupervised to rock another child to sleep). I stress when I know that I'm going to deal with a child who probably won't nap because they can't drift off on their own, which means a sleepy, cranky child who is also unaccustomed to being away from mom for so long. I dread the first day, especially, and it plays on my mind for weeks before it happens.

The thing about worry, though, is that it doesn't change the outcome of that first day at all. The child is either going to deal well with the transition or she's going to scream in my ear for hours or, more likely, something in the middle. Whichever way it goes, the worrying I did for days ahead of time doesn't change our day.

Jesus warned us not to waste our time worrying. He asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" (Luke 12:25). Obviously, the answer to that is a resounding no. No amount of worrying can do something as monumental as adding even an extra second to our lives. If we could, we'd probably all set a goal of worrying enough to add years to our lives.

The interesting thing is that Jesus goes on to say, "And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?" (v. 26).  A little thing like that?? Talk about a difference in persepective. To Jesus, who knows intimately the full power of God, adding a moment to our lives looks like a small task, easily accomplished, whereas for us it is a complete impossibility.

Since we can't do something as little as adding time to our lives by worrying, why do we think that worrying will make a difference in other things?  We would be much better off if we turned our worries over to God, who, unlike us, actually has the power to do something about them. 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you."

It's hard to remember to do that, though, isn't it? Maybe it would be easier if we remember that to God, adding time to our lives is just a little thing, so whatever is worrying us is well within His power, too.

Medallion Magic QAL - Part 5

Welcome to the next installment of the Medlallion Magic QAL!

I'm aiming for this to be a slow, relaxed quilt along, with not so much to do each month that you can't keep up. We're all too busy to be stressing over keeping up with a QAL! Here's the schedule of events:

January 15th - Gather fabrics and pattern
February 15th - Cutting
March 15th - Center star
April 15th - Borders 1 and 2
May 15th - Borders 3 and 4 - we're here!
June 15th - Borders 5, 6 and 7
August 15th - Finish party link up opens

If you don't have your pattern yet, you can pick up your copy from my Etsy shop in either PDF or printed versions.

I know that adding two (or even three) borders in one month sounds like a lot, but one of my favourite things about this medallion quilt design is that 4 of the 7 borders are just plain fabric, which gives the pieced borders room to breathe. I've always found most medallion quilts are so busy it's hard to focus on anything and I intentionally designed Medallion Magic to allow the pieced borders to shine.

Here's my original Medallion Magic, made in Northcott fabrics:

Now I have a confession. You know how when you're having a party, you like to have everything ready before the guests arrive? Well, that's what I've been doing each month with this QAL so that each month I could share my version of what your quilt will look like when you finish. Except that I'm not done for this month yet. In fact, I've hardly had time to start. Whomp, whomp, whomp.

This month we're adding a plain border, just like last month, and then adding the flying geese border. The flying geese are paper pieced and this is how far I've gotten. They've been sitting like this since sometime last week, just waiting for me to get back to them. Finishing my MIL's placemats and then some secret sewing crowded out piecing these flying geese, but those things are done now and I hope to get my borders finished up quickly. When I do, I'll be sure to add a picture here!

On the bright side, that Island Batik purple is gorgeous 😊 I bet it will look even better when it's made into flying geese, though!

One tip I have to share for when you're foundation piecing a bunch of identical units - assembly line sew them! Sew a seam on all of them, press them all at once, trim them all at once, then sew the next seam the same way. It's faster than piecing one whole unit, then the next whole unit, then the next one, etc.

So, how are your Medallion Magic quilts coming along? Link up a picture so we can see!

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