Friday, June 25, 2010

Something more

Thank you all for the kind comments on my quilt. Y'all are wonderful. The name of the quilt is Stepping Stones. Designed by Bradley and Judy Niemeyer.

As I sat in the stillness of my living room the other night, enjoying an awesome cup of coffee my eyes rested on the quilt I just finished.

I was suppose to take this class with a friend. She really loved this quilt, me not so much. This quilt was made with Bali pops. Bali pops are prepackaged strips of all kinds of wild and crazy fabric prints and to say that I WASN'T thrilled with the choices is an understatement nor was I keen on the pattern, however she really really wanted to do this and I was open to learning something new. At the last minute she needed to back out and I was left with the decision of backing out as well or taking the class. a no brainer I thought but my in my heart there was a gentle nudge to stay the course and take the class.

The first day of class we took these wild and crazy strips of fabric and paired them up with other wild and crazy strips. My mind was screaming I DON'T LIKE THIS, I DON'T LIKE THIS, I DON'T LIKE THIS, the nudge was saying stay the course, stay the course, stay the course. Did I mention I didn't like it. Later that day we started sewing the strips together to make a block and to my surprise it was the most pleasant experience. You could even say that I was enjoying myself and those crazy strips of fabric began to make crazy blocks that were suppose to make a lovely quilt. As the pile grew I once again became doubtful that those crazy blocks would make a lovely quilt and again I felt that nudge to stay the course, follow the directions and trust the process.

Soon all the squares were finished and ready to be pieced together. I sewed those crazy squares together and right before my disbelieving eyes a beautiful quilt was made.

This quilt has become so much more than crazy fabric and thread. To me it is a tangible reminder of my Fathers love for me. For quite some time now, I have been struggling with trusting my Father with pretty much the EVERYTHING and ALL'S in my life. He used this quilt to show me that if I stay the course, follow His Word and trust His process He will piece together the crazy EVERYTHING and ALL'S of my life to make something beautiful. I want to encourage all of you...the next time you feel a nudge in your heart listen to it. You never know how your heart will be effected. Isn't God great!!!

" 7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways", declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." " ISAIAH 55:7-9

~Nancy~

8 comments:

  1. Dear Nancy, I felt like I could have written this post-you and I are kindred spirits for sure(except I would have dropped the class I'm sure). I love traditional quilts and have only once gone "out of the box" with a quilt..still isn't finished but I absolutely love your quilt and the colors-it looks like a stain glass piece. So beautiful-well done! Love the analogy too dear one.
    Hugs to you today and have a blessed weekend.
    Noreen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amen. God uses the most unusual things to speak to us doesn't he?

    ReplyDelete
  3. God surely does work in mysterious ways, hugs my friend, want to see your finished quilt, hugs

    ReplyDelete
  4. I loved the comparison you made to following Gods's ways and "staying the course" to finishing a quilt. Quilting to me has always made me feel closer to the Lord. Many times as I am guiding pieces through the machine or especially when I am hand quilting, I am praying.
    I love your quilt. It looks like stained glass. Wish you had a closer up picture. I tried to enlarge it but it just got blurry.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have a wonderful Saturday.
    The problem with gardening all day is the ouchy sunburn on my back. I might have got carried away. I even applied 50 sunblock. I never burn~I have dark complexion but my back is fried.
    I look at those AMish gardens and think I have much to learn!
    Talk with you soon~
    Blessings~
    Carrie

    ReplyDelete
  6. What an awesome project you did with that quilt and what a wonderful lesson you took from it remembering to stay on course!! Thank you for sharing those wonderful words. Also thank you for the thoughtful prayers for our wedding...it touched my heart. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nancy, I'm so pleased that you have found a source for "real" milk. That's not easy to do. We get fresh farm eggs, but so far are using store bought milk. I'm into making yogurt again. People comment on how tart it tastes, but the tartness comes with cooking it longer and increasing the acidophilus count. That tells you how little acidophilus store bought yogurt contains.
    We had a great time at church camp over the weekend. Maria and her friends kept Jonny for awhile and David and I took a short hike. I have fallen arches, so 2 miles was plenty.
    I've got to bike to the Lutheran church in a few minutes. Jonny is attending their VBS this week.
    Looking forward to more quilt photos.

    ReplyDelete