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“I have given skill to all the skillful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you. “ Exodus 31:6


“O Thou who art the all pervading glory of the world, we bless Thee for the power of beauty to gladden our hearts.
We praise Thee that even the least of us may feel a thrill of the creative joy when we give form and substance to our thoughts and, beholding our handiwork, find it good and fair. “.
Walter Rauschenbusch


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"Come, and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.
I cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise was on my tongue.
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD woud not have listened and heard my voice in prayer.
Praise be to God, Who has not rejected my prayer or withheld His love from me!" Psalm 66:16-20
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Thursday, January 26, 2023

FINISH--2 Sides of the Heart

 First big finish of 2023, this quilt's front was blogged here in 2022.

 In December of 2022 I assembled an 'after quilt' from a large panel with a bicycle, 4 small panel blocks depicting the 4 seasons, and several favorite fabrics which I had found difficult to use elsewhere.

  The blue abstract-looking flower in multiple sizes was especially troublesome, but one of my cherished fabric gifts from Jodie Ann (now deceased).  The yellow chevron I found a yard of at a second-hand store recently, and I just loved the punch that it added.  The striped division strips were an after-thought but very satisfying to my eye.

 I thread-basted this one in my living room, and machine-quilted the bulk of it from the front side on my BabyLock Jazz 2 machine.
 I flipped the quilt to the other side to machine-quilt the outside border, finding it easier to see the marks that I made (using a plastic stencil and pencils).

Cotton fabrics, MSQC 80/20 cotton/poly batting (former wonderful daily deal purchase), cotton thread cone from Connecting Threads in silver.

Finished size is currently 60 x 66 inches.  I haven't laundered it yet, enjoying the silky smoothness of the nice fabrics on the back.

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Happy NEW YEAR >>>>2023 !!! (AFTERQUILT made)

 You know the saying, "whatever you do on the first day of the year is what you'll find yourself  doing ALL YEAR" ?          

Well, I took that to heart, and with this day falling on a Sunday, I went to church and worshiped the LORD ! 

Then to make it a doubly-good year, I came home and finished piecing an "after-quilt"

   These are FAVORITE fabrics that I have held onto for a long time (some of them), and a four-seasons panel, along with a bicycle panel (another of my loves--bicycles)
 

 for my most recent orphan-blocks quilt-top, (photo below)

 

  (I observe a Sabbath day of rest on Saturday).  

I realized as I was piecing this PUZZLE (that I designed), that I am not a traditional quiltmaker.  People will ask me, "what is the name of the pattern you're working on now? "  Well,...most often it's a conglomeration (such as this back) where I just make things up until I can call it a quilt.  I'm not big on repetition.  

But, anyway, I'm not staying at this post for long........just really wanted to document the making of this back, and what I was doing on this first day of 2023.

I hope you got to spend some time doing what you enjoy most, and that this year brings you closer to the LORD, which will naturally also bring you many days of joy !

HAPPY NEW YEAR !