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 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.

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.

I avoided the strips when quilting, which gives them an extra bit of pop, and gives the whole quilt such great texture.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I wonder what I'll cross off my "to-make someday" list next!

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.

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?

Biology First

Devotion for the week...

Yvonne, of Quilting Jetgirl, and her husband have a philosophy they refer to as 'Biology First.' You can hear Yvonne explain it herself on The Rev Biz Podcast with Sam Hunter. Essentially, their philosophy makes taking care of their physical needs a priority. That means they make sleep, food, water, rest, movement, and more a priority. It makes sense, doesn't it? Dealing with tough situations is even harder if we forget to eat or don't get enough sleep, our health goes downhill if we don't move our bodies, and we can't keep working without rest. Ever since I heard Yvonne talk about their philosophy, I find myself occasionally saying, "Biology First" when tempted to power through something without taking needed breaks. 

I was amused, then, to find an example of "biology first" when reading the Bible. In 1 Kings 19, Elijah is running for his life after being threatened by Jezebel.

Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, Lord," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died."

Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, "Get up and eat!" He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.

Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, "Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you." (1 Kings 19:4-7).

See that? The angel essentially said, "Take care of your self! You can't just nibble a little and expect that to be enough. Eat enough to fuel your body." 

How often are we tempted to ignore what our bodies need in order to 'get more done' or because we're so busy we're not even paying attention to our bodies? God knows we need to care for our physical needs, and He included examples of that throughout the Bible. We are commanded to rest (Exodus 20:8-9), and Jesus modeled resting, even going so far as to nap in a boat during a storm (Mark 4:38). When enduring his own storm on a ship, Paul coaxed the others with him to eat, reminding them that it would be for their own good (Acts 27:33-34). And, of course, Jesus fed a crowd of 4,000 men (plus women and children), after saying to His disciples, "I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way" (Matthew 15:32).

How or when are you tempted to ignore your physical needs? For me, I'm often tempted to stay up too late when my book is really good and I just want to keep reading, even though I know I don't do well without enough sleep. For you it may be that you forget to stop and stretch, or even to eat, when you're quilting. Whatever it is, our physical needs matter, and we'll be better able to face whatever 'journey' comes next if we take care of ourselves.