Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe Wall Hanging

Every now and then, I will be shopping at JoAnn Fabrics and come across a fabric so unique and surprising that I just have to buy "a yard" of it.  One time it was a storybook "toile" of Jesus playing with children, teaching them, the children praying around a statue of Our Lady, etc.  A couple of years ago, it was a panel of quilt blocks of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  So I bought a yard of blocks (4 different ones, with three rows -- so 12 blocks altogether) wondering what I could possibly do with them, and so they have sat in my fabric collection.

I was watching a show on a local PBS station that has to do with crafting and I saw this lady quilting, without the tediousness of piecing blocks together, and thought, hey, I could do that!  This wall hanging is the result.  Currently, I have made another one and have another in the works.  Instead of piecing the quilt, I took the fabric and pressed under the raw edge and then layered the pieces on top of one another in the design I liked covering the raw edges.  (The lady did a "crazy quilt" pattern, but I liked the idea of framing Mary.)  Then I pinned the pieces to the backing fabric with the batting sandwiched between and top stitched on the sewing machine.  Lastly, I put on a binding and sewed a rod pocket on the back.  It now graces the space above our fireplace. 

The fabric I used to coordinate came from fat quarters and the remnant bin, and some I had from other projects.    Another idea I have had for using one of these squares is to quilt a Mass tote for my growing toddler to put in little quiet things for while we are at Mass.  I will post a picture once I finish it.

Once in the remnant bin at JoAnn's I found another print of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It wasn't as fancy, but I have that as well.  In addition, I found an Advent Pocket Calendar on sale in January that I look forward to quilting together in time for Advent next year.  I think that the pockets will make a great place to hold our Jesse Tree ornaments.  What is even better is that in January, the $9.99 panels were marked down to $2.99!  Just goes to show to keep your eyes out for these "bargains" and for fabrics that may just surprise you to find it in a secular store.

In Christ,
Jennifer

Homespun Love

I had started a cross stitch pattern many, many, many years ago.  I never quite finished it and it still sits in my to-do pile.  On it is a little poem that ends with: 

                      With His blessing from above,

                     Our house is filled with homespun love.

                                              (Graph It Arts BK 31)

I know I started this piece more than 16 years ago.  I've worked on it sporadically, but have a few mistakes on it that I have to either work out or pull out and start again.   My life is sort of like that unfinished cross stitch piece - - unfinished, some mistakes along the way, but blessed and filled with love,nonetheless.  God has certainly blessed me - - with my loving, hardworking, dear husband, the five children we have, the location of where we live, and I can go on and on with the list.

Homespun Love - - I am sure the name calls to mind the various crafts and things that fill the walls and spaces of a home to make it warm and inviting, and yet, it is more than that.  To me it is the idea of creating a space that is comforting, not just for visitors, but for those who daily lives are woven into the walls of our home.  There is a book available that disusses the home in a way that you may not look at it again.  It is called Splendor in the Ordinary:  Your Home as a Holy Place by Thomas Howard.  In this book, Howard goes room by room explaining how the ordinary purposes of the room are actually more than what we take for granted - - from the entryway where we welcome visitors and each other to the diningroom, where we eat together, our home is holy and sacred. 

We were at the beach last year and I was baking some biscuits.  My youngest daughter walked in and declared that the beach house smelled like home with the yummy smell of the biscuits baking.  And isn't that what home is all about?  That familiar, comfortable association of a smell or a feeling?  To sense something and be reminded of home.  That is what I hope for - - for this is what will bring them back after they have left - - knowing that they will have someone to listen, someone to hug them, and someone who will get up and bake biscuits or homemade bread for them. 

God Bless!

Jennifer