Reconcilliation

The Prodigal Son by Rembrandt which hangs in The Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

A reflection by Henri Nouwen:
"Often I have asked friends to give me their first impression of Rembrandt's Prodigal Son. Inevitably, they point to the wise old man who forgives his son: the benevolent patriarch.

"The longer I look at 'the patriarch', the clearer it becomes to me that Rembrandt has done something quite different from letting God pose as the wise old head of a family. It all began with the hands. The two are quite different. The father's left hand touching the son's shoulder is strong and muscular. The fingers are spread out and cover a large part of the prodigal son's shoulder and back. I can see a certain pressure, especially in the thumb. That hand seems not only to touch, but, with its strength, also to hold. Even though there is a gentleness in the way the father's left hand touches his son, it is not without a firm grip.

"How different is the father's right hand! This hand does not hold or grasp. It is refined, soft, and very tender. The fingers are close to each other and they have an elegant quality. It lies gently upon the son's shoulder. It wants to caress, to stroke, and to offer consolation and comfort. It is a mother's hand....

"As soon as I recognized the difference between the two hands of the father, a new world of meaning opened up for me. The Father is not simply a great patriarch. He is mother as well as father. He touches the son with a masculine hand and a feminine hand. He holds, and she caresses. He confirms and she consoles. He is , indeed, God, in whom both manhood and womanhood, fatherhood and motherhood, are fully present. That gentle and caressing right hand echoes for me the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Can a woman forget her baby at the breast, feel no pity for the child she has borne? Even if these were to forget, I shall not forget you. Look, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands."

During the Service of Reconcilliation last night, we were asked to quietly reflect on this parable. It was so beautiful I thought I'd like to share it with you.

Ros

Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday and the celebration of Our Lord's triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, where he was welcomed by crowds worshiping him and laying down palm leaves before him.

Matthew 21: 1-11

For further reading:
Click here for Marcellino's reflections on Palm Sunday

Friday Night Sew-In

My Friday Night project was the broken dishes border for my Sampler of Psalms quilt. Half Square Triangles - nothing to them, or so I thought!! I needed 28 of these little blocks (6") and I made a good start on these last month. I've been adding to them over the past few weeks and last night I decided to put them all together. I'm sorry to say that some I had trimmed down to 2 and a half inches (and some I had not) so none of the strips matched another. I spent quite a lot of my evening unpicking, trimming and reassembling the blocks. Finally, I ended up with this stack of triangles.



Which when stretched out and ironed looked like this.


And when placed alongside the centre block start to look quite impressive.



All ready now for a couple of borders. The pattern suggests a navy blue inner border and then a mustard outer border. Seeing them spread out on the white lino, I'm rather tempted to put a very plain cream first border as I think it looks rather fresh.

Ros

Quilts 4 Hearts

Here are some jolly little friendship blocks which were fun to make. They're now on their way to Robyn for QUILTS 4 HEARTS.
Ros

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QUILTS 4 HEARTS

makes and distributes quilts for kids in need...
Kids with heart disease...

hence the name, "Quilts 4 Hearts".
We make.. and accept donations of.. quilts and quilt blocks.

Quilts 4 Hearts was started in 2004 to provide hope to children (and very occasionally adults) who have Heart Disease. Our hope is sent in the way of quilts and bears.

These children would never see such a thing as their quilt. They are all in need of operations to save their lives, which they can't afford, as their families are very poor.

Our quilts are a small way of giving them Hope by knowing that there are others thinking of them and who are aware of their situations.

Our quilts are distributed through Heart of Hope, a missionary organisation who are working with these precious children and their families in their communities.

Quilts 4 Hearts is volunteer based and non - profit and we accept donations from Quilters (or non quilters alike) from all over the world to donate in whatever capacity they can....one block at a time! One block can finish a quilt for a child.

Many people (or few, depending on who is available) help in making blocks, assembling quilt tops, then quilting tops to become quilts. At this point most of the children we support are based in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and surrounding areas. Hong Kong has now been added to Heart of Hope's program as well.

Heart of Hope runs programs in these areas, funding and raising money for kid's operations where they can and providing much needed follow up care with food programs and much much more. This is a very worthwhile cause and we feel making quilts for these kids is important. It is something especially for them and something they would never see or hold otherwise. Their beautiful faces tell the story. IT GIVES THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES HOPE.

To find out more, click here

Black & White Challenge

A quick update on the Black & White Challenge. I decided on black sashing eventually - I like the strong contrast which it gives and it made the quilt top a little larger. I am thinking for the border a white with black print - and then maybe, just maybe if I have time, a little applique in the orange?

Ros

St Patrick and an Irish Blessing

Patrick was born around 385 in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. As a boy of fourteen he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him. During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britian, where he was reunited with his family.

He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."

He began his studies for the priesthood, was ordained a bishop, and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived in March 25th 433, at Slane. One legend says that he met a chieftain of one of the tribes, who tried to kill him. Patrick converted the Dichu (chieftain) after he was unable to move his arm until he became friendly to Patrick.

Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland. He and his disciples converted thousands and began building churches all over the country. Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing Patrick's message.

Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, travelling and enduring much suffering he died on March 17th 461 where he had built the first church.

Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and has been associated with him and Ireland since that time.

Patrick was a humble and gentle man who was completely devoted to God. He feared nothing, not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance of his mission.

Click here to listen to an Irish Blessing
sung by The Priests.

Happy St Patrick's Day!
Ros

Quiltie Swap

Angela (Angela's Quilts) made this beautiful Tyvek butterfly for me in a one-to-one Quiltie Swap. She is a very talented lady and friend I met through the Popular Patchwork forum.


This is the little Quiltie I made for Angela, using varigated thread and a black and gold bead. Just in case you're wondering what a Quiltie is, its just a quilt in miniture - in this case 6" square.

I wanted to keep mine very simple so I left off the binding. If you're interested in how I did it, here is a quick run-down.



I pieced the top and quilted it onto the wadding only.



Then I made a sandwich of all three layers and sewed around all four sides. I cut a slit in the back layer and turned it inside out.



So then it looked like this.





I made a little hanging sleeve.


And turned it right-side out using this rouleux turner.


Then I sewed the hanging sleeve over the slit.



Ready to hang!

The real beauty of this method is that you can use any shape, including curves, and you always get perfect lines.

Ros

Black & White Challenge update

All twelve blocks have been completed - I can't believe how quickly they went together. Do I add sashing (plain black or something else?) What do you think?

Ros

PS Sorry for the quality of the photo - because of the building work I am very restricted to wall/floor space. I was standing on the furniture to take this shot and couldn't keep my balance very well!

Black & White Challenge

The ladies from the PP forum are doing a Black & White Challenge. We each sent to Tessa, our swap mom, 12 x 10" squares of our chosen fabric. She then returned to us 12 different fabrics (including 1 of our own) to make into a quilt, bag or whatever we chose. We can use one other colour to compliment the black and white. Here are the fabrics which I received - aren't they a wonderful selection!


Tessa is such a lovely lady, she made us all a card using black and white ribbon woven with narrow red satin, and she sent an extra piece of fabric.



It was very tempting to use red as my chosen colour, but then I came across this wonderful piece of yellow/orange/purple batik with gold swirls.



Here is my first block. I cut the batik strips at 1" wide. Once I had cut and sewn the block I squared it up to 9 and half inches. I'm not sure if this has a name, but it reminds me of chopsticks.

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Its week 5 of our building work, and we are still on schedule, even though a couple of days were lost from bad weather. Walls are almost complete and the roof will be going on next week.



I'll leave you with a few spring flowers which we have been enjoying this week.
Ros