Death and Dying and a Quick Quilt

Julia's Garden by Cathy Geier

This is a heck of a title for a blog isn't it!?  

You know how sometimes old friends drift back into your life and you can almost pick up where you left off - even though it has been many many years since you've seen them? (Like 30 years!) This week I got a phone call about a mutual friend our ours from way back when, only this friend is very sick. This friend was diagnosed with a terminal disease and is dying. 

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his godly ones". Did you know this is a Bible verse? You sure don't hear this one quoted much do you? It comes from Psalm 116, verse 15. The last few days I've been thinking about my friend and the end of one stage of her life and the beginning of the new. 

Or even better, thinking about our lives and deaths here on earth as a mere 'false start' as CS Lewis described it.  The real beginning comes when we see Him face to face.  At the end of the last book in CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series, he wrote of Aslan the great Lion - the Christ figure; 

“And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

CS Lewis, The Last Battle. (Emphasis is mine) 

St John wrote in one of his letters (1 John 3:2-3) the following - 

"Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope fixed on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure". 

In light of all these thoughts I wanted to make my friend a quilt and I had less than 8 hours to do it! Thankfully I have lots of fabrics including scenic prints.   As I was thinking about death and new life I started thinking about butterflies... about how we are like caterpillars on earth but how when we emerge from our tombs (like butterflies in the pupa stage), we will fly and be beautiful. 

So I made her this little wall hanging. I fused on some other flower prints in the foreground and made a double sided 3 dimensional butterfly. 

Detail of the butterfly

 I  fused together 2 of the same butterflies to make it double sided. I stitched down the body and added antennae using black thread. 

Closeup

 I figured I should make a caterpillar too. So I did... and a little stick for it to crawl up. The quilting adds a lot, I stippled and make little loop da loos and circles and wavy stitching on the water. I added borders, a sleeve and made a narrow rod to hang it. And voilà, a small wallhanging.

I actually like the colors so much I was thinking about making another one for me!

I don't seem to be able to write a 'small' blog - it just doesn't feel right to me. So let me give you something more and show you some more fall quilts from Wisconsin.

These are quilts from the Fall Leaves Challenge. Here are the ribbon winners and then a couple of others that I thought were very nice and creative. 

Fall Transition by Terry Sankovitz.

 Terry thought of leaves falling and becoming birds - her bead work was glorious. This is the First Place quilt. 

Viewing Nature's Magic by Pam Moller

 This is the Second Place quilt, Pam painted this on linen and the leaves are dyed dryer sheets! 

A Walk in the Park by Pennee Clanton

 Isn't this a neat quilt? I reminds me of a painting but I can't remember which one, lol. This quilt won Third Place. 

Overhanging Oak Branches by Cathy Geier

 And Honorable Mention went to my quilt. The lighting over it was quite harsh but boy can you see the quilting! My quilt is strip pieced with appliqued branches and leaves.

Harvesting Sunshine by Mary Alice Hart

 I really liked this quilt. I thought the way her leg and foot stuck out of the frame was wonderfully done. She did a terrific job making blue jeans and creating dimension! 

Oak Savanna by Gloria Welniak

You know me and strips - I liked this quilt. Gloria was interested in the way light filters down from the blue sky and through the fluttering golden leaves of the oak tree to the savanna below.

Well that is it for me this week. We had a great visit with our friend and I felt I learned something as we talked with her. (She had more to give actually than her 'comforters' did!)

First, she is not alone. God's presence was clearly with her and she faces her uncertain future with peace and joy.  Jesus is more real to her than ever before and it is obvious that He is taking care of her emotionally and spiritually even as her body is failing.

Second. She is de-cluttering her life. Or un-cluttering?! Getting rid of stuff, getting rid of non essential things to make way for what really is important to her. She is zeroing in on things which really matter. I think we can all learn from this. 

Sometimes we avoid thinking about death and dying and we fill our lives with 'busyness'... busy busy busy. Then something comes along and it is like a wake up call. A time to reflect, a time to re-prioritize, and a time to examine our own hearts - are we right with God? Are we in the place He wants us? Is His presence with us and are we aware of it day by day?

Lots to think about. This has been my week and thanks for listening.

Comments Welcome.