Heritage

I was remembering my dad this week. It's been 6 years since his death and more and more I appreciate what he passed on to me. He was a scientist at heart and always studying something. I am not a scientist at all but I did inherit his analytical mind. That is why I am forever seeing patterns and wanting to translate them into quilt patterns, which resulted in all my different labyrinth patterns.

Chartres labyrinth

Chartres Quilt

An analytical mind can be a beautiful thing, when we put it into service to others. When we stay open to its Source and keep the wonder and imagination, in stead of becoming closed and judgmental, I think this gift is the birthplace of many creative inventions. 
The spiritual counterpart is contemplation. Our Creator loves the honest seekers and questioners; this is the whole idea behind our spiritual journey, or pilgrimage. This is why I love the idea of life as a labyrinth journey, that twists and turns toward the center and then continues to twist and turn on its way. In my experience life, when lived to the full, is never a straight path. 
St. Hildegard of Bingen wrote: "Enjoy every moment of life by constantly reminding yourself of the imminence of death". Seeing my dad die of cancer and having gone through cancer myself, really brings this thought home. Strangely enough this thought brings freedom and joy, rather than sadness. Life becomes more precious to live, because it will end one day and we don't know when. 
So in memory of my dad, I say "thank you" for giving me an analytical mind and "le chaim", a toast to life.

Have you ever had one of those days that you just have to create something?
I just finished my last chemo treatment and typically I would conk out on the couch the day after, but not today! I just had to make things, so first I baked a bread and then I started this little quilt. 

Where did this urge to create come from? Or even the energy to do it? My way of thanking the Creator for being able to finish this hellish journey of cancer? 

Whatever and why ever I just needed to do it. Just like our Creator one day said: "let's create us something spectacular!" and here we are, living in this amazing world. So today I will rest with a heart filled with gratitude and bask in the beauty of fabric and fresh baked baked. Life is good!

Recently I visited a wool mill and was struck by the creative inventions of their machinery. They buy different qualities of wool from Western farmers and they process it in their little factory. We watched sheepskin transforming into yarn and fleece blankets. They also had a little shop where they sold yarns and knitted products. Here is where I picked up a kit to make my own dryer balls. I had to do some googling first but discovered that they are quite easy to make. 
This is the process of needle felting: you poke a sharp needle continually into a ball of wool, until you reach the right firmness. As usual, while poking the wool with a sharp needle, my mind turned to a different plane and I started to wonder about poking out all my bad feelings and frustration. It was actually quite therapeutic and as I kept poking, my mind turned from frustration to prayer for those who are hurting and I thought "hmm, there is something going on here".

- Are there things in your life that you need to "poke", maybe frustrations in your own life or frustration with our world?

The second step in the felting process is adding colour and shapes to the ball and from furious poking you turn to precision and slow poking. 

- What things in my life need attention and maybe some precision poking?

The last step is putting the ball in the dryer, with a load of laundry.

- Looking at your life with "clean" eyes what new things are emerging? How can you turn the frustration into something useful and beautiful?

welcoming the stranger

As I encountered the end of another year I was going through my different piles of U.F.O's or Un Finished Objects and found some treasures. One was a top I had made, but never quilted and another was a bag of strips that screamed to be sewn together. I did the last one first, a simple rail block. these fabrics were a donation from a neighbour of a friend. For the border I found the same pattern in a different, but similar colouring in my own stash. It works perfectly together.


 

Welcome!

When we welcome strangers and combine our gifts, beautiful things happen!

 





The other quilt I had started in February of 2015. Top was done, backing and batting were cut to measure, I just never quilted it. So in my rush to clean up I finished this one as well. I feel much better now! Sometimes things need to simmer and rest to come to fruition. The beauty of this pattern is that two seemingly different pieces are put together by a unifying strip.

Hospitality
We can be the unifying strip that brings opposites together.

If you see a theme emerging here, you're right! My word for the year 2016, turns out to be hospitality. It will be my challenge and guide for this year of new beginnings.
May all your odds and ends fit perfectly together this year and your scraps turn into beauty!

Preparing the way

Making a quilt takes al kinds of preparations: choosing fabric, choosing a pattern, making sure your blades are sharp, cutting the pieces, stringing the thread, making sure your machine is in working order, changing needles, warming up the iron, etc. Whenever you start a new project there are always the different planning and preparation steps to go through, before you can start working on the actual project.
During the advent season we prepare our hearts and homes to receive , again, the Christ child and we can think of many things to prepare both places. Taking time away and alone to prepare my own heart is not always easy, but I find it helps me to welcome my Saviour in a new way each year.
Sewing a lot of little Christmas toppers to sell and raise money to help women across the world is one of those ways. It's a gift that gives three ways: to myself for the joy of making; to the receiver for the joy of the artwork; to women all over the world for the joys of education, health and hope. And I guess a fourth way is to God for the joys of sharing and love.

Perspective

It always amazes me how the use of different fabrics change the complete look of a quilt.

They're not really sharp, but you get the idea. First glance they are different, but when you look closer the centers are exactly the same. As with a lot of things in life, when you go deeper, you will find you're not that different after all. The outside might be different, but the core is the same.
This week I had a question why I would pray to God as Abba/Amma (father/mother)? Short answer it felt right for the journey I was on with the desert elders who were approached with Abba/Amma.
Thinking about it some more I was wondering why did Jesus tell us to call God Abba? The obvious reason would be to make a distinction between most of the pagan/female deities, but what does "abba" really mean? Is it a title or a role? What does it mean to be a father? We all have ideas what a mother is and the attributes she has, mostly because we all have a very personal and physical experience of our mothers. For fathers it lies a bit different. They actually have to choose to be one. But how can you be a father?
Jesus tells us that when you have seen him, you have seen the Father, so obviously Jesus shows an example of fatherhood through his life. In other parts of scripture we find motherly attributes connected to God, and obviously both male and female are created in God's image, so you would expect God to be a bit of both.
I think it is a positive trend to see the view of fatherhood around me change, where dads take more of a nurturing role with their children, as moms have jobs. There are single parents of either gender who take on both roles as well. As the face of parenthood changes, maybe God is OK with us calling him mom or dad, as long as we keep asking questions what it means to be either parent and we go back to Jesus who showed us what being a parent looks like.

Star gazing

Last weekend I went on a women's retreat in Jasper. Such an inspirational place! Besides getting together with friends, old & new, we were inspired by worship, speakers, food and of course the mountains around us. This week was also the dark sky festival. Jasper park is a designated dark sky area, with low energy lighting. So we drove out in the evening to Pyramid lake and watched the bright stars. The big dipper was very bright and easy to spot. We saw the Milky Way and Hercules, but then the clouds came in and every star was obscured.
People use the stars to navigate, but how do you see where you're going in the dark?
One of my friends mentioned that she always knew where I was because she could hear my distinct voice. When sight fails us we can often hear better. When sound fails us we can often see better. I've been practicing quiet and solitude these weeks and as in real life, certain spiritual faculties are enhanced when others are blocked. It has been a rich time of listening and seeing. Noticing the close relation and order of these two faculties.  When we become quiet we can listen to God's voice inside us and from this attitude we are able to see clearer what's happening around us and inside of us. The bright and deep night sky is so fascinating and humbling and mysterious, yet you can find your way home easily, when you know where to look.

Day 3 of Creation