Curves Jubilee

I'm excited that today I can share a collaboration I've been working on behind the scenes - introducing the Curves Jubilee pattern bundle! Curves Jubilee is a limited time collection of 12 modern quilt patterns featuring curved piecing for $23.99 USD. That's only $2 per pattern! This special collection is only available through Sunday, April 21st, so be sure to purchase yours today.

Want to see all the patterns that are included? Of course you do! Curves Jubilee includes Birds of a Feather, by Jody Groenendyk of Gingerberry Quilts,

Celestial by Amber Elliot of Alderwood Studio,

Circus Ring by Erin Nichole of Mija Handmade,

Lanterne Rouge by Daisy Aschehoug of Warm Folk,

Flutter by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs,

Garden Peony by Yvonne Fuchs of Quilting Jetgirl,

Gingham Glitz by Holly Clarke of Holly Clarke Design,

Lunar Eclipse by Shannon Fraser of Shannon Fraser Designs,

Where Flowers Bloom by Megan Collins of Megan Collins Quilt Designs,

Topsy-Turvy by Heather Black of Quiltachusetts,

Moon Lights by Sarah Ruiz,

and Illusion, by yours truly 😊

Isn't that an amazing group of quilt patterns? I'm particularly excited about Circus Ring, and may have already printed the templates and started cutting up scraps to make it myself 😊

If you bought all 12 patterns individually, it would cost over $155 USD, so the Curves Jubilee bundle saves you a bundle! Remember, this specially curated bundle is only available through Sunday, April 21, so don't let it slip away.

Buy the Curves Jubilee bundle now!

In Awe

Devotion for the week...

Did you watch the eclipse last Monday, either in person or online? We drove about 90 minutes to get into the path of totality and it was so worth it! I had never experienced a total eclipse before, and it was such an amazing experience there aren't words to describe it. We wore eclipse glasses to watch as the moon traveled across the sun. The glasses are 10,000 times darker than sunglasses and with them on we could see nothing except the sun. Nothing! Then, at totality, when I took the glasses down and looked at the sun completely covered by the moon, with the corona shining around it, I teared up to the point I almost couldn't talk, though I did manage to choke out, "That is soooo cool!" Everyone around us was saying some version of the same thing, or just saying, "Wow!" I am so glad I got to experience it in person.

On Wednesday during my morning devotions, I read part of Psalm 65, including verse 8, which says, "Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders." Immediately I thought of the eclipse. Awe is exactly the right word for what I experienced for the minute and a half of totality, and still feel whenever I think about it.

I'm certainly not alone in that feeling. I saw so many social media posts from others in the path of totality who were amazed by what they saw. During the eclipse, people all over the world stood in awe of His wonders. Whether they were in the path of totality or watching it streamed online, whether they acknowledge God as their Creator or not, they stared at the sun as it was eclipsed by the moon and they were in awe.

Some of them saw only the science, not the Creator who set the paths of the sun, the moon, and the earth in place to bring them together for that moment. Some of them saw only a beautiful natural event, not the One who designed all of nature. That they didn't see Him doesn't change that He was the cause of their awe.

Psalm 19:1-4 says, "The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world." Last Monday the heavens shouted about His glory to anyone willing to listen.

Like A Tree

Devotion for the week...

On Good Friday we had a lot of rain, then in the evening it changed to freezing rain. Saturday morning it warmed up again, so that it was about 8℃ (46℉) when I went for a walk around 10:30. When I stepped out the door I was confused because it sounded like it was raining, but it wasn't. As I walked, I realized the sound was ice falling continuously off the trees. The trees were all completely coated in ice from the freezing rain, but the warmer temperature was causing the ice to melt enough to fall off in chunks, which would then knock off other chunks from lower branches as it fell. Listening to it had me smiling the whole walk!

Along the way, I saw this birch tree bent way over by the weight of the ice. It always amazes me that trees can bend like that. If I hold a piece of birch wood in my hands, there's no way I can bend it even a little; it feels solid and unyielding. Under strong winds or the weight of ice or snow, though, it can bend dramatically so it doesn't break.

For the rest of my walk, the words 'like trees planted by the water' kept running through my mind, so I had to look up the verse. Jeremiah wrote:

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord

    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

They are like trees planted along a riverbank,

    with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

    or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

    and they never stop producing fruit" (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

The verse doesn't say anything about trees bending to survive under the weight of ice without breaking, probably because that wasn't part of Jeremiah's climate. It does reference trees that can withstand harsh conditions because they're deeply rooted in the life-giving water of the river. Whether the harsh conditions are heat and drought, or wind and freezing rain, trees have to be rooted in good soil in order to survive.

So who does Jeremiah say is like a tree planted by the river, able to survive those harsh conditions? It's not the wealthy, or the healthiest people, or the best looking ones. It's not the ones with the best jobs, or the closest families, or the most degrees. A lot of people put their trust in those things, but those things don't sustain us when trouble comes. Instead, Jeremiah says it is people who trust in the Lord, and who have put their hope and confidence in Him that can withstand hard times. 

When we put our trust in Him, our spiritual roots go down into good soil that can sustain us through long months of drought...or nights of freezing rain, depending on your climate.