Faith is - - - for Patchwork Selfie

Sometimes we have to step back, let things go and count our losses to move forward. That was the case for me this week (again) with my Patchwork Selfie. The good news is that I’ve made a breakthrough and am finally feeling momentum!

But first - - - I love patchwork! It’s so familiar and easy. Haha! I was glad to take a break from words to stitch up this friendship star block. Good thing each section of my selfie has regular patchwork too.

My Patchwork Selfie quilt plan has 10 sections, each with a theme. The friendship star is one of a series that belongs to a neighboring section “Personality”, but this one nestles with the “Center” section. By piecing it together with the name block and the statement block background fabric, I create a better canvas for yarn applique. Now my long letters can float over neighboring seams in a lovely, layered manner.

This type of yarn applique is called couching. It’s a method I’ve used with success a number of times before. Thankfully it worked a charm this time around as well!

With the Center section finally complete, I decided to test another applique method on the menu. My “books” block belongs to the neighboring section, “Favorite Things”. It’s fitting to put this favorite thing near by the Center, since books have gone a long way to animate and shape my life.

This time I’m using raw edge applique with fusible web and sketch stitch edge stitching. On a whim I used metallic gold thread for the sketch stitch applique. Wow, I LOVE the result! It’s so fun and fancy. Can you guess what that inspired me to do?

Rip out the “Rachel” bias tape applique!!! That bias tape applique had been no fun to work with and yielded mediocre results which kept bothering me and dampening my enthusiasm for my progress. Time to cut my losses and try again. This week I redid my name in a favorite font with gold sketch stitch applique.

Ta da! So. Much. Better. Hurray! Bonus points - it’s much more fun to do.

Here is my finished statement block for my quilt Center. “Faith is seeing and still believing.”

Growing up I was taught, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, “ from the book of Hebrews. When I think of faith now, I think of how my belief in God’s goodness stands despite the suffering and wrong in the world. And this is no small thing, for that suffering is weighty and the explanations never wholly satisfying. For my faith, the obstacle of that which is seen in greater than the absence of that which is not seen.

Now, which section is next? Favorite Things, Personality or maybe I should start more logically with the Beginning? I’m not sure, but I do know that it’s time to prepare a foundation paper pieced alphabet for this project. I’m going to need those letters soon!