Quilt Block

While Jayme and I were cleaning the house in anticipation of the big surprise party, I was trying to find something decorative to put under my french bread board. After looking around for awhile and not finding anything, I happened to think about how Jayme had used some old quilt blocks I gave her to put under some pictures on her buffet. I had purchased a big box of old quilt block and pieces at an autction for $1. So, stealing her idea, I went down stairs and retrieved some of the old blocks. They were really wrinkled and had some water damage, but I decided to use them anyway. I couldn't do anything about the water damage, but I certainly could iron them.

I set up my ironing board and started carefully pressing the blocks. As I was ironing, I started thinking about who made these blocks to start with. I could imagine her with her old iron sitting on top of a wood-cook stove, and taking it off and ironing for a little while and them putting the iron back on the stove to heat again. Did she think about who might some day look at her quilt blocks and think about her? I can't imagine ironing with one of those old heavy irons. I'm sure she couldn't imagine an electric iron!! And now I wonder who will some day in the future look at these same quilt blocks and think about who owned them before.

I know the blocks are very old. The fabric is old. The blocks are hand pieced. There are some pieces to the blocks that had to be pieced themselves. Then I thought about how much my life is like a quilt block. Each day of my life is a new piece in a block. And God has carefully cut them out--just right. And sometimes he pieces them together with a piece from someone else's life. Sometimes, there are pieces that also have to be pieced because there wasn't enough fabric from that day of life to make a whole piece. He carefully stitches the various pieces together to make a beautiful block. And just like life is always changing, this quilt is a sampler quilt, with no two blocks the same. Instead of new fabric, He's using old fabric--because I'm getting older every day! :) I guess one day He will be using *vintage* fabric!! My life is the quilt top--but it is layered on top of the backing and the batting--the lives of those who have gone on before me--like my mother and grandmother. And our love and the Father's love is what binds the quilt all together.

I really like these quilt blocks that I've decorated with even more now!!