My Grandmother Dorothy was an amazing seamstress. When I was young she made several of my doll's clothes and for all of her life she crafted about 85% of her own wardrobe until her eyesight began to fail when she was well into in her 80's. When our now 25 year-old daughter, Christina was born Grandma made her a very colorful, small quilt made up of remnants collected from years of designing and sewing clothing. I can still remember her wearing a dress, a jacket, or even a handbag that she fashioned using one or more of the fabrics represented here in what is definitely one my most meaningful possessions. Lately it has given me some real food for thought.
"The seed will grow well, the vine will yield it's fruit, the ground will produce it's crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
vs.13b...so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.
vs.16-...These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbors and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all of this, declares the Lord." Zechariah 8:12, 13b, 16
Be encouraged, be brave. A remnant can be described as a leftover, a remainder, a scrap, or a survivor of what once was. I have also learned that it can be defined as what is left behind of a community after it survives a catastrophe. God is gracious and he always leaves a remnant behind so we can rebuild.
Through death their is re-birth, which is such a great thing to ponder since we are shortly coming up to Holy Week and then Easter. A seed is a remainder or a remnant from a plant or a flower. Our children and grandchildren are remnants of us after we are gone from this earth. All churches are remnants of the first church in Corinth. My quilt is a survivor of my grandmother's work and I am a remnant of her.
The remnant motif occurs throughout the Bible. Natural disasters, disease, various types of warfare and other calamities threaten God's people. Throughout our history this has been the case. Those who survive constitute a remnant.
"So too. at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." Romans 11:5,6
Remember that the grounds for the existence of grace is not good works! Pray, trust, and be patient because the promise of Easter is real! New life is just around the corner.
God is blessing you. Donna
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| This quilt is a beautiful reminder of the love and creativity which lived in my grandmother's strong hands. It is priceless to me and it measures 39" X 52". |
"The seed will grow well, the vine will yield it's fruit, the ground will produce it's crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
vs.13b...so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.
vs.16-...These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbors and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all of this, declares the Lord." Zechariah 8:12, 13b, 16
Be encouraged, be brave. A remnant can be described as a leftover, a remainder, a scrap, or a survivor of what once was. I have also learned that it can be defined as what is left behind of a community after it survives a catastrophe. God is gracious and he always leaves a remnant behind so we can rebuild.
Through death their is re-birth, which is such a great thing to ponder since we are shortly coming up to Holy Week and then Easter. A seed is a remainder or a remnant from a plant or a flower. Our children and grandchildren are remnants of us after we are gone from this earth. All churches are remnants of the first church in Corinth. My quilt is a survivor of my grandmother's work and I am a remnant of her.
The remnant motif occurs throughout the Bible. Natural disasters, disease, various types of warfare and other calamities threaten God's people. Throughout our history this has been the case. Those who survive constitute a remnant.
"So too. at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." Romans 11:5,6
Remember that the grounds for the existence of grace is not good works! Pray, trust, and be patient because the promise of Easter is real! New life is just around the corner.
God is blessing you. Donna
Again, thanks for your thought provoking message, Donna. Since my parents have passed it's nice to think that I am a remnant of them. A friend of mine once said that they live on through us. That's a beautiful thought. Also, I love your quilt.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blessings and may God bless you and your family.
Liz
My how beautiful is this remnant quilt and the fact that it brings such good memories of your Grandma! My wife Elizabeth's quilting group makes "Comfort Quilts" for recovering soldiers and families of fallen soldiers. Also she often adds or hides a good "memory" in quilts she makes for our family when she is making a "crazy quilt" or whatever those quilts are called with many fabrics, though not necessarily remnants.
ReplyDeleteFor me, your remnant quilt story reminds me that there is something good and special about everything, even the things that do not work out well or as well as we hoped! And that special something can be used as a foundation to build something anew!
One last story of memories & remnants is the Hallowe'en costume that gave smiles to us for years. We were at a loss what to make for one of our daughters but in fall cleaning, I had all these old neckties I was finally willing to part with, me being a pack-rat when it comes to letting favourite shirts, sweaters and ties go!
The neckties from big wide ties to skinny ones, once unstitched at the back and ironed, were sewn together with a hem and a waistband, making what we called a gypsy skirt! As our daughter twirled, the memories of times those ties were in fashion or times I, my dad or my wife's dad wore them, flew by our thoughts like bluebirds of happiness. The Gypsy skirt has passed to nieces and one day will no doubt find its way into a remnant quilt itself!
Thanks for your "remnant" post as we enter Easter week and are reminded that all is eternal and all can be reborn anew with positive reflections of the past remaining for us to carry forward!
God is Blessing all, always
J-M
Thank you. I love that Elizabeth makes quilts for the military and their families. That is awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to think about with quilts made from remnants or scraps: little pieces of "junk" can be sewn together to create a new and beautiful whole. God works like this too. He takes all the leftovers, junk, or would-be trash, restores us, and creates something new and great in our lives. D
Oh and J.M. I LOVE the "gypsy skirt" made from the neckties! What a fantastic idea! I think a lot of us were thinking "green" before it was in vogue! God is blessing you. Donna
ReplyDeleteDonna & Robert A,
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
Today for Easter breakfast I had read your blog and listened to your son Pastor Bobby with his Palm Sunday service via the St. Patrick/Tree Of Life web link.
Wishing you and your family a great Easter. Christ is risen! Amen.
-Alan
P.S. Would like to hear back from Robert A.
I hope that all of you had a great Easter! It was also our daughter, Christina's 26th birthday so we had a nice BDay brunch after church.
ReplyDeleteGod is blessing you. Donna