Esther

On The 28th MCCall’s March/April 2020 Issue will be on the shelves.

There are several quilts dedicated to Women who Inspire us. I chose Esther. There were several reasons for this. As I was trying to choose how I wanted to honor her through a design the word “Crown” came to me.

In our day a woman gets “Crowned” in a beauty contest. Esther won a beauty contest and was “crowned” a queen.

We know that Esther was an orphan and she was from the wrong side of the tracks. Her people were oppressed in that society. She was raised by her uncle Malachi.  As he was urging her to use her new position of power to save her people she had reservations. As we all would.

She was put in this special position against all odds and as we know she rose to the occasion and she saved her people. Through her family bloodline came Jesus Christ. There was a reason for all of this even though she didn’t know all of the history or the future. She didn’t know all of the circumstances surrounding even her own situation. There was so much evil and hatred with the King’s hired hand.

So as I was going through and thinking of this design I prayed and asked God to help me tell this story. He did. I knew I needed to use “Crown” blocks.  I used a crown of thorns block as my nod to Jesus. The reason that bloodline had to be preserved was ultimately for Jesus to be sacrificed for all of us. I put red in the center to signify that sacrifice.

I also used a block called Country Crown. I wanted a couple different crown blocks to signify the differences between the titles that she wore. She was not only a queen in her country but she was THE QUEEN of her PEOPLE.

I used a God’s eye block in the center. God is in the center of everything. He is in control. He knows all and he will not put us into situations to fail. If we follow him he will lead us to where he NEEDS us to be. There is also light that comes from God that spreads out through the design.

I used color to show all of the surrounding situations and how there were all of these moving parts. None of us can predict or control any of these situations that were happening behind the scenes. Some of them good and some bad.

What I believe is that we have to have faith. We have to step out, get uncomfortable to grow and create change.

I can relate to Esther because I am an unwanted child from the wrong side of the tracks. I have had to rise to the occasion many times in my life. Not to save a bloodline or a whole country of people. But to save myself. I only have to look at a few of my siblings to see what my life could have been like to know that I escaped. There have been many times in my life where I have had to rise up, get uncomfortable and have faith that things are working for the greater good.  There is a reason God uses us and we have to trust him as he knows the bigger picture. He knows the beginning and the end. I need to have blind faith and just know.

Be Still and Know.

This is obviously a very important quilt to me. I feel so honored that it was chosen for a national magazine. McCall’s Quilting.  I feel thankful that American Made Brand Solids provided the fabrics for this sample. It’s a dream that I get to create, design and express my love in this way.

When I quilted this I quilted an “E” in the center. God had Esther in his heart and he was guiding and directing her. I also quilted specific design in each area of the block to give it movement, dimension and to help tell the story.

xoxox

Charisma