Monday 24 June 2019

Hand Stitching Musings

Kathy Quilts has been hosting "Slow Sunday Stitching" link ups for 7 years.  I have been following her blog for many years as we are very similar in the number of UFO's we have and the number of new projects we tend to start without finishing those at hand.  But, we both enjoy the journey 😀.  

As I sat under my new pergola in my back yard hand stitching binding onto a quilt for my grand daughter yesterday, I was pondering the idea of Sunday rest.  As I grew up, Sunday was always a day of rest, patterned after the Biblical ordinance of Sabbath rest set by God when He created the world.  We went to Church twice, visited with our Church family and rested from our daily busyness and work.  It was sometimes a busy day, but the change of pace from the everyday routine was very restful. We were allowed to do hand stitching, but not work on something that 'had' to be done in a hurry.  

When we got married, my husband and I also decided that for our family, Sunday would be a day of rest and rejuvenation for the new week.  We came across Isaiah 58: 13 and 14 which mentions "delighting yourself in the Lord".  This seemed a very fitting focus for the day...not a day to be full of "rules" but a day to focus on God, going to Church, encouraging and visiting with our Church family and friends, and resting.  Yesterday was a perfect day weather wise, so we sat outside on our patio with the new pergola structure.  As I hand stitched, my thoughts lingered on the sermon and the worship at Church in the morning, and pondering the many blessings we receive each day.  My husband was reading and we enjoyed a yummy cup of Douwe Egberts coffee, which I bought last week at a Dutch store, and a piece of "boterkoek" that my daughter in law made for us.  Everything is so green out there with all the rain we've had and the birds were singing up a storm ☺.  Indeed, a day of rest.

I'm linking this post up with Kathy's link-up with thanks for the many years of enjoyment reading her blog.  She has inspired me in many ways. 

Putting the binding on a quilt for my granddaughter

trying out the new shade panels on our pergola

4 comments:

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

When I was growing up (in Texas) we had 'blue laws' where you couldn't buy things other than food or gas on Sunday. All the stores were closed. I miss those days. No one seems to appreciate Sunday's for what they should be, a day to rest and worship God. Most churches don't even have evening services anymore.

Little Penpen said...

I remember my mom telling me that if I sewed on Sunday I would have to pick out each stitch with my teeth when I got to heaven. lol That's what her grandmother told her, but neither of us found it in the Bible. ;-))

Jenny said...

It's lovely to be able to sit outside in a shady spot and do some stitching. Not for me though, down here in my part of the world, New Zealand it is winter! We have our summer over Christmas.
We have a nice shady patio area too and I make good use of it in warmer times.

Karrin Hurd said...

What a great area to be able to stand stitch!