Pinwheels, Ships & Wind

I'm hummed the song Brandy (you're a fine girl) while making this block. Come on sing a few verses with me:

He came on a summer's day

Bringin' gifts from far away

But he made it clear he couldn't stay

No harbor was his home

Chorus... .... my life, my love, and my lady....is the sea....

Yeah, Brandy used to watch his eyes

as he told his sailor stories

She could feel the ocean foam rise

She saw its ragin' glory

But he always told the truth, Lord he was an honest man

Last month I picked up a big baggie of sewn half square triangles that a guild member graciously gifted the free table. I was fortunate enough to be standing there as she unloaded her haul. There were many more great baggies full of other treasures, but I didn't want to appear hoggish so I happily went away with my half square triangles.

I've been feverishly working on joining the rows for my block of the month class so I can share the nearly finished top with my students during this Saturday's class. I've also been writing assembly instructions to give them, and my brain is fried so today I allowed myself a little free play and what better to get some creativeness going than by grabbing those hsts. 

Brainless sewing is very therapeutic and I've been happily making pinwheels until I needed a bit of a break. I love Bonnie Hunter and her morning post today stopped me dead in my tracks when I read about the vintage signature quilt top she saw during her teaching trip in Washington. It was signed and dated from the 30s. The ship was made with hsts and from what I could tell rectangles so of course, I had to make me one too to go with my pinwheels. My poor ship looks lonely so I will have to fix that! I have no idea how all these will get put together but that's okay. For now it's just playtime.

I don't think we would appreciate ships and pinwheels nearly as much if not for the wind that seems to effortlessly move them about. We enjoy the wind in the summertime. We seem to always have a light breeze even when other areas of town are still. It's refreshing and helps clear out the winter stagnant air from inside our house. That wonderful breeze that we enjoy all summer can and does unexpectedly and violently turn mean. We live in a city that is known for having strong winds, and even though we have lived here over 22 years, when the turn happens, it always takes me by surprise. We have already completed our mid-October routine of removing anything from the outside that could get damaged or blown away so we're ready but not ready if that makes sense.  

While thinking of the wind during my playtime, I started thinking about wind and how it was described in the Bible. I love doing mini Bible studies. After a quick search, I quickly located over 50 mentions of the wind, and I'm sure there are more verses that mention the wind. Many of the verses I read describe wind as rough or strong as in Acts 27:13-15 ...but before long there rushed down from the land a violent wind; Job 1:18-19 ...a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house; John 6:16-18 ... Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.

I also noticed that the Holy Spirit is symbolized as wind as in John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

I always ask for discernment and understanding when reading the Bible. I believe the Holy Spirit delights in giving us just that when we diligently ask. The more I do it, the more I get out of it. It's not something I get to do once and then I'm done. It's a daily meeting when God and I spend quiet time together. I like the following except from Richard T. Ritenbaugh's sermon.

   "Like the wind, spirit is invisible. A person cannot see it move or work. However, one can see the effect of what the Spirit does. One can see how it acts on things—just as the wind going through a tree full of leaves. One cannot see the wind, but everyone has seen how it makes the tree's leaves and the branches sway. Some have perhaps witnessed a strong wind knock a nest out of a tree or rip leaves or branches off a tree, but not the wind itself. It is the same with the Spirit. The Spirit moves, and we then can see people react. The people do things. A work gets done. What we see is not the Spirit itself, but the Spirit's fruit."

Is it just me or isn't the study of wind simply awesome. Now which hsts will I use for the next ship block....