Deus Caritas Est

Pattern Source

This block is Pattern #14, Feather-Wreathed Heart, from Elly Sienkiewicz's book Baltimore Beauties and Beyond, Volume I, Studies in Classic Album Quilt Appliqué.

Block Title

While I was stitching this block, Pope Benedict XVI released his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est—God Is Love. I thought that would be a perfect title. This is also the first block on which I tried my hand at calligraphy using brown Pigma pens. The center says "Love," with some flourishes, lower left says "Deus Caritas Est," and lower right says "February 2006." I have incredibly horrible handwriting, so I used the trick of tracing lettering I had printed from my computer on a light box. (OK, truth be told I hadn't found my light box yet, so I used my kitchen window...)

This Leg of the Journey – Completed February 2006

An upcoming dental appointment was going to take several hours, so I wanted to select a block that would be fairly quick and easy so I could take it with me. I had had good luck with my first block, a single-color papercut, so I thought something similar would be easy (no little fussy pieces to worry about!). I leafed through my "Elly" books and found this lovely feather heart.

I dug through my stash and found an interesting red fabric with a small black pattern on it. It was nice, but not quite right. As I folded it to put back in my box, I saw the back of the fabric. Perfect! The black pattern was less pronounced and the red was darker. (The photo makes it look nearly black, but it's really closer to a burgundy.)

I traced the pattern onto freezer paper, cut it out, and ironed it to my red fabric. After basting it to the background fabric, I put block, thread, scissors, and other supplies into the little sewing box I had received as a gift when I worked in Japan (see photo). I was all set for my appointment!

Upon arriving at the office I set up shop in the waiting room and started stitching. It was not long before I realized the block was not going to be quick after all. All those feathers, inside and outside, were just a pain! (But nothing compared to the pain I suffered that day...)

Lesson Learned

Don't let the single color fool you! This block seemed to take forever. It was during this block that I learned to have at least two blocks of different kinds going at one time so I didn't get bored or discouraged. I started Cornucopia With Fruits and Acorns while I was in the midst of Deus Caritas Est.