Jacob's Ladder [2]

HOME

BIBLE BLOCKS

BASIC BLOCKS

QUILT GALLERY MYSTERY QUILTERS

COOKHOUSE

Bible Blocks: Jacob's Ladder

[Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth,with its top reaching to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.there above it stood the LORD and he said "I am the LORD, the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offpsring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:10-15

"We are climbing Jacob's Ladder" is a favourite song at Bible Camp and Sunday School. It's fun to sing, but did you notice the difference in the scripture passage? Jacob's Ladder or staircase offered a glimpse into GOD's way, not OURs. Jacob doesn't climb the ladder to reach God; the angels which do His bidding are the ones who travel up and down. Jacob didn't understand that: ever the manipulative schemer, he tries to negotiate with God. It seems we often miss the point, too, even with Christ's own reference to this image: I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. [John 1:5]

God had eternal plans for the sinful, frightened, scheming Jacob and He has a plan for you. He will not leave you nor forsake you either. Jesus has already promised eternal life for those who believe in Him.That's truly good news: it's not up to us to climb the ladder to a Holy God. In His great mercy and love, he reaches down to us for His good purposes. How wonderful!

Step #1 Plan:

The most common version of Jacob's Ladder is the first block in The Word In Patchwork, so we decided to present a less well known pattern for this series. Most often set on point to give a strong diagonal line,this is a great block for using up scraps. There's lots of room for colour play too: try it with focus fabric in the "geese" patches, in the large squares, OR in the "sky" patches: each will give a different look.

Step #2 Cut: The cutting directions in the chart below refer to the fabrics by the letters in the blank drawing.

FABRIC		# to cut	6" block	12" block
"Geese" - one or several	a	3	2 3/4" squares	4 1/4" squares
"Sky" - one or several	b	12	1 5/8" squares	2 3/8" squares
Centre - 2 different	c	2	*2 3/4" squares*	4 1/4" squares
Corners	d	4	2 3/4" squares	5" squares

Remember to use 1/4" seams to sew quilt blocks. 6" blocks and directions are in italics; 12" blocks and directions are in boldface.

Step #3 Sew flying geese

In all of our illustrations, there are three sets of four identical flying geese units. Our instructions will make four identical geese units at a time: use four of the same b "sky" squares to follow the instructions below.


Draw a diagonal line on each b square. Place a b square on one corner of the a square. Place another b square on the opposite diagonal corner. (Squares will overlap). Being careful to keep the squares in place, sew 1/4" away from the drawn line on both b squares. Turn and sew 1/4" away from the other side of the line.	Cut on the drawn line and press seam toward the resulting triangles.	Add a b square to the remaining corner of each unit. Sew 1/4' away from the diagonal line, turn and sew 1/4" away on the other side. Cut along the drawn line. Press seams toward the b triangles to make 4 flying geese units. The units should measure 3 1/2" x 2" (2" x 1 1/4")

Repeat with remaining b squares and a squares to make 3 sets of four flying geese each.

Step #4 Assemble Geese strips

Lay out the geese as in the diagram. Note that our sketches have three different geese in each set. Press seams away from the points of the geese units. Make four identical sets, paying close attention to the placement of the geese.

Step #5 Hourglass unit

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of one c square. Place it, right sides together with the other c square. Sew 1/4" away from either side of the diagonal line.Cut on the line to make 2 half-square triangle units.
Place the two half-square triangle units right sides together, butting seams so that opposite colours face. Draw a diagonal line on one half-square triangle unit so that it crosses the seam. Sew 1/4" away from either side of this line to make 2 quarter-square triangle units. You will only need one quarter-square triangle unit for this block; save the other unit for another project. This unit should measure 3 1/2", 2" square.

Step #6 Assemble block

Sew d patches to either side of two flying geese strips from Step 4, paying close attention to the direction of the geese.

Sew one hourglass unit from Step 5 between the remaining two flying geese strips.

Press all rows in the directions indicated.

Sew rows together to complete the block.

Next block