Shepherd's Light: Shepherd's Light

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Shepherd's Light
Shepherd's Light

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me,

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Sometimes it seems like I'm walking in darkness much of the time, following a path I only see dimly, often feeling as though I'm struggling to find God. But, when I look back at the road behind me, I see God guiding and directing, comforting and sometimes carrying me along the way. No matter how dark the path seemed at the time, Godlight shone bright: like the shepherd's lantern guiding the sheep in the darkest night that's depicted in this block.

The study notes in my NASB Bible note that the word for "follow" literally means "pursue". Wow! that brings a whole new meaning to the familiar line.God's goodness and mercy and not just trailing after me through this life while I seek Him and strive to walk the path He's set before me on my way to eternity. While I'm feeling like I'm pursuing Him, He's pursuing me! Goodness and hesed aren't just ahead for me to strive after, they're right behind, rushing to overwhelm me with His lovingkindess. If in my flawed mortal understanding, God allows me to see His lovingkindess in my past, how amazing it will be when He shows me all He has done and is doing in my eternity when I come to dwell in His House forever!

As we approach our last steps on our path of re-discovering the Shepherd's Psalm together, I pray that you will have encountered His hesed through your time reading and meditating on His Word as you sewed the blocks.

Step 1 Star Points

If you have not already done so, take the time to make a scrap Lemoyne star block following our instructions: Easy Eights. You may wish to print those instructions to follow as you construct this block. Begin by cutting the fabric for the large star: I chose to use my lightest fabric.

1 1/2 strips - . 3 7/8"x width of fabric.

Align the 45° line of the ruler along the bottom edge of the strip. Cut the beginning of the strip at 45°. Cross cut at 3 7/8" intervals to make a total of 8 diamond shapes, checking after each cut , and sliver trimming as necessary to be sure the 45° angle remains accurate.

Place your completed 10" and 12" blocks in their finished positions, with the 8 diamonds arranged in a star in the centre. Place the shadows blocks between the star points to determine which placement you prefer: light toward the centre or dark toward the centre. [In the photo, the top squares have light toward the centre, the bottom have dark.]

I chose to place the dark toward the centre: I felt there was not enough contrast between the centre star and the light fabric. For a lower contrast, you may wish to place the light toward the centre as in our Shepherd's Light Sample wall hanging. Move the top, bottom, left and right centre shadows blocks away from the star: they will be replaced by half-blocks.

Note in the chart to the left which fabrics will be placed in each position: 1 is closest to the star, 4 is the outside edge. In the photos, 1 is the darkest, 4 is a medium.

Step 2 Half Blocks:

Fabric	Cut
1	1 strip 1 3/4" x 8"*
2	2 strips 1 3/4" x 8"*
3	1 strips 1 3/4" x 8" plus 8 squares 1 3/4"*
4	4 squares 3"

You may have leftovers from your Shadows blocks. Use them instead of cutting new strips to make two-patch units.

Step 3 - Half-blocks

Sew #1 strip to #2 strip. Press seams toward #2. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 8 two-patch units

Sew #2 strip to #3 strip. Press seams toward #2 Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 8 two-patch units

1	2
2	3

Sew the 1/2 units to the 2/3 units to make 4-patch units. Press seams toward the 1/2 units.

Cut the #4 squares on both diagonals to make a total of 16 triangles.
Sew #4 triangles to either side of the #3 squares. Press seams toward the triangles: they should overlap by 1/4" at the point of the square. Make 8 units.

Sew the triangle units to either side of these units, butting seams so the #3 patches touch at the sides: the triangles should overlap by 1/4" at the point of the square. Press seams toward the triangles. Make 4 half-blocks.

Step 4 - Centre points

Cut: 8 rectangles contrast fabric 4" x 3"** Fold in lengthwise half wrong sides together and lightly press. Align a ruler with the outside corner and the point of the fold and cut to form a long triangle. Make 8.

Align the narrow end of the triangle with the edge of the diamond [A], use the longest stitch length on your machine, [or sew by hand with long basting stitches] to baste the folded triangle to the upper left side of the centre diamonds, approximately 1/8" from the edge. The top folded edge will extend past the edge of the diamond on the right [B].

**I chose this measurement for my centre star to give a fairly thin "spiky" look. If you want a wider, more "star-like" shape [see our Shepherd's Light Sample] , cut 4" squares, and place the narrow point so it extends 1/4" past the A edge of the diamond.

Step 5 - Assemble Star


Lay the star pieces out in the correct positions and follow our *Easy Eights* instructions to assemble the star.	Treat the point sections as a simple diamond, but be careful that the free corner [B above] doesn't get caught in the seams: you will need to fold it out of the way to sew the diamonds together (see the circled area in the centre photo.)

The seams will be quite bulky toward the centre, and the middle may look like a mess when you are done: it will be tidied up when the block is finished. As a bonus, you do not need to be concerned if your centre seams don't quite match as you'd like, or even if there is a bit of a "volcano" effect in the middle. Close is definitely good enough!

Try not to press the folds as you sew the sections together: you do not want permanent lines in the centre. Once the star is completed, open the folded triangles so that the fold aligns with the seamline underneath. Press flat..I found it helped to tug slightly on the free point as I began pressing at the narrow edge, and to press every other point first. The points will overlap considerably at the centre, pressing every other point first seemed to help them to lie flatter. I like the three-dimensional effect of the narrow points, but if you prefer, you may choose to appliqué the folded edges to the diamonds, and trim away the fabric from behind. Either way, baste about 1" from the middle to hold the points flat while you appliqué the centre.

Step 6 - Centre Circle [hiding a multitude of...]

If you prefer, choose your favourite method to make and appliqué a circle in the centre of the star: my circle finished at 3" If you choose to hand appliqué, be sure to sew through all layers.

Faced circle method

draw a circle on a piece of lightweight interfacing or used dryer sheet. Use a compass if you like, or raid your kitchen cupboards for something in an appropriate size to use as a template: I found a wide-mouthed canning jar was perfect. Check to be sure the circle will cover all the raw edges of the centre points, but will not extend past the place where they touch.
Place the interfacing right sides together with a square of your centre fabric [I used the darkest fabric]. Pin in the centre.
Sew on the line around the entire circle. Trim seams and clip to reduce bulk.
Being careful to only cut the facing, cut a 2" slash in the middle of the facing.
Turn the circle right sides out through the gap in the facing. Use a knitting needle or blunt scissor point to coax push the seam so that it is smooth. Try to roll the facing to the back so that no white shows on the front...you may find you want to "cheat" a bit, and use an indelible marker in the same colour as your circle to colour any stray bit of facing that shows to the front.
Once you're satisfied with your circle, press. Fold in quarters and press lightly to mark the centre.
Align the fold lines with the centre of the block...they should line up with the centres of the small points.
Pin 1" from the edge. Check to be sure the raw edges of the small points will be covered by the circle.
Appliqué the circle to the centre of the block: I chose to top stitch a scant 1/8" from the edge of the circle using smoke monofilament thread. You may prefer to use a zigzag or a blind hem stitch to appliqué your circle.


Once you are satisfied with your centre circle, turn the block over and carefully cut away all the excess layers from behind the circle. As much as possible, layer the seam to reduce some of the bulk. You may also wish to remove the basting from the points and trim away some of the extra fabric in those seams.

Press your finished block: it should measure 17 1/2".

Do you have all the blocks finished? It's time to put it all together! Basic measurements and layout photos are available now for those who requested them early.

Come back next month for the full instructions and scripture message.