Shepherd's Light: Shadows

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Shepherd's Light
Shadows

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.

As I prepare this installment for Shepherd's Light, I'm preparing for Good Friday and looking forward to Easter Sunday. It's a good time to be reminded that we have a Lord and Saviour who understands the dark places. Betrayed by one friend; deserted by others when he most needed human support, Christ struggled with the task before Him, suffered disgrace, pain and finally death on the cross. Our Shepherd has certainly walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and is there to guide us through whatever path lies ahead.

But, we must remember that word through! Whether it's the darkness of depression, anxiety, the loss of a loved one or our own death, darkness is part of a journey. When we are tempted to sit down and give up, his discipline [rod] and support [staff] urge us onward, through the shadowy places [even through our own physical death] toward his hesed and an eternal home. Sometimes we can do no more than place one foot in front of the other: but life will follow death as surely as Easter Sunday follows Good Friday. The valley of the shadow is a difficult place to be, but we do not walk alone:

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things a we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:15-16]

Step 1 Choose fabrics

Here's the opportunity to use the shaded fabrics you chose in the beginning: shades of blue for the country version, shades of taupe/grey/black for the grey version. Instead of our usual ABC designation, we'll use the L[ight] M[medium] D[dark designations.

Step 2 Cutting:

If you are making the Shepherd's Light quilt, you will need to make 8 full blocks and 4 half-blocks. Cutting instructions are for all full blocks.

I strongly recommend you wait to make the half-blocks: when I made a sample Shepherd's Star block for this quilt, I found I preferred the lightest fabric next to the star, rather than the darkest as in the sketches. If you wait until you have the star points cut, you can audition your shadow blocks in the corners and decide which works best with your fabrics.

[WOF = width of fabric, assuming 40" useable width]

Fabric	Patch	Cut
Light Light	lL	1 half strip 1 3/4" x 20"
Medium Light	mL	1 strip 1 3/4" x WOF
Light Medium	lM	1 strip 1 3/4" x WOF +1 half strip 1 3/4" x 20"
Medium Medium	mM	2 strips 1 3/4" xWOF
Dark Medium	dM	1 strip 1 3/4" x WOF +1 half strip 1 3/4" x 20"
Medium Dark	mD	1 strip 1 3/4" x WOF
Dark Dark	dD	1 half strip 1 3/4" x 20"

Step 3 - Sew stripsets

Cut all WOF strips in half to make strips 1 3/4" x 20 (more or less). Sew strips in pairs as follows. Take time to check your seam allowances: this is simple sewing, but it is crucial that all your strip sets measure 3" wide. Adjust seams as necessary. (Save leftovers for half-blocks.)


Sew lL to mL press toward mL. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 8 two-patch units	Sew mL to lM press toward mL. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 8 two-patch units	Sew 2 lM to mM press toward mM. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 16 two-patch units	Sew 2 mM to dM press toward mM. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 16 two-patch units	Sew dM to mD press toward mD. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 8 two-patch units	Sew mD to dD press toward mD. Cross cut at 1 3/4" intervals to make 8 two-patch units

Step 4 - Make four-patch units

Butting seams, sew pairs of two-patch units together as shown. All four patch units should measure 3" square. Adjust seams as necessary.


Make 8. Press seams toward left	Make 16. Press seams toward right	Make 8. Press seams toward left

Step 5 - Assemble blocks

Sew four patch units together in pairs as shown. Press top seam to the left, press bottom seam to the right.

Sew the two halves together. Press seam down. Measure your finished block: it should be 5 1/2". Adjust seams if necessary.

Make 8 blocks.

Next block

Looking for more Bible Blocks?

A dozen beautiful blocks in three sizes plus hints for starting your own quilt group:
The Word in Patchwork