HOW MANY CARDS?

1000 postcards for our friends.

Hope in the Neighborhood.

The quilt they called 'theirs'.

for 3 blog posts about

this quilt & the people

who wanted this postcard -

from the 'Back of Beyond'.

click here.

HOUSE ON THE WALL

The Bible story of Rahab is told through 4 houses on top of the wall. They are the same house but represent 4 scenes in the story. We jump into the story with Joshua sending 2 spies to enter the walled city of Jericho which he plans to take.

Scene 1: Rahab is a prostitute who lives in a house on the wall. She invites the spies to lodge the night. Joshua 2:1

Scene 2: Men in the city come looking for the spies, having heard they are at Rahab's house. But she hides the spies on the roof under the hay & tells the men, they (the spies) were there earlier but left the city. Joshua 2:2-7

Scene 3: The spies escape down a rope from her window and promise Rahab that she and her whole family will be saved if she identifies her house with a red cord hanging from her window.

Joshua 2:8-18

Scene 4: When Joshua attacks Jericho, the red cord is hanging from her window. She and her family are saved and the city is burned. Joshua 6:24

Why did I make this quilt? I know there's a reason. To be continued, I'm sure.

Click on quilt to enlarge.

Rahab

Finished Rahab Quilt-will post tomorrow.

WIND, EARTHQUAKE & FIRE

I loved the challenge of designing this narrative quilt, Elijah at Horeb. click on photos to enlarge

We enter in the middle of the story: Elijah fears for his life & escapes to a cave in Horeb. God speaks to him there.

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out & stood at the mouth of the cave. I Kings 19.

Elijah at Horeb sold at the Round Top Center for the Arts, in Maine. I made it early in my quilt years, before I had professional photos of my work taken.

DESIGNED IN MY HEAD

I created The Flood quilt in the '90's - Genesis account of the great flood. Designed in my head before sketching - ark to go across the whole quilt - picture the story progression in sections through & around this big boat. Click on quilt to enlarge.

1. Judgement from God on all people but Noah & family

2. Noah obediently builds ark

3. animals to ark

4. God shuts door/rain starts/people swept away

5. safety aboard/rain stops/great wind/water recedes

6. bird to find dry land

7. all leave ark/Noah gives thanks/God sets rainbow-promising never to flood entire earth again.

The Flood in invitational exhibit of Narrative Quilts @Yeshiva University Museum in NYC. What fun to be at the opening, watching people excitedly discovering all there is to see in this piece. Quilt in private collection.

•Filling order for giclee - adding rainbow with colored pencil.

SEQUENTIAL STORY QUILTS

I'll share the finished Rahab quilt in a couple of days. Rahab is the 4th narrative quilt I've designed in which the story sequence is pictured across the quilt.

Here I am with the Creation, in a seminary class I'm teaching in Jos, Nigeria. This quilt has logged a lot of miles with me, traveling to destinations in Asia, Africa, & Australia. The design engages & stimulates conversation, even in hard places.

Click on quilt to enlarged .

Genesis 1 - Creation account

• the spirit moving over waters

• light separated from darkness

• sky separating water

• dry land/vegetation

• sun/moon-day/night

• seasons-narrow band

• sea life/birds

• animals/man

SKY SKIFFS

3 more skiffs in the sky?

I almost forgot about them myself.

15 skiffs in...

click on it:

Drop Your Nets.

click on skiffs to enlarge

SKIFFS, NETS & WATER

In the previous post I showed 3 skiff quilt blocks. At the time I thought they came out too large - the reason they never made it into the quilt I was planning.

I went on to reduce the design & made these12 skiffs. They were stitched to of a background of nets & water, creating this quilt.

Drop Your Nets

© Marge Malwitz

click on photo to enlarge.

THE INSPIRING SKIFF

SKIFF

A shallow, flat-bottomed open boat with sharp bow & square stern.

3 individual quilt blocks.

Unfinished project.

Still perking.

Inspiring Rockport, a lobstering seaport on the north shore of Massachusetts.

Lots of skiffs.