Welcome back to Week 13 of #freemotionfriday! Our video library is growing with these awesome videos, so if you’ve missed any of them be sure to search for them here. Learning each week with you, as we share our faith journey, is such a pleasure. If you’re just beginning your journey, here’s a post to help launch your free motion practice this year.
This week we’ll be making a free motion quilt design called “Palm Branches”. As Jesus entered the city on the Sunday before his crucifixion, the crowds met him at the entrance to Jerusalem. They shouted out, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9, ESV). Mark 11:10 says the same; the crowd cried out, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (ESV). They placed palm branches at his feet (or rather, the donkey’s feet as he was atop a donkey) as he rode into the city.
Palm branches were a sign of victory in ancient times – they were declaring Jesus victory as their king! Shortly thereafter, the palm frond became a symbol of martyrs…if you look at the stained glass in churches throughout the world, you’ll often see saints like St. Agnes, St. Valentine, St. Lucy (the list goes on and on) holding a palm frond.
Let’s get started in sewing palm branches, our free motion quilting design for the week. Here are three tips to help you as you create this design:
As you’ll see in the video above, one of the most important techniques here is to make a very small space in the fronds of your palm branch…keep those leaves close together. Additionally, you can modify the shapes of the leaves to change the plant in a cinch!
…and that’s it! Watch the short video above that breaks down the process even more. I look forward to hearing how your sewing goes; leave a comment letting me know how you did, and be sure to share your work on IG using the tag #freemotionfriday so I can see your beautiful work!