Pumpkins in February

I realize the title for this post is a little odd; however, I thought I would share my most recent project just the same. In my second January posting, I shared my experiences from the quilting retreat I attended. As I'm sure will be no surprise to anyone, I picked up a few additional wool appliqué kits. After I completed the two projects from the workshop, I decided to try my hand at a new wool project. I decided to go with the pumpkins for a number of reasons:

1. I wanted to be able to finish a project in advance of the season for which it would be used.
2. I wanted to start with a project that I could finish in a reasonably short period of time.
3. Fall is my favorite season so I naturally gravitate toward anything with fall colors.
4. Of the kits that I had purchased, this was the one with the most basic shapes and least detail. Because I consider myself very much a wool appliqué novice, I wanted to lessen my chances of outright ruining the project.

The pumpkin kit is from Primitive Gatherings. In case you are interested, you can purchase the kit online at:  http://www.primitivegatherings.us/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=383. You also can find a number of many other wonderful wool projects there.

As I have worked on my wool projects over the past couple of months, I have found myself developing some creativity skills. Most of my previous handwork or needlework projects have been either counted cross stitch or pieced quilting. As such, careful attention to detail, color scheme, and placement are particularly important. With the wool appliqué projects, one is more or less given a general framework with regards to the shapes and the placement of the shapes, however the embellishment with embroidery is more or less left to the preference of the individual completing the project. The designer provides general guidance, but that is all. As you can see in these up close photos, I elected to individualize the vines on each of the pumpkins so that no two are the same. I also appreciated how the orange fabrics provided in the kit varied in pattern and texture.

As I have been exercising some creativity through this project and allowing myself not to be bound to reproducing the exact same project as the designer's, I also have reflected on the the freedom we have in Christ and how, through Him, we are no longer bound to the law. As Paul states in Galatians 5:1 - 

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Our freedom, however, does not give us free rein to indulge our desires as we wish, but rather to use our freedom in Christ as an opportunity to serve others. Just as my goal in exercising my creativity in stitching the pumpkin vines was to create designs that tied the entire project together, so our freedom in Christ should be used for the good of his church. As Paul continued in Galatians 5:13 - For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.