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Words on the nativity quilt….
For some reason, I like to write on my quilts. I’m a very verbal person (in case you hadn’t noticed — grin!), and I guess my first art form was calligraphy. In the first picture, you can see part of the school’s name, using the same font as the school uses on its letterhead. Now I seem to have this habit of writing on quilts with thread. The Christmas Tableau quilt is no exception.
From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to include words from the songs in the Christmas Tableau program, as well as some of the verses spoken by the angels and prophets in the play. When the overall composition was set in my mind (but still in progress on the design wall), I read through the program and music and selected passages what I wanted to consider including as part of the quilting. I decided to place these passages next to the figures in the quilt to which they referred. For example, the roof of the building just underneath the angel is quilted with the worlds in Latin and in English to “O Come, Emmanuel” since the angel announced the coming of the baby Jesus. In the stable roof above Mary’s head are parts of the verses that explain that a virgin will bear a child named Emmanuel, and that he was born in a stable. Here are some pictures of the parts of the quilt with words (trust me, they are there…hard to see, but there!).
Next to the angel and above the mountains is the first verse to Angels We Have Heard on High:
Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o’er the plain, and the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains! Gloria, gloria, in excelcis Deo! (photo above).
On the left side of the stable roof, above Mary and surrounding Joseph, are the words of the Angel of Nativity from Isaias VII, 14:
“Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel”
and two verses from Luke II, spoken by the Prophet of Nativity:
“While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. “
OK…the writing is hard to read in the “live” version, so just trust me on this one….there IS writing on the print of the roof.
On the right hand side of the stable roof, are these words from Matthew II, spoken by the Prophet of the Kings:
“and lo, the star, which they had seen in the East, went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered h im gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
On the roof of the building beneath the angel, the one with the arched colonnade, are verses in Latin and English from O Come Emmanuel:
Veni, veni Emmanuel!
Captivum solve Israel
Quit gemit in exilio,
privatus Dei Filio!
Gaude! Gaude, Emmanuel, mascetur pro te Israel!
O come, o come Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel;
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel sahl come to you O Israel!
Below that, in the arched areas of the building and on the ground beneath it, are the verses for the shepherds from Luke II, spoken by the Prophet of the Shepherds:
“And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping wawtch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring youy good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sing for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
Wrapping around the manger (where Mary has just picked up her baby…how do we know? Why it must still be warm and comfy because the cat is trying to jump into it!), are the words spoken by the Angel of Prophecy, Jeremiah XXIX, 13:
“You shall seek me and you shall find me, when you shall seek me with all your heart.”
Finally on the bottom left and bottom right are the final two verses spoken by the Angel of Prophecy:
“For the kingdom of God does not mean food and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans WIV, 17
and
“And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians IV, 7
In some ways this is all rather ironic, because I’m not much of a church-goer or big on organized religion. But clearly it resonates in a deeper way. Peace be with you all.
June 26th, 2006 at 7:58 am
This is absolutely beautiful. I would love to see the quilt as a whole. I love the writing…I think that makes it that much more wonderful. You did a glorious job.
June 26th, 2006 at 6:59 pm
I haven’t been keeping up with your blog! I feel so lucky to have seen a glimpse of the tableau before it was done, since who knows when I’ll see it again?! The beading is luscious and the words are perfect. I especially love the big, stately block letters for the school name. Incredible. You are a steady-handed woman (who also has a nice machine!).
See you soon.
June 27th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Sarah,
Your Nativity quilt is really lovely. I love the design and all of your attention to detail. It is incredible.
Elaine
October 5th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Gorgeous quilt and oh so inspirational! I am not by any means as talented as you. However, I have a set of very beautiful Italian Renaissance type machine embroidery files of the Nativity (Sonia Showalters). I also have been collecting all of the dupioni to make a nativity quilt for my bed for the holidays. The look in my mind has always been very landscape. I had never thought about beading or writing. Beautiful. Now that I am retired I think I must really get on this quilt. Thanks for sharing