Quilted with love is a common tag on quilts that are given for births, birthdays, weddings and similar celebrations. Several years ago I started the tradition of making a quilt for new births in the family, so the news that my great niece was expecting meant it was time to break out the sewing machine for the first time in several years.

Summer is not the usual sewing season in Minnesota, so I lost track of the quickly approaching baby shower. With three weeks until the big day I headed to the quilt store to find fabric for the woodland creatures theme of the nursery. I picked out a pattern from my favorite designer and started sewing.

Every stitch, every hour that goes into making a quilt is an expression of love. It’s true that some have turned quilting into art, but for me it is all about love. The hope is that the recipient knows that they are valued. They are worth the time, the care, the energy that goes into creating the quilt.

Quilted with love is a reflection of the love God has put into creating us. Everyone is unique. Everyone is knit together with the greatest of care.

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day. (Psalm 139 MSG).

It is easy for me to forget the care God put into my creation. It is easy for me to forget that I am loved deeply. Quilting reconnects me to that unconditional love.

Do you quilt with love? How do you express God’s unconditional love? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.