How long does it take to make a crown?
The easy answer is... a lifetime.
Because we live in a world that has so much creative imagery in all digital forms I have this one picture in my mind this morning that reminds me a little of how I think the crowns for those who are earning them down here on earth for their rewards in heaven are being made.
Sometimes I think it is this intricate web of molten metal being poured into a crevice that branches like a tree with each prayer, or lovely deed, or kind word or helping hand that a person may offer to another.
This process of a crown being made is the walk of life for those who believe there is a crown to be attained in the hereafter.
As I was designing the Kingcup quilt in my mind, it was many years ago part of the novel that I wrote and the one that is still being written. I always knew the whole story for the novels but the project is still being worked on. Kingcup is actually the main building in my novel, not a singular cottage, one of the twelve. In my published novel it is called The Winery Inn.
The names of things and people often get changed... in the Bible, it was common to rename people.
Because my philosophy of life is to live integrated, I work on this project as a current real life example of my understanding of the Bible... as partial and yet complete as it can be day to day. Learning is, after all, a journey for each of us.
So, the first thing I designed in my mind, after deciding on the name of this building, was this simple crown. Now, it's not easy designing a quilt that is a building especially when the materials that are available are all in a particular scale and, of course, I am trying to make the building, in the quilt, look 'to scale.' Quite a challenge, I assure you. I'm not working off of any pattern, I'm making it as I go along and it is already different than the first picture I have in my little stalled out on- line shoppe which I am unsure how to continue, not wanting to use the current platform. The reason I published a picture so early was to give you an idea of how long it takes to create and make something like this... it helps me to put a value on my time that I have not previously done with the price of the finished items that I have made. Those items are a real bargain and I do not earn a wage from making them.
So, in making this crown, I had to come up with a pattern that was simple enough to attempt and then see if I thought it was good enough to put on the quilt. With a simple sewing machine it is hard to make intricate things that may require cutwork... that would be a very time consuming project of embroidery that was just not right for a shiny gold noticeable crown for a symbol. It's a very satisfying project to work on for me because you sort of have to be the architect, the builder, the designer, the advertising logo person, the 'kind of everything' person. It's hard but a good challenge. Now, the cool thing about writing a novel under the inspiration of God is that you get to experience it in a way that is hard to explain or even comprehend at the time but you remember it. It is odd but very powerful, in experience, so the ideas are always flowing if you keep going.
Flowing if you keep going
There's your quote for the day... just comes out of the story sometimes. I wish I had an exact number of hours that it took to make just this one simple crown for the quilt but I didn't keep track of the time precisely.