The Project Quilting Challenge this week is to construct a quilt inspired by the phrase: “Hope springs eternal.”
Alexander Pope’s complete statement in the Essay of Man was: “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” While the season of spring is hopeful and holds many obvious symbols, I immediately went to a human context.
In the most dire of circumstances, a prisoner interned in a Nazi concentration camp because of his Jewish heritage used the wall of the cell to scratch a poem whose start is familiar:
“I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when he is silent.”
The poem goes beyond this familiar start, and I believe the next line to be the most hopeful of sentiments: “I believe through any trial, there is always a way.” This was my inspiration.
My quilt is constructed from hand-dyed fabric, with the Star of David representing the author’s Jewish faith as the focal point.
The colors are symbolic- the background is largely yellow to represent the sun, as well as the yellow Star of David that Nazis required Jews to wear in concentration camps and throughout most of occupied Europe.
In Judaism, purple gets its symbolism from the combination of red and blue. In the Jewish tradition red symbolizes sin and blue represents the glorification of God. When the two combine to form purple the meaning in Judaism is transformed into one of redemption and purification. My quilt is quilted with the words from the first line of the poem….I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
Check out all the PQ Hope Springs Eternal Quilts and VOTE for mine here
by clicking on the heart in the upper right corner (Scroll to the bottom to find the quilts.)
Here is the entire text of this faithful, peaceful and hopeful poem:
“I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love,
even when there’s no one there.
And I believe in God,
even when he is silent.
I believe through any trial,
there is always a way
But sometimes in this suffering
and hopeless despair
My heart cries for shelter,
to know someone’s there
But a voice rises within me, saying hold on
my child, I’ll give you strength,
I’ll give you hope. Just stay a little while.
I believe in the sun
even when it is not shining
And I believe in love
even when there’s no one there
But I believe in God
even when he is silent
I believe through any trial
there is always a way.
May there someday be sunshine
May there someday be happiness
May there someday be love
May there someday be peace….”
– Unknown
Live Well. Quilt Well.
Lisa