Lydia: Seller of Purple

February 2004, 22" high by 22" wide, $600
Copyright © 2004, Maria Elkins, All Rights Reserved.

This quilt was made for the "Biblical Women of Faith" exhibit. Each quilt in the exhibit depicts a different woman in the Bible.

I chose to depict Lydia from Acts 16 (see Scripture verse below), since we named our daughter after this woman who was known for her faith in God. Coincidentally, I finished this quilt on my daughter's 19th birthday.

For this quilt I wanted to try to make a quilt that was more abstract than my usual quilts. I wanted the human form to be recognizable, but I really just wanted to create a pleasing composition of repeated curves and a variety of purples.

Acts 16: 13-15 On the Sabbath we (Paul and his traveling companions) went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a beliver in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

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Last updated May 9, 2007.