Writings and Christian Artwork
by
Ray and Gail Keffer

 

17.  THE CHI RHO

Chi Rho are the first two letters in the Greek spelling of Christ.  It is formed by superimposing the first two letters of the word "Christ" in Greek, chi - ch and rho - r.  Some feel this is the only Chrismon that is truly Christ because it is the spelling of His name.  We have done it all in the continental stitch because it is a difficult shape in which to be creative!!!  There are a few stitches on the model to show the crossing of the “X” which should probably be stitched first in a contrasting color.  The rest is done in white with gold yarn used to join them.   You can choose which colors you want to use and where!!!  Be sure that you do one each direction, or you will not be able to join them and have the right side showing on each. 

 

 

 

©Copyright Gail Kennedy Keffer

18.  THE SHELL

 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19

The shell when shown with three water drops is a symbol of the baptism of Christ. The shell may also be used as a symbol for pilgrimage.

We have used two different shapes of shells.  They are stylized!!!  You can do it with one of the designs shown or take one from the chart and center it on the shell.  You can stagger the three drops of water in gold.  We are not showing any seam marks on this one.  We would suggest doing the symbol in gold, the background in white, and binding it in one of the golds.  The choice is yours.  If you want to center one of the designs shown on the graph, please feel free to do so.  The insert should probably be done in gold to make sure it stands out.  If you want to include the three drops on the shell, we have given you the design.  They are to indicate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or the Trinity.  The models are shown in the basic Continental Stitch, but you could use another stitch for the background if you desire. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©Copyright Gail Kennedy Keffer
 

19.  THE SHIP

 

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”   Mark 4:37-41

This tells of the disciples and their faith and has transformed into a symbol for the church today as well as the time that Christ spoke to the disciples and made the elements obey His wish.  We have shown the sail in an open stitch, the mast in one color of gold, and the small boat in another color of gold.  We have bound the sail in white and the rest in gold.  This would also be a time for you to put a Christian symbol in the middle of the sail, or put a line of another gold or white on the boat itself.  You get to vary it to your liking.  Be sure that you do one each direction, or you will not be able to join them and have the right side showing on each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©Copyright Gail Kennedy Keffer

20.  THE CELTIC CROSS

The Celtic Cross is most often associated with the Irish church.  The circle and the Celtic Cross are a symbol of eternity.  The cross on which Christ died is used with the circle to show that Christ’s love which He demonstrated by dying on the cross is endless.  We have worked the circle in one color of gold and the outline of the cross in another gold.  Then we filled in the middle of the circle with white which shows it to be a circle

The inside of the cross can be filled with the same gold as you used to outline it, with the other gold for contrast, or with white for a greater contrast.  We have only used the Continental stitch in all of this, but if you want to use another stitch, that is fine as long as you can distinguish the circle and the cross. 

The inside of the circle would be beautiful in an open stitch if you like a challenge!!! The red (/) is for one color of gold and the black (/) for the other color of gold.  Your choice.   The rest is done in white unless you decide to fill in the cross with a gold color. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©Copyright Gail Kennedy Keffer

 

21.  THE CANDLE

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.   Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:14-16

Our model shows the base worked in the dark gold, and the flame worked in the light gold with the Continental stitch.  The candle is worked in white with the “T” stitch.  We are showing you a small sample of that stitch if you want to use it.  We also have complete instructions for it on the stitch pages.  Again this is an opportunity to use an open stitch in the candle part for variation.  Be sure that you do one each direction, or you will not be able to join them and have the right side showing on each.

©Copyright Gail Kennedy Keffer

 

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