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Lenten Bookmarks

For Lent, I fasted from the morning news and made Lenten bookmarks. The news was making me mad—it’s supposed to be financial news, but one of the anchors was parroting political propaganda—and I didn’t want to start the day that way.

But if I give something up, I need to put something new in its place. My niece had given me a bookmark with my initial on it, which made me feel connected to the book I was reading. I decided to pass that along. Thus began the (non) traditional practice of making Lenten bookmarks. My goal was to sew 26 bookmarks by Easter.

E sewn in orange against blue candy foil on navy back with orange fabric trim.

Of course, I used scrap fabric and material otherwise considered trash. You know, like the crosses I’ve made. Soon enough, I decided to pair the bookmarks with a book. I chose this one because it’s about sewing becoming writing and the beautiful colors go with the bookmarks.

Dream A Dress, Dream a Poem orange, lavender, green, and black cover with a woman at a sewing machine
Interior double page of book showing Myra the sewer with red fabric, bold scissors, and black background

I’ve sewn a lot, but not embroidery. I went on YouTube—of course, I did—and learned a few new stitches. As you can tell, it was on the-job learning. My goal was to sew 26 bookmarks by Easter. I made it.

A-Z of multicolored hand sewn bookmarks
You’ll see 2 Ls as I began again.

Because Resurrection calls us to return to Galilee, the Lenten Bookmarks have become a thing, as I begin again.

Yellow A on a grey and cream background. Coin attached to bookmark.

If this weekend you celebrate the Resurrection, I hope you have a joyous Easter!

a new way of looking at Lent, hand-sewing, hand-sewn bookmarks

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