Acclaimed fabric and quilt designer Myra Harder established her new faith-based company this year. Aiming to “wrap God’s love around each person and let them find a soft place to rest,” Harder launched her day7 company with three colors of a single baby blanket design.

A veteran designer in the textile industry, Harder has seen sales of her six quilting books reach more than 100,000 copies, and two more titles are on the way next year. She also has produced thousands of yards of fabric for top design companies, and has designed work for more than 30 magazines. Although her work is displayed on the covers of top magazines, she felt an increased desire to share her faith in through her work.

Harder is a Christian of Mennonite heritage, which, at least in part, might explain her love of quilting.

“My mother had a quilt shop as a hobby, and I began to work there doing the bookwork.  Through this experience, I learned that I had a strong drive for creating designs, and new color combinations.  This led me to working with Better Homes & Gardens and their magazine American Patchwork & Quilting. The magazine work led to producing quilting books for Martengale & Co., and the books lead to designing fabrics for RJR fabrics.

“For many years, I had a desire to bring my faith into my work,” she added. “I was unsure how to do this, and it took God a long time to bring all of the right pieces together for me to see a bigger picture.  God has been showing me that His words in the Bible are not just 'good advice,' but they are powerful and life-changing.” 

The year 2012 brought “a decided change on the direction she wanted to create” and she officially founded day7 in January 2013. With the tagline “… giving you a soft place to rest,” the company gets its name, day7, “from Gen. 2:2-3, which talks about a day to find rest,” Harder said. “It is our strong desire to wrap God’s love around each person, and let them find a soft place to rest. Our first products are baby blankets because we want to cover our little ones with God's words and His love from the day they are born.”

Whale’s Tale, the company’s first design, features a quote from Ps. 23:3: “He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths.” The 28-by-34-inch soft plush polyester baby blanket comes in white, jade and teal backing color options.

“This is like a prayer I would say for a child,” said Harder, who has a son and daughter. “I want them covered in God’s Word, and I think this is an encouraging verse and something appropriate for a baby because this is what we wish for our children.”

For wholesale information, visit www.day-7.com or call 204-332-9192.