"I" is for Integrity . . .

"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,

Let me now go to the field,

and glean ears of corn after him
In whose sight I shall find grace.
And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."

Ruth 2:2  KJV

‘I’ is for Integrity . . . honesty and sincerity in all that you do; consistency in what one says and their actions. Treating others with honesty and respect in our daily lives, the way that we all should live, but many don’t.

Early Friends were known for their integrity in their business dealings – their honesty, fair pricing and the development of the single pricing market system - which lead to their success in business. But, this also resulted in their persecution as it prevented them from swearing oaths – which would have implied that they didn’t tell the truth when they were not under oath.

Integrity, speaking the truth - being consistent in your words and deeds. Treating everyone as equals – always being the same person in all situations and with all that one comes into contact with. Being solid . . . being honest and fair – always. Not standing by but speaking out about injustices seen.

The Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Matthew 7:12

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Irish Chain pattern

‘I’ is for Irish Chain Quilt OR Ireland Pilgrimage Memory Quilt . . . and I’m wondering what took me so long to realize that the perfect quilt pattern for this special memory quilt was the Irish Chain. As usual, I was totally over thinking this project!

I didn't get a chance to purchase any Irish fabric when I was in Ireland and Northern Ireland - except for a few pieces of Irish Linen from Ferguson's and I had thought of putting the small squares into some sort of quilt or wall hanging . . . and when I first decided on doing an Irish Chain I was planning to stitch some of them to the solid blocks and as you will see - that didn't happen.

Nine-patch block

I choose to make a single Irish Chain with a twist or two. The single Irish Chain quilt is made by alternating nine-patch blocks with solid blocks. My fifty-four nine-patch blocks consist of three different fabrics – a green Irish print, white-on-white shamrock print and golden yellow tonal. I had made matching luggage tags from this green Irish print for each of the Friends I would be traveling with, and a few extras. The thirty-eight solid blocks were cut from the white-on-white shamrock print. The yellow tonal blocks represent the ‘pot-of-gold’ at the end of the rainbow . . . which also explains the bright rainbow stripe border! I was a member of the International Order of Rainbow for Girls as a youth member in South Bend and served on the Advisory Board for the Assembly down in Greenwood as an adult . . . so I love rainbows!

Strips sewn together
to make blocks

To simplify making all the nine-patch blocks I cut 2 ½-inch strips of the green, white and yellow fabrics and then sewed the strips together, creating 6 ½-inch by 40-42-inch strips of both green-white-green and white-yellow-white, twice as many of the green sets. From there I cut 2 ½-inch wide sections from these larger strips. Three of these strips were sewn together to create the nine-patch blocks.

The finished quilt!

There are nine photo blocks in the center of my quilt, with photos taken during the Pilgrimage, arranged in chronological order top to bottom and left to right. These blocks are all labeled with the location and the date taken. The top photos were taken in the Republic of Ireland showing our visit to Glendalough, Ireland Yearly Meeting, a ‘title’ block, Blarney Castle (and YES I did kiss the Blarney Stone . . . not that I needed too!) and tea at Cork Meeting House during IYM Sessions. The center photo is the only photo of all seven Friends that were on the Pilgrimage, as we shared dinner together at Bewley’s Hotel in Dublin. The bottom photos were taken in Northern Ireland showing Moyallon Centre (behind Moyallon Meeting House) our 'home-away-from-home' during the second week, scenes from our Black Taxi Tour, a listing of all the Friends that were on the Pilgrimage along with their home Meetings, walking the Wall (around the Walled City) in Derry/Londonderry and the Giant’s Causeway.

Some close-ups of the center photo blocks . . . 

Republic of Ireland
Glendalough - Ireland Yearly Meeting (Cork)
Blarney Castle - Tea at Cork Meeting House

Northern Ireland
Moyallon Centre - Black Taxi Tour
Walking the Wall - Giant's Causeway

The whole group!

I set-up all the photos and the printed blocks on my computer and printed them out on special fabric sheets that I had purchased at JoAnn Fabric Stores on my color printer.