"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
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| Children's books |
‘L’
is for Library . . .
A collection of books, videos, magazines, pamphlets and other materials. A
library is a resource full of information as well as a source of materials for
pleasure.
Mooresville Friends Meeting and I’ll
assume that most Meetings and Yearly Meetings have a library full of resources
available to its members. Our library has materials for all our members and
visitors – from the wee Friends up to the oldest of Friends.
Since I started attending
Mooresville Friends Meeting we’ve had two or three members of the Meeting that
have served as our Librarian and when we did a bit of remodeling the library
moved into the old nursery. Friends and visitors entering through the back door
of the Meetinghouse walk through the library on their way to the sanctuary and
the rest of the Meetinghouse.
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The books and tapes in my Meetings’
library are shelved and labeled as they would be in a public library. We don’t
have a ‘card catalog’ but there is a book with all the materials listed and
their ‘call number.’ Along with all the printed books we have books on tape,
videos for all ages, Christian Education materials and bound copies of our Meetings’
minutes from 1823-2013.
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| USFW books |
One shelf is dedicated to USFW (United Society of Friends Women) Reading
list books. A variety of books from the current year’s list and those from the
previous year are on the shelf. Women of the Meeting are encouraged to check
out these books, read them and then check off which ones they’ve read on the
USFW reading chart, located on one of the walls in the library. Those that
complete the requirements, that is, read the designated number of books,
receive a certificate at the end of the year.
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| USFW Reading Chart |
I’m not much of a reader, I blame it
on several junior high, high school and college teachers who forced me to read
books that I wasn’t interested in, but I found several books on the reading
list the last couple of years that sounded interesting and I read them. The
Fall of 2015 I received my very first certificate and in 2016 I received my
second! Need to get busy reading for this year!
A few years ago our Librarian, with
the help of a few other Friends, acquired a software program and cataloged our
collection – last year that software was replaced with a newer program with
another.
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| Log Cabin Block |
‘L’
is for Log Cabin quilts - a rather simple block made with a square and strips of fabric.
The history of the log cabin quilt
pattern is not easy to track down as it has a very long history and not
everyone agrees with it, however the pattern itself is easier to explain.
The basic log cabin quilt block
begins with a square around which the quilter sews strips of fabric around the
sides in sequence. This sequence varies depending on the effect the quilter is
going for. Normally light and dark fabrics are alternated. A quilter may
carefully plan out her log cabin quilt or make it scrappy.
Folklore will tell you that
tradition is that the center square is red – it was believed that it stood for
the hearth of the house – as told by quilters in the late 1800’s. The strips of
fabric around this center square alternate light and dark – representing the
sunny and shaded sides of the house. Others believe that the light strips
represent happiness and the dark sorrow, of which lives are full of.
Quilters began sewing log cabin
quilts in the United States since the 1860’s. They were popular during the Civil
War – being sold and auctioned to raise money for the troops.
Other popular names for log cabin
quilts are - barn raising, court house steps and sunshine and shadows.
Traditionally log cabin quilts are
sewn by sewing the ‘log’ strips around the center square. The ‘logs’ vary in
size and round by round may vary in width as well. Many quilters will piece
their log cabin blocks/quilts onto a foundation fabric. I found I couldn’t keep
my ‘logs’ from stretching out of shape on their own, so I use the foundation or
paper piecing method to make mine.
Many stories of the Underground
Railroad will tell you that the log cabin block was used to in the quilts as
signals to the slaves escaping to the North and that the color of the center
block was important in that. In Stitched
from the Soul, Gladys-Marie Fry suggests that a log cabin quilt with black
centers, hanging in front of a house indicated that it was a safe house. Traditionally the center block was red, which was said to represent the hearth or fire of the
cabin. A yellow center was said to indicate a light or beacon in the
wilderness – William Lloyd Still, a famous black Underground Railroad
conductors’ log cabin quilt had a yellow center. One thought was that a log cabin quilt hanging
outside of a home indicated that it was a safe house. Another thought was that
it might have been a signal to the runaway slaves to build a log cabin to
weather out the winter or establish residency in a free area.
The log cabin pattern has only been
quilted with fabric for about 200 years. It is believed that British pioneers
brought the pattern with them to America and that the Amish brought it with
them from Germany.
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| Alex's Log Cabin Pillow |
I made
this log cabin pillow for Alex, the first grandchild, of my college roommate
(sophomore year) when he was born in 2008. My roommate & her husband had
built a log cabin home many years earlier and I used that as my inspiration for
Alex’s pillow. Alex battled many tough battles during his short life and if
memory serves me right he lived less than a year.
In part
the inscription on the inside of Alex’s pillow mentions “his grandparents’ log cabin house as my inspiration for his pillow and
that it’s a strong foundation and family. I also explained my color choices –
Red ~ traditional center, brings thoughts of your heart (he had heart issues);
Yellow ~ youth birthstone (yellow topaz) and how you shine; Blue ~ because
you’re all boy! I arranged the 4 blocks in this way as it framed a bright cross
in the middle, a reminder of all the prayers said for you.”
I hand
pieced and quilted this pillow and as I worked on it I continually prayed for
this special little boy.
I was able
to go to the visitation for Alex, surprised his grandparents when I walked in,
as I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get there or not and much to my surprise the
pillow I had made and given to Alex was there.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When I
thought about writing this post I knew I wanted to include the log cabin block
and a picture of the pillow I had made for Alex ~ and I got frustrated when I
couldn’t find any of the pictures of this pillow for my blog. I found it this
week – on my old external hard drive.
