'N' is for Numbers . . .

"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



‘N’ is for Numbers . . . it’s all about numbers!

Friends use numbers in place of names for the months of the year as well as for the days of the week. So, instead of saying today is Monday many (not all) Friends would say today is Second Day, and instead of saying June Friends would say Sixth Month.

This can be traced back to the use of numbers in the Bible – one example is when the women went to tomb, the Bible says they went on the First Day.

We talk a lot about other numbers . . . the number of members in the Monthly/Local Meeting and the Yearly Meeting. The number of members on committees – having enough members to get the work done, but not too many, enough so that no one member or group of members are overly burdened with too much work to do.

Numbers . . .

How many do we need for the program/event to go forward?

How many campers can we handle during any one week of camp?

How many campers will attend Adventure Camp?

How many Counselors and CIT’s (Counselor in Training) do we need for the week?

How many game stations will we need?

The use of numbers for the months and days of the week just happens and it only affects non-Quakers . . . trying to figure out what we’re talking about, sometimes.

A lack in the number of members in the Meeting or Yearly Meeting and/or in committees is a concern that we would spend time worrying over.

Another number that Friends might worry over would be how much money is in the treasury/bank account. How much money is coming in? How much is needed to cover our budget?

Many times we spend way too much time worrying about the numbers . . . not just as a faith body but personally as well.

Take a few minutes this week to think about all the numbers in your life and in the life of your Meeting/Church. How many of those numbers do you take for granted?

Just for fun . . . How many Quakers does it take to change a light bulb?

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Floral print with solid purple
made for my oldest daughter

‘N’ is for Nine-Patch . . . Traditionally, nine-patch was one of the first blocks taught to new quilters . . . and as it turns out, other than the quilt I made back when I was in college (embroidered blocks), the first quilt block I was taught, by a couple of the quilting Friends in my Meeting, was a nine-patch!

Very simply put a nine-patch is a block that consists of nine equal squares, with the squares sewn into three rows of three squares each. This quilt block is very traditional and versatile. You can make your squares, and thus your blocks, any size you want! Cut your squares 1.5-inches and make tiny 3-inch blocks . . . OR cut your squares 10.5-inches and make large 30-inch blocks!

Different patterns seem to immerge as you mix light and dark fabrics together and solids and prints. If using a larger print – you might ‘fussy cut’ those squares or use that print just in the center of your nine-patch. Nine-patch blocks are fun and easy to cut and make – there’s nothing difficult about them. Easy enough to piece by hand or machine – the choice is yours.

My first nine-patch block

As I said earlier, the first block I was taught was a nine-patch by some Friends in my Meeting that was during Vacation Bible School. Our Christian Education Committee thought it might be good to add some classes for the adults/parents to participate in (a way to increase our attendance). One of those classes was quilting. Each participant was given 18 squares of fabric – 9 print squares and 9 solid squares. We stitched them together by hand, which took a couple of days – even taking it home each night to work on it. After our two nine-patch blocks were stitched together, marked a quilting design in each of the solid blocks, basted the nine-patch to a piece of batting and then quilted the design. The two blocks were then hand-stitched together and stuffed to make a pillow. Well, I knew I had some of the print fabric in my stash at home and I decided I wanted to make two pillows instead of one and to use pillow inserts instead of batting. Well, I have my two nine-patch blocks quilted and ready for the backings . . . all I need to do now is to put my hands on the print fabric I have, which I’ve seen it a time or two over the years, and finish my two pillows.

Pair of nine-patch pillows
High School graduation gift to a friend

I’ve made several nine-patch pillows since, and given them away as gifts, these are usually 12-inch pillows – some just as is and some with borders and eyelet lace ruffles. As you can see, all of the nine-patches here use only two fabrics.

I’ve also made two quilts that have nine-patch blocks in them. You can check them out here:

http://ishallfindgrace.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-is-for-affirmation.html

and here:

http://ishallfindgrace.blogspot.com/2015/07/i-is-for-integrity.html.

Both of these are quilts I made for myself and use.

This post is truly ALL about numbers . . . 

Pair of nine-patch pillows
Graduation gift to a Friend