I Shall Find Grace: 2019

"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

At last weeks USFW (United Society of Friends Women) Fall Retreat we heard and talked about peace. We sang a lot of songs about peace, made peace flags/banners that were hung above the windows, moved to the music with scarves and collected things from nature that reminded us of peace, that we put into boxes to take home.

We had several exercises Monday afternoon, one was to write down "What peace means to me." We were then broken into groups of four and asked to pantomime a few of those words to the others in our group, and the others were to write down how that affected them - the cards were then given to the one who did the pantomime.

Our next exercise was to take those notes, the ones Friends had written about how our pantomime made them feel, and write a poem, I don't do poems, I not not good at writing poems, so I thought I'd just sit there . . . but then something happened and I found myself quickly writing on my piece of paper. Luck for me that the words just seem to write themselves.

So, here is my little poem on peace . . .

Where There Is Peace

Where there is peace

there is no fighting

Where there is peace

we work together

Where there is peace

we care for each other

Where there is peace

there is LOVE.

Friends were asked if they wanted to share their poems, several did . . . including me.

Tuesday morning about half the group when on the "long walk" from Friendship Lodge out to the pillars (entrance to camp) and back to Friendship Lodge - before breakfast. Along the way several short pieces were read to us and we were asked to think about them as we walked. Most in the group found little pieces of nature to take back for the mornings craft project - I took a lot of pictures . . . the Scouter in me that leaves living things in nature be for others to enjoy, so I only picked up things that had fallen.

Our morning craft was to create a box with the items we had picked up or those that had been provided . . . it was rather relaxing.

I commented that I had originally planned this blog to be about the Peace Testimony, and that didn't get written. I tried several more ideas, but never could get anything finished . . . but I've returned to the topic of peace. So maybe this post isn't about the Friends Peace Testimony, but I hope it will get my readers to think about peace.

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'P' is for "Pinwheel" . . . or in this case "3D pinwheels!" On one of our quilting days, at Mooresville Friends, a few years ago someone taught us how to make 3D pinwheels . . . they look a lot harder than they really are.

First, you need to decide how big you want your finished block to be, and then you will cut four background squares and four pinwheel squares (choose a fabric with a good contrast) half that size PLUS 1/2-inch (for your seam allowances). In the example (white and green dot) I happened to have a strip of white that was 5-inches, so that's what I cut my blocks - so my finished block will be 9-inches.

Start by placing your background squares on the table - face up, add your pinwheel fabric on top of each - face down. You will now have four pairs of squares.

Next, take the upper left corner of one of the pinwheel pieces and fold it over, right side up, so that it forms a triangle - matching your left and bottom edges to your background. Press. Do this for all four sets.

Now, take the lower left corner of one of the pinwheel pieces and fold it over so that the tip matches the lower right and corner. Press. Do this for all four sets.

Pin the pinwheel fabric to the background fabrics, matching the corners and edges. Stitch about 1/8-inch from the edge - just to hold the pieces together while you sew the squares together to form your block.

Twist and turn the four blocks so they form a pinwheel. Pin and stitch together in pairs, pressing the seams open when you're done.

Then pin and stitch the two pairs together, pressing the seam open when done.

And there you have it, a 3-D pinwheel block! That was easy . . . now, make a basket full and you've got a lovely baby quilt - just tack it in the center of each pinwheel or add some cute buttons in the centers.

This teal, peach and white baby doll quilt (OK, I got a bit carried away with the size of it) was a gift for my oldest granddaughter in 2016, I think for her birthday. Funny, IU don't seem to have a picture of the finished quilt - I put buttons in the centers of the pinwheels. Late one night as she and my daughter left a friends' house it was bitter cold out and the granddaughter grabbed her doll quilt and put in over her legs (she didn't like socks or tights back then, so bare legs!). She then commented to her mommy "My grandma makes the warmest quilts!" I got a text, asking if I was up . . . followed by a phone call with her comment. Made my night.

This purple one, shown here with the blocks laid out and the center block is missing . . . it's different from the others. After drawing the quilting design in the solid blocks I realized I couldn't stitch them on my sewing machine, so hand quilting those. Can't remember, but I believe it has two borders on it. And if I ever finish hand quilting the solid blocks is a gift for a special little lady!

The green polka dot block . . . well, it may very well be the beginnings of a new quilt for someone, sometime . . .

A few more pictures from the retreat . . .