The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Being as quiet as possible, she made her way to the closet and opened the door. Several of Susan’s toys were on the floor, along with some shoes, a pair of rubber boots, and a jar of marbles. Anna thought it was strange that a young girl would collect marbles, but then Susan was a bit of a tomboy.

  Anna knelt on the floor, where she discovered a stack of shoe boxes near the back of the closet. She opened the first one and saw that it was full of feathers. The second box held a collection of dried flowers, and the third box was full of pictures Susan had drawn of horses, cows, and chickens. Anna frowned. Maybe Susan didn’t take my bracelet after all.

  There was one more shoe box, and when Anna opened it, she gasped. Hidden under several pieces of paper, she found her bracelet. So Susan must have gone through my purse, discovered the piece of jewelry, and hidden it here. Should I wake her and ask about it right now, or wait till morning? Or would it be better if I just took the bracelet and said nothing?

  Anna remained on her knees, contemplating things a bit longer. Then she snatched the bracelet and hurried out of Susan’s room. She would decide what to do about this in the morning.

  CHAPTER 26

  Anna studied her youngest sister from across the breakfast table, wondering what she was thinking. Did Susan know the bracelet she’d taken from Anna’s purse was no longer in her possession? Her face revealed no telltale sign of guilt or unease as she ate a slice of toast and giggled with their sister Becky about hiding from Arie earlier this morning.

  Anna had planned to confront Susan about the bracelet on Thursday, but due to her work schedule and Susan being in school all week, she wasn’t given the opportunity. If she didn’t do it soon, however, it would be time to leave for the quilting class, so she was determined to speak to Susan after breakfast. Since it was Arie’s and Becky’s turn to do the dishes, and Susan would probably go outside to play after their meal, Anna decided that would be the best time to catch her. She was sure Susan hadn’t told Mom about the bracelet, because if she had, Mom would surely have said something. Not only that, but if Susan had mentioned the jewelry to Mom, she would have had to admit that she’d snuck into Anna’s room, gone through her purse, and taken the bracelet.

  Anna ate her ham and eggs in silence, and as soon as breakfast was over, she cleared her dishes, grabbed her sweater, and followed Susan out the back door. Anna waited until her sister was a safe distance from the house. Then she hurried across the yard to where Susan knelt on the grass, petting a black-and-white kitten.

  When Susan saw Anna approaching, she jumped up and started to move away. “Wait a minute. I need to talk to you,” Anna said, placing her hand firmly on her sister’s shoulder.

  Susan looked up at Anna with a wary expression. “About what?”

  “I think you know,” Anna said sternly. “You took something of mine, and you had no right. You shouldn’t have been in my purse.”

  Susan dropped her gaze as the kitten pawed at the hem of her dress. “I–I’m sorry, Anna. I was looking for some gum, and when I found the bracelet, I thought it was pretty, so I put it in a shoebox where I keep some special things.” Her lower lip trembled. “You’re not gonna tell Mom and Dad are you? I’d be in big trouble if they knew what I did.”

  Anna shook her head. “I won’t say a thing, but you must promise never to do anything like that again. It’s not right to take something that doesn’t belong to you.”

  “I—I know. I’ll go up to my room and get the bracelet right now.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Anna said. “I already found it and took it back.”

  Susan’s eyes widened. “You snuck into my room?”

  Anna wasn’t sure what to say. She’d just given her sister a lecture about sneaking into her own room and messing with her belongings, yet she’d done the same thing. “I suspected you had taken the bracelet,” she said, carefully choosing her words. “So on Wednesday night after I was sure you were asleep, I went to your room to look around and found the bracelet in the shoe box in your closet.”

  “Guess we’re even now,” Susan said. “I took your bracelet, and you snuck into my room.” Picking up the kitten, she skipped off toward the barn.

  Anna sucked in a deep breath. That went well enough. Now I’ll either need to find a safe hiding place for the bracelet or give it back to Carmen.

  Shipshewana

  Cheryl had just stepped out of her car when she heard the familiar roar of an engine. Turning, she saw Terry pull into Emma’s yard on his motorcycle. When he turned off the engine and removed his helmet, he waved. She felt her face flush, which seemed to be happening a lot lately, especially whenever Terry was around.

  “How you doing?” he called, swinging his leg over the cycle and pushing it toward the big tree to park it.

  Cheryl waited until he’d put the kickstand down and caught up to her, then she smiled and said, “I’m fine. How about you?”

  “Doing good, but I’ll be better if you’ll agree to go riding with me after class today,” he said with a lopsided grin.

  “I’m sorry, Terry,” Cheryl said with regret, “but Blaine and I made plans for this afternoon.”

  Terry’s smile faded. “Oh, I see. Guess that’s what I get for waiting till the last minute to ask.” He kicked a small stone with the toe of his boot and sent it skittering up the driveway. When they reached Emma’s front porch, Terry stopped and turned to face Cheryl. “How about tomorrow afternoon? Would you want to get something to eat after church and then go for another ride on my Harley?” When Cheryl hesitated, he quickly added, “Or did the first ride freak you out too much?”

  “I was scared at first,” Cheryl admitted, “but once I got used to being on the bike, it was kind of fun.” She hesitated, biting her lip. “Actually, I was hoping you’d ask me out again.” Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, regretting what she’d just said. Cheryl had never been that forward before—not even with her former boyfriend.

  Cheryl held her breath and waited for Terry’s response, knowing if she tried to explain, it could be even more embarrassing.

  “You were?” Terry’s smile returned. “Does that mean you’ll go out with me tomorrow?”

  Cheryl nodded and quickly stepped into the house. For a twentyeight-year-old woman who was normally quite confident, she felt shy all of a sudden and needed to put a little space between herself and Terry. Aside from her reservations, Cheryl had enjoyed Terry’s company last Sunday and figured she probably would again. Besides it was fun to be dating again—especially when she had two very different men taking an interest in her.

  Following Cheryl, Terry was about to enter Emma’s house, when Selma showed up. He waited, holding the door for her.

  “I’m not late, am I?” Selma asked as she stepped onto the porch, panting as though short of breath.

  “Well, if you are, then I must be, too,” Terry responded with a teasing grin.

  Selma’s forehead wrinkled. “I slept longer than I’d planned this morning, and then—” She stopped talking and brushed a hand across her beige-colored slacks, where a glob of gray fur was stuck. Picking the hair off her pants and blowing it from her fingers, she watched as the air took the fluff and floated it into Emma’s yard.

  “Is that cat hair?” Terry questioned, remembering Selma’s comment about not wanting any pets. He hadn’t forgotten that Selma thought four-legged creatures were a nuisance.

  Selma sheepishly nodded. “Yes, it is cat hair.”

  “Is that from the same stray cat you were telling our quilting class about? Scruffy, was it?”

  Her cheeks reddened. “Yes, that’s the cat that’s been hanging around my place, and he’s been getting into the house through the vent in my bedroom floor. To make matters worse, for the last several days I haven’t had any heat coming up from that vent.”

  “Did you call the furnace company?” Terry asked as he and Selma entered the house.

  She nodded. “But they haven’t made it out to my house yet.
”

  “Want me to take a look?” Terry offered. “I could follow you home after class.”

  “I don’t have a basement, so you’d have to crawl under the house and you’d probably get dirty.”

  Terry shrugged. “That’s no big deal. Being a roofer, I get dirty almost every day.”

  Selma’s thin lips formed a smile. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that.”

  Crawling under Selma’s house sure wouldn’t be as much fun as going out with Cheryl, but at least Terry would be doing a good deed. He’d learned from Jan how good it felt to do something helpful for the older generation. He figured, too, that keeping busy today would take his mind off Cheryl and her date with Blaine.

  CHAPTER 27

  Good morning,” Emma said after everyone had taken their seats around the sewing table. “Today we’ll begin the quilting process, and if anyone has a question as we go along, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

  Terry’s hand shot up.

  “What’s your question, Terry?” Emma asked.

  “Will we be using the sewing machines again? I had a hard time holding the material straight while I tried to sew last week.”

  Emma shook her head. “The quilting is done by hand with a needle and thread. Now, will everyone please place your work on the table?”

  After the students did as Emma asked, she explained that the quilting process was stitching three layers of material together. “But before we begin the actual process, you’ll need to cut a piece of cotton batting approximately two inches larger than your quilt top on all sides,” Emma said. “The excess batting and backing will be trimmed even with the quilt top after all the quilting stitches have been completed.”

  Everyone watched as she and Lamar demonstrated.

  “Now, in order to create a smooth, even quilting surface, all three layers of the quilt need to be put in a frame,” Emma continued. “For a larger quilt you would need a quilting frame that could stretch and hold the entire quilt at one time. But since your wall hangings are much smaller than a full-sized quilt, you can use a frame that’s similar to a large embroidery hoop.” She held up one of the small frames she’d placed on the table. “It’s important when using this type of hoop to baste the entire quilt together through all three layers. This will keep the layers evenly stretched while you’re quilting. Just be sure you don’t quilt over the basting, or it will be difficult to remove later on.”

  Emma waited patiently until each person had cut out their batting. Then Lamar stepped forward and said, “The next step will be to mark the design you want on your quilt top. But if you only want to outline the patches you’ve sewn with quilting, then no marking is necessary. You’ll just need to quilt close to the seam so the patch will be emphasized.”

  Emma went on to explain about needle size, saying that it was best to try several and see which one seemed the most comfortable to handle. She also stated that the use of a snugly fitting thimble worn on the middle finger of the hand used for pushing the quilting needle was necessary, since the needle would have to be poked through three layers of fabric repeatedly. She then demonstrated on a quilt patch, showing how to pull the needle and thread through the material to create the quilting pattern. “The stitches should be tiny and even,” Emma said. “They need to be snug, but not so tight that they’ll cause the material to pucker.”

  Terry groaned. “That sounds hard, and look—I’ve already stitched my shirtsleeve to a piece of the material,” he said, lifting his arm. “Guess I shouldn’t have gone ahead of the others.” Wanting to look a little nicer today, he’d worn a pale green shirt with long sleeves, but now he wished he’d worn a T-shirt. “At the rate I’m going, I’ll probably mess my whole wall hanging up. Since this is the fourth class, I thought I’d be doing better by now.”

  “Don’t worry, it takes time, and that’s why Lamar and I are here to help you,” Emma said. “For now, rather than worrying about the size of the stitches, just try to concentrate on making them straight.”

  “Better let me take a look at that shirtsleeve,” Lamar spoke up, walking to Terry’s side of the table. “I’ll just cut the material off for you, and it’s nothing to get riled about. At one time or another we’ve all had an unforgettable moment when trying something new. I’ll bet someday you’ll look back at this and laugh.”

  Terry held his wrist out to Lamar and watched as he quickly detached the material and loose threads. When Lamar was finished, Terry glanced over at Cheryl, who sat across the table from him. She was already pinning her batting to the patterned pieces of material she’d sewn last week, and from the smile on her face, he figured she was enjoying the whole process.

  Quilting ain’t for me, Terry thought as he fumbled with his pieces of material, trying to get them placed and stitched on the batting he’d cut. I doubt I’ll be looking back and laughing at anything that has to do with quilting. If it hadn’t been for wanting to ask Cheryl out, I’d never have taken this class.

  Terry studied Cheryl’s pretty face and golden-blond hair. She was a real looker, all right; but it was more than Cheryl’s looks that had made Terry decide to ask her out again. Having spent last Sunday afternoon with her, Terry quickly realized that he was drawn to her personality. He liked hearing her laugh when he said something funny and was impressed with her caring attitude. Cheryl had also been such a good sport about riding on the back of his Harley. He appreciated that she didn’t judge him because of the way he dressed or wore his hair, either.

  Terry glanced over at Blaine, sitting beside Cheryl with a Cheshire cat grin on his face. I’ll bet he loved it when I stitched my shirtsleeve to that piece of cloth. Well, I guess it was pretty funny. Blaine’s probably better for Cheryl, Terry thought with regret. If I had a lick of sense I’d back off, but if I did that, I’d never get the chance to really know her. Nope. I’m going out with her again tomorrow and see where it goes from there.

  Carmen glanced at Selma, who sat beside her. She was smiling and appeared much happier this morning. Up until today, she’d been so sullen. I wonder what happened to bring on the change? Guess it wouldn’t be right to ask, but it’s sure an improvement. Watching Selma as she sewed and hummed to herself, made Carmen feel happy, too.

  Carmen turned her attention to Anna, sitting on the other side of the table. Even though she was doing a good job of quilting, her droopy eyelids and slumped shoulders made her appear to be sad. Had something happened at home? Did she have an argument with her parents or one of her siblings? Carmen hoped she could talk to Anna after class. Whatever was bothering the girl, Carmen was sure she wouldn’t want to discuss it in front of the others. Maybe Anna would open up to her. After all, she had told Carmen some things about her parents and shared her feelings about them. But knowing Anna trusted her bothered Carmen, too, because she’d begun to question her motives in writing the negative article about the Amish.

  “How are you doing?” Emma asked, placing her hands on Carmen’s shoulders. “Are you getting the feel for quilting yet?”

  Glad for the interruption, Carmen smiled up at Emma. “It’s not as hard as I thought it would be, but it is slow and tedious.”

  Emma nodded. “It’s good to go slow at first, though. That way you’ll be able to get more even stitches. But remember, the more you do it, the easier it will get.”

  “I’m glad I signed up for this class,” Carmen said. “Not just to learn to quilt, but to get to know you, Emma.”

  “My wife’s easy to get to know, because she cares so much about people,” Lamar spoke up from across the room, where he’d gone to get more pins for Blaine.

  “And so do you,” Emma said, smiling at Lamar when he returned to the table.

  He grinned back at her. “Guess that’s why we make such a good team.”

  Carmen couldn’t help feeling a bit envious. It was obvious that Emma and Lamar were deeply in love. What she wouldn’t give to find that kind of happiness with a man. Lorinda and Paul had a special relationship, she thought. If sh
e hadn’t been killed, they might have had another child by now, and I’d be an auntie again.

  Carmen thought about the phone call she’d had from Paul last night, asking if she would join him for dinner tonight. He’d said Maria would watch Sophia, so it would just be the two of them. Carmen looked forward to spending some time alone with Paul. He was easygoing, kind, and quite good-looking. It was no wonder Lorinda had fallen in love with him. Given the chance, Carmen thought she could fall in love with Paul; although she doubted he’d ever feel that way about her. Besides the fact that Carmen was Lorinda’s sister, her home and job were clear across the country. It was just a silly dream to think that anything romantic could develop between her and Paul, yet she couldn’t stop thinking about it. In fact, the more Carmen tried to talk herself out of those possibilities, the more her mind kept going in that direction. Once more, Carmen wondered how Paul would feel if he knew the real reason she was here. What would he think of her then?

  Blaine fidgeted in his chair, anxious for today’s class to be over. Even though he was finally getting the hang of it, he was bored with quilting.

  “How’s it going?” Lamar asked, taking a seat beside Blaine.

  “Okay, I guess, but sewing’s not really my thing.” He glanced around to see if anyone was listening.

  “What is your thing?”

  “That’s easy; it’s fishing.”

  “I enjoy fishing, too,” Lamar said. “In fact, when the weather is nice I go to Lake Shipshewana every chance I get.”

  “Same here. It’s a wonder we’ve never bumped into each other there.” Blaine smiled, wondering why the two of them had never struck up a conversation about fishing before. The class would have been less boring if they had. “No matter what time of day, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than sitting at the lake with my fishing pole in the water.”