Chapter 14 #3
“We wanted to teach you how to thread baste in case you needed that for a future episode,” Maggie explained, joining in the company’s laughter. “Also, if you’re not able to complete the quilting before you leave, your quilt sandwich will be much easier to transport if it’s basted.”
“Fair point,” said Olivia, waving a hand to show that all was forgiven.
“Are we ready to quilt now?” asked Lindsay.
“We are indeed.” Gretchen looked around the company, her gaze lingering on Julia, Ellen, and Edna. “Why don’t we begin with
those of you who have quilted by hand before? Please take a seat, and Maggie will provide the needles and thread.”
Julia, Ellen, and Edna promptly seated themselves on one side of the frame, and, when none of the other students came forward,
Sylvia, Gretchen, and Maggie sat opposite them. Maggie repeated the steps she had shown them in the classroom, with minor
adjustments to account for the differences between working with a small lap hoop and a larger, freestanding frame. Julia and
the other quilters threaded their own needles and began quilting the sections in front of them, following the drawn lines
with their finest stitching. At first Julia tried to match the Elm Creek Quilters’ brisk pace, but she soon gave up and proceeded
more slowly, focusing on making her stitches small and even.
The rest of the company watched closely, admiring their work. “What do you do when the strand of thread runs out?” asked Paige.
“What happens when you reach the end of the drawn line?” asked Marisa.
“Two excellent questions,” said Gretchen, glancing up from her work to smile encouragingly. “I promise to show you when we
get there.”
Nigel peered over Maggie’s shoulder, studying her hands intensely. “Tell me, Maggie,” he asked. “Do you feel that the needle
is an extension of you, or that you are an extension of the needle?”
She had to pause to think. “Um, the former, I guess?” She gave her head a little shake and resumed quilting. “No one has ever asked me that before.”
“Is that so?” Nigel replied, his brow furrowing. “I can’t imagine a more essential question.”
Soon thereafter, the quilters relinquished their seats so another group could have a turn. Paige, Lindsay, Jason, and Nigel
quickly took their places at the quilt frame; Marisa and Dylan joined them a bit more warily. Yet before long all six were
quilting steadily along, gaining confidence, chuckling at their mistakes. After a few minutes, Gretchen asked them to secure
their needles in the quilt and inspect their own stitches.
“Mine are pretty terrible,” Marisa admitted. “I’ll get the hang of it, I promise.”
“Mine are straight and even, but they’re huge,” said Paige.
Sylvia bent over for a closer look. “Oh, yes. My great-aunt would have called those ‘toenail catchers,’ but they’re quite
good for a beginner. Now I’m going to ask all of you to peek beneath the frame and see how your stitches look from the back.”
As the six novice quilters obeyed, Edna nudged Julia and whispered, “We didn’t have to do that.”
“That’s because she thinks we’re the experts, in comparison,” Julia whispered back. “To be honest, I don’t think my stitches
would pass a close inspection.”
“I’m sure mine would,” Edna remarked. Julia gave her a playful shove.
“They look the same to me,” Paige called, her voice muffled through the quilt’s layers. “Huge, but equally huge.”
“Good,” said Sylvia. “That’s the ideal—neat, even stitches the same length on the bottom as on the top.”
“My stitches are equally unequal,” said Marisa as she emerged from beneath the frame.
“They’re perfectly acceptable for your first try,” said Sylvia. “Practice makes perfect.”
“Perfect might be too ambitious for me,” said Dylan ruefully as he returned to his seat. “I’d settle for better.”
“You’ll get there,” Maggie assured him, “if you stick with it.”
The six got back to work, but soon they rose and let six others take their places. Surely and steadily, the quilt transformed
beneath their needles as the quilting stitches added dimension to the pieced pattern. But as the afternoon passed, the students
relinquished their places more readily, and a few complained about tired arms, aching necks, and sore left forefingers stinging
from too many needle pricks.
“Quilters develop a callus there over time, and the needle pricks don’t hurt as much,” Gretchen said. “Until then, a bit of
medical tape or a second thimble can prevent soreness.”
“My mom uses a metal thimble for her needle-wielding hand and a leather thimble for the one beneath the quilt,” said Lindsay.
Julia, seated at the frame, nearly dropped her needle. “Your mother.” Glancing at her watch, she gasped and rose. “Someone
can take over for me. I have to make a phone call.”
“Is something wrong?” Gretchen inquired.
“No, not at all. I’m just late for my weekly check-in with the Cross-Country Quilters.”
“The who?” Julia heard Louis ask as she hurried away. She didn’t pause to answer, trusting that Lindsay or Ellen would explain.
She raced upstairs and down the hallway to her suite, pulling her cell phone from her pocket and jabbing the key to speed-dial
the group as she shut the door behind her. “I’m here,” she said breathlessly as she dropped into the desk chair.
“Nice of you to join us,” Vinnie exclaimed cheerily. “How is quilt camp?”
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Julia replied. “Yet it isn’t the same without all of you.”
“I’m sure you’re having a wonderful time,” said Donna. “I know Lindsay is.”
“Did she tell you that? I’m so glad.”
“So, how’s it going?” asked Megan. “Are your work friends becoming expert quilters—or at least, are they learning enough to
pass themselves off as experts on camera, with skillful editing?”
“They’re all making progress. I’m really quite proud of them.”
“What’s Elm Creek Manor like at this time of year?” asked Vinnie.
“Cooler, by far. The grounds aren’t as lush and green as when we visit in summer, and it’s past peak season for fall color,
so we missed what was surely a beautiful display.” Julia glanced to the windows. “And I may be mistaken, but I believe I see
snow flurries.”
“Hmm. I think I’ll stick to visiting in the summertime, thanks very much,” said Grace.
“A flurry, that’s nothing,” said Donna. “We’ve had at least an inch of snow on the ground since Halloween.”
“Before you let the weather discourage you from attending autumn quilt camp, if the Elm Creek Quilters decide to expand their
season,” said Julia, “you should know that Anna’s autumn recipes are just as delicious as her summer menus.”
Her friends moaned wistfully. “What’s the best dessert you’ve had so far?” Vinnie asked eagerly.
“Pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust, fresh whipped cream and a caramel drizzle optional.”
“Oh my goodness, how luscious.” Vinnie sighed longingly. “I love you too much to be jealous, but I do wish you could send
me a slice in the mail.”
“I wish I could too,” said Julia. “Even though it’s a seasonal recipe, Anna might be willing to make it for you during our
next annual visit in August.”
“Oh, I bet she would, for my birthday,” Vinnie exclaimed. “I’ll have to drop a few hints between now and then. Maybe you could
drop one for me, since you’re there. Don’t be too subtle or she might not get it. But don’t be too obvious either.”
“I’ll strike the right balance,” Julia promised.
“So, the quilting and the dining are going well, and the manor is lovely even in late autumn,” said Grace. “How about your
scheme to keep your cast and crew together?”
Julia hesitated. “It’s difficult to say,” she admitted. “No one who was intending to go has announced that they’ve changed
their minds, but several have said that they’ll be sorry to see the series end.”
“That’s promising,” said Donna. “Maybe they’re coming around.”
“I hope so. I’m running out of time to persuade them.”
“Are you going to make a dramatic, heartrending, last-minute speech to win them over?” asked Vinnie eagerly. “Maybe at the
Farewell Breakfast, or as you’re boarding the plane home? That would be so exciting.”
“Well, no, I wasn’t planning to,” said Julia.
“Sadie would do something like that on your show.”
“Yes, but sadly, real life doesn’t follow a script.”
“I suppose not,” Vinnie conceded, “but it’s more exciting that way. If you change your mind and do make a dramatic speech, would you call me on your cell phone so I can listen in?”
“Sure,” said Julia, quite sure that she wouldn’t have to fulfill that promise.
The conversation turned to their progress on their Cross and Chains blocks. Grace, Donna, and Vinnie had finished theirs,
but Megan had been preoccupied by a very complicated engineering project at work and hadn’t even begun, although she intended
to first thing Saturday morning. “I imagine you haven’t had time to work on your block either, Julia,” she said. “You must
be busy with your Nine-Patch quilt and all your scheming.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Julia. “I actually managed to get a lot done on Monday. I’ll be home by Saturday evening,
so I’ll have all day Sunday to finish the last few seams. That reminds me—Maggie Flynn is working on the manuscript for a
pattern book for the Loyal Union Sampler.”
Her friends were as thrilled as she had expected them to be, and for the next few minutes, they speculated about when the book might be published, how challenging the quilt would be to make, and whether Maggie might need volunteers to make quilts for the book’s photo gallery.
“Maybe you could ask her, Julia,” said Vinnie.
“Sure,” said Julia, laughing. “Speak to Anna, speak to Maggie—anything else?”
“You have homework, Julia,” said Grace, amused. “I hope you’re taking notes.”
They chatted for a while longer, but Julia was eager to return to the quilting frame, so she bade her friends goodbye and
hung up, smiling to herself as she took a moment to rearrange her Cross and Chains block segments on the desk. Once she couldn’t