I really debated on how to introduce the adventures of this fictional set of quilters. I finally decided that twice a month I would devote the entire post to them. After each post is published I will add it to a folder on the side panel under the 'We're Still Kicking Quilters'. None of these characters are real but all of them are based on folks that I have met in the past.
MEETING 1 AT MARTHA KERINE'S HOME
We were all sitting around Martha
Kerine's quilt frame tying the quilt that was stretched tautly over
it. And, of course, we talked, or should I say gossiped, about the
latest goings on in our little part of the world.
Martha Kerine's husband was one of
those folks who could make things happen out of some nuts and bolts,
a bit of string and maybe some chewing gun thrown in for good luck.
You see, Martha Kerine loves to quilt but her house is very small and
when she has the quilt stretched out over the quilt frame, there
isn't much room.
So, what her husband did was to figure
out a way to hang the frame from the ceiling. This way it could be
kept out of the way when not in use and then lowered with a pulley
system when it was needed. Not only that, it could be lowered to
any height and it could be lowered so one side was high and the other
side was low. Amazing.
Well, we were all sitting around. Oh,
I'm sorry, I guess I need to introduce you to the other quilters.
You know about Martha Kerine, of course. Her last name is Baxter.
And this is her week to host the group. By the way, we get together
twice a month taking turns to host.
Now, Anna Mae Johnson is sitting next
to Martha Kerine. Anna Mae is the oldest in our group but you
wouldn't know it by her schedule. She's also the busiest. I
sometimes think that she's on some type of speed or something. Anna
Mae has what my granny used to call a 'hot needle'. I guess the
best way to describe that is that she's a fast sewer but not always
the neatest, if you get my drift. But her stitches are always
anchored well.
Across from Anna Mae is Elsie Jean
Lundgren. Elsie Jean is probably our most bubbly member. She's
always gushing about something or another. Like the coffee she
hosted last week at her church. She thought it was just so much fun
that she decided to do it more frequently! Or, take the last time
she won the block of the month at our guild meeting. She couldn't
help herself praising everyone's blocks. As a matter of fact, she
already has them laid out for her next lap quilt.
Now, next to Elsie Jean is Wanda Kay
Reynolds. Wanda Kay is just getting over a very bad case of the
flu. She was bound and determined to come today because, as she put
it, she's just dang tired of being cooped up for so long. We can
all see that she's not quite recovered her strength but her color is
looking much better and she's happy to be here chatting with all of
us.
Ida Rose Carlton is sitting opposite of
me. (We have two each on opposite sides and one each on the other
sides.) Ida Rose loves to quilt, sew, crochet, knit, weave...anything
to do with fiber and fabric. I don't think she has tried felting
yet, but just wait. It's on her to-do list somewhere. Ida Rose
loves to talk about her grandkids. By the way, we all have
grandkids, I think her youngest is getting ready for a fall
wedding. Ida Rose is bound and determined to have the quilt
finished as a wedding present. We'll see.
Now, me, my name is Gertrude F.
Samburg. You would not believe what the F stands for...but I'll save
that for later. I think I am the only one in the group called by a
single name instead of a double name like Elsie Jean. Most times
I'm called Gertie but if someone wants to make a emphatic statement,
they call me Gertrude. I don't really mind Gertie, but I'm not fond
of Gertrude. Would you be? Anyway, I'm what they call a 'topper'.
In other words, I love to make quilt tops. Quilting, tying, not
so much. That's one of the reasons I enjoy this group...they not
only help me with those things, they prod me into doing more.
“I think I'll start the coffee. By
the way, I tried out a new recipe for some cardamom coffee cakes. I
haven't tasted them yet but they sure smell good.” Martha Kerine
stood up and walked into the kitchen urging her joints to work after
sitting so long. (We're all in our seventies or eighties so that's a
common complaint around here.)
Anyway, I think Martha Kerine can bake
rings around all of us. But, her coffee...oh that's to die for.
She makes the typical Scandinavian coffee with eggs and shells mixed
in with the grounds. Her coffee is strong, actually very strong, but
not bitter. She says it's from the eggs. Must be right because
her coffee is really good.
“Are you making your Scandi coffee?”
Anna Mae asked to which Martha Kerine replied that she always makes
it for the group. “That's good, because I need a boost today. I
have several errands to run after I leave here and I don't want to be
dragging/”
“I have never seen you dragging, Anna
Mae.” Wanda Kay said. “At least, not like I've been dragging
these past couple of weeks.”
“O for Pete's sake, Wanda Kay, you've
been sick with the flu. I just hope your not rushing things.”
Elsie Jean said as she was shaking her head.
“I like your quilt, Martha Kerine,
what are you going to do with it?” Wanda Kay asked.
Now, the quilt was very simple, but
striking at the same time. It was made up of five inch blocks of
all different types of fabric simply sewn together in rows...twelve
rows widthwise and eighteen rows lengthwise. There's also a four
inch border all around. Bigger than a normal full size quilt but
not as big as a queen or king size.
“It's going to Walter, Henry's
brother.” (Henry was Martha Kerine's husband.) “He's been a bit
down now that his last son has found a job and moved across country.
I had a lot of old clothes up in the attic, some from Walter and
Henry when they were young. I decided to make a quilt out of what I
could salvage.” Martha Kerine replied while she was waiting for
the water to boil for the coffee.
“Ida Rose, I haven't heard two words
from you today. What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?” I asked
knowing full well that Ida Rose is a dog lover, not a cat lover.
“Well, I was thinking about the quilt
I wanted to make as a wedding gift for Jenny. I have the fabric.
It's really lovely. Pale purple and cream with deeper shades of
purple as accents. I'm not sure about the block because Jenny wants
an appliqued flower design running through the quilt.”
“Wow, that sounds like a lot of work,
Ida Rose.” Wanda Kay sighed. “I'm tired just thinking about it.
But then, I'm still not up to par.”
“What about a whole cloth quilt with
the cream middle bordered with the different shade of purple? Then
you could applique the flowers on the cream fabric...” Anna Mae
asked
“Yeah, and then you could do some
intricate quilting around the flowers to make them stand out.”
Elsie Jean added.
I agreed with Anna Mae's suggestion
thinking that intricate blocks and applique could detract from each
other. “Sounds like a good idea, Ida Rose. That way you could
begin planning the flower grid right away. And, we could help when
you get it planned out.”
“I never thought about a whole cloth
quilt. That really is a great idea, Anna Mae. I think I will work
on a grid and see what I come up with. Then you all can tell me if
it's a good idea at our next get together.” Ida Rose said, smiling
for the first time. “I was worried because I just couldn't figure
out what type of a quilt to make.”
“Coffee's ready.' Martha Kerine
hollered, “Why don't you all put your needles down and join me in
the kitchen. I'm dying to see what you think about my cardamon
coffee cake.”
We all stuck our needles into the
quilt, got up and slowly made our way into the kitchen as our stiff
joints got used to walking. The smells of coffee mixed with
cardamon promised a treat was in store for all of us.
“So has anyone seen the agenda for
the next guild meeting?” Martha Kerine asked.
“Now that you mention it, I haven't
seen one and the meeting's coming up pretty soon...next week if I'm
right. Don't they usually send out the agenda a couple weeks in
advance?” I asked.
“Yeah, now that you mention it, where
is that agenda? Does anyone know who the guest speaker is?”
Wanda Kay asked.
“Well, I think the speaker is a
pretty good one but her name escapes me...I think she's doing a trunk
show. But, what's bothering me is something that I heard at the
meat market yesterday.” Martha Kerine replied.
“What did you hear?” several of us
asked in unison.
“Well, it's about our annual quilt
show. I think that there's a problem with the venue this year but
no one seems to know what the problem is. Or, at least those who
know aren't sharing with anyone else. I guess we'll have to wait
until the meeting to find out.”
“That could be a real problem because
I think all the publicity has been drawn up, including the
brochures.” Elsie Jean said quietly.
“You're right. It's all ready to go
to the printers.” Ida Rose added, “The publicity team met a
couple days ago and we finalized everything. Wow. If the venue's
changed, that means we have to start all over. Wonder if anyone
knows what the problem is? No one's said a thing”
“But where else could we go?' I
asked. “Securing a venue for our quilt show isn't going to be
easy at this late date. It's not that we can put 450 quilts in a
church basement...a cathedral, maybe, if there was one around..but
not in any of the churches in this area.”
We all sat quietly, drinking our Scandi
coffee and eating Martha Kerine's cardamon coffee cake and thinking
about venue problems.
“This coffee cake is really good,
Martha Kerine. Where did you get the recipe?” Wanda Kay asked.
“Well, there really is no recipe. I
just took a little of this and a little of that and stuck it all
together and this is what turned out.”
“If I could bake this well, Martha
Kerine, I would open up a bakery!” Wanda Kay responded.
“Yeah, and then you'd work your buns
off. No thanks. I enjoy baking for family and friends but that's
my limit.” Martha Kerine laughed.
“You know what we could do?” I
asked, “We could publish a cookbook and sell if at the quilt show.”
“This year?” Ida Rose exclaimed
with saucer sized eyes.
“No, Ida Rose, next year or the year
after. It was just a thought. Of course, most of the recipes
would have to come from Martha Kerine. Unless burnt is a good
thing, you know my baking isn't up to scratch.”
We finished our coffee cake and Scandi
coffee quietly enjoying each morsel. Then we all tromped back into
the living room to finish tying the quilt Martha Kerine made for
Walter. When it was completely tied, we began to gather up our
quilting supplies.
“I guess we'll find out about the
quilt show at the next guild meeting.” Wanda Kay said to no one in
particular. “Are all of you going?” She asked. The group
replied in the affirmative. “Can I catch a ride with someone?”
“Sure, Wanda Kay, you can ride with
me.” Anna Mae replied.
“Okay, I guess we'll see each other
at the guild meeting.” Ida Rose said. “Our next meeting is at
my house. Martha Kerine, you have set a high bar for me...think
I'll stick to tea and crumpets.” She laughed on her way out the
door.
We all said our good byes, reminded Ida
Rose that she also needed to work on the flower grid for Jenny's
quilt and took our leave as Martha Kerine thanked us for tying
Walter's quilt.
Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday
morning, two weeks from today...
SWEDISH EGG COFFEE:
8-9 cups water
1 whole egg
½ cup coffee
grounds (more for stronger coffee)
1 cup cold water
Bring 8-9 cups of
water to rolling boil. While water is heating, crack open egg and
add to grounds, mixing well, also crush the egg shell and add to the
coffee-egg mixture. When water is boiling, add the coffee-egg
mixture to the water and continue boiling for three minutes. Take
off heat and add the cup of cold water which should bring the
coffee-egg mixture to the bottom. If desired, strain coffee through
strainer but not through filter. You want to taste all the oils in
the coffee.
Thanks for visiting...
Talk to you tomorrow...
Talk to you tomorrow...