Elm Creek Quilts [12] The Winding Ways Quilt Read Online Free PDF Page A

bowl that this was going to be the best soup she had ever tasted. The organic baby green salad that followed was perfection itself, as were the salmon filets and eggplant ratatouille, which required all her willpower not to devour entire. It was a good thing she was leaving, or she would have to take up marathon running to fend off the pounds.
    She did manage to set down her dessert spoon after one bite of the chocolate mousse—not because it wasn’t delicious, but because she honestly couldn’t eat another bite. “You probably get tired of eating like this every day,” said one of her dinner companions enviously, licking the last rich chocolate morsel from her spoon.
    Judy would have explained that until recently, their campers had to make do with brownies from a box mix and ice cream, unless one of the Elm Creek Quilters had remembered to stop by the German bakery in downtown Waterford, but a sudden hush in the room distracted her. Evening had fallen; the floor-to-ceiling windows on the western wall opened onto a violet and rose sky in the distance beyond Elm Creek. Sylvia stood near the door, and in a clear voice that carried the length of the banquet hall, she invited everyone to follow her outside.
    It was time for every Elm Creek Quilter’s favorite part of quilt camp, when the week still lay before them promising friendship and fun, and their eventual parting could be forgotten for a while.
    Sylvia led the campers from the banquet hall through the west wing of the manor and outside to the cornerstone patio. When their voices rose above a murmur, Sylvia smiled and gestured for silence, adding to the aura of mystery. Earlier Matt and Sarah had arranged chairs in one large circle on the patio, and now Sarah beckoned the campers to sit. Murmuring, questioning, the campers took their places, and occasionally a nervous laugh broke the stillness. The quilters’ voices fell silent as Sylvia lit a candle, placed it in a crystal votive holder, and took her place in the center of the circle. As the dancing flame in her hands cast light and shadow on her features, Judy felt a tremor of excitement and nervousness run through those gathered around her.
    Slowly Sylvia turned around, gazing into the faces of her guests. “One of our traditions is to conclude the first evening of quilt camp with a ceremony we call Candlelight,” she told them. “It began as a way for our guests to introduce themselves to us and to one another. Since we’re going to be living and working together closely this week, we should feel as if we are among friends. But our ceremony has a secondary purpose. At its best, it helps you to know yourselves better, too. It encourages you to focus on your goals and wishes, and it helps prepare you for the challenges of the future and the unexpected paths upon which you might set forth.”
    Sylvia allowed the expectant silence to swell before she explained the ceremony. The campers would pass the candle around the circle, and as each woman took her turn to hold the flickering light, she would explain why she had come to Elm Creek Quilt Camp and what she hoped to gain that week. There was a pause after Sylvia asked for a volunteer to speak first.
    “Not me,” someone whispered so tremulously that a ripple of laughter went up from the circle.
    A woman with a blue cashmere sweater thrown over her shoulders raised a hand. “I’ll volunteer, although this honor ought to go to someone with a grander vision.” She took the crystal candleholder from Sylvia and studied the small yellow light for a moment. “Where to begin…With my name, I suppose. I’m Nancy, and as the newly elected president of the Waterford Quilt Guild, I’ve come as an ambassador. Under our previous administration, relations with Elm Creek Quilts have been strained, to say the least. While some of our guild members have attended camp sessions on their own, our official guild policy was not to communicate with Elm Creek Quilts. You sent us