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

invitations to free classes and special lectures, and our officers didn’t pass the information along to the rest of the guild. You asked us to participate in making a wedding quilt for your founder, and your request was returned to you in very rude fashion.”
    “I’ll say,” muttered Diane, who had been present.
    “I’m here to make amends,” said Nancy. “A personal disagreement between our longtime former president and an Elm Creek Quilter was the root cause of our estrangement. Our former president is no longer affiliated with our guild, and I hope whatever quarrel she had with your staff member can be put in the past. I believe that the Waterford Quilt Guild and Elm Creek Quilts have similar goals and interests, and we ought to work together to promote the art and heritage of quilting in the Elm Creek Valley. So I decided to see for myself what Elm Creek Quilts is all about, and I hope that in getting to know me, the Elm Creek Quilters will decide to give the Waterford Quilt Guild a second chance.”
    “You may be sure of it,” said Sylvia, with a sidelong glance at Diane, the Elm Creek Quilter involved in the long-standing battle of wills. “I would like nothing more than to work together. I’m sure we have much to offer one another, but I must disagree with you on one point.”
    Nancy’s eyebrows rose. “And that is?”
    “That someone with a grander vision should speak first. What grander vision than peace and reconciliation, and what better way to begin our Candlelight?”
    Nancy smiled, and as the other quilters murmured their approval, she passed the candleholder to the next woman in the circle. The shy, brown-haired woman Judy had assisted at registration accepted it with a faint squeak of alarm. Judy wished that Nancy had passed the candle around the circle in the other direction, so that the brown-haired woman could have gone last instead of second.
    “My name is Marcia, and I’m from Illinois,” the brown-haired woman said in a voice little more than a whisper.
    “Speak up,” someone boomed from the other side of the circle.
    Marcia cleared her throat and raised her voice, but not by much. “My name is Marcia, and I’m from Illinois. This is my first visit to Elm Creek Manor, and I was almost too scared to come.” When a few giggles of surprise interrupted her, Marcia hunched in her chair so that her shoulders almost touched her ears. “I know how silly it sounds, but it’s true. I’ve never even been brave enough to join my church’s quilting guild. Usually I quilt alone, or with a few of my friends at work. Every Tuesday we sew together in the office lunchroom and once a month we spend our lunch hour at a quilt shop. Last spring, my friend Dana found the Elm Creek Quilts website and convinced us to sign up for a week of camp. Ordinarily I would have been petrified at the thought of coming so far to spend a week with so many strangers, but I thought with my three friends around, it wouldn’t be too bad.” She took a deep breath. “You might have noticed that I’m a little shy.”
    No one said anything. Perhaps they feared frightening her into silence, or like Judy, they were wondering what had become of her three friends.
    “We were all looking forward to the trip. Even me. Then our boss noticed that we had all scheduled the same week off and insisted that one of us stay. I volunteered, but he chose my friend because she’s more experienced. Then my other friend got hit by a boy on one of those motorized scooters and had to have knee replacement surgery, so a long plane trip was out of the question. We were down to two, but I still thought that would be okay. Then yesterday my third friend called me and said she couldn’t come because she had chicken pox.”
    An exclamation of astonishment went up from the group.
    “Oh, don’t worry,” said Marcia, misunderstanding. “I had it in first grade. I didn’t bring it with me to infect everyone. Well, after all that, you can see