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steps before pulling lightly on the right rein in order to leave the parking lot of the general store. There was no further discussion about Paul Esh or Ralph Martin as they drove the back roads toward the Wagler home. Instead, the two young women began to talk about the quilt that they intended to make and how exciting it would be to have it finished in time for the October auction.
    The Wagler home was small and quaint. As farm land fell prey to development, the Amish community continued to expand, forcing more and more families to live in contemporary homes. It was easy to convert them to accommodate the Amish lifestyle, simply by removing the electric lines and modern conveniences. The Wagler home was one of them.However, it sat on a nice-size lot, and most would consider it a farmette despite the fact that most of the property seemed to be simple pasture.
    As Emma pulled the buggy into the driveway, she looked around at her friend’s new home with a sense of comfort. Samuel Wagler may have been alone for many years, but it was clear that he had a fine sense of care when it came to his property. Not a weed grew among the landscaping, and the bushes were all properly trimmed. It spoke well of his character, and once again Emma was pleased for her cousin in marrying such a fine man.
    “Wilkum , girls!” Anna Wagler stood at the front door and smiled at the two young women as they made their way to the house, their arms laden with cloth for the quilt they were going to make. “I was wondering when you might arrive! Come in, come in!”
    Despite being older, Anna still had the physique of a young woman, tall and willowy instead of the typical stoutness found in Amish women her age. Her brown hair, pulled back under the white heart-shaped prayer kapp , lacked any gray, and her dark eyes sparkled at her two visitors. Clearly Anna was happy in her new home and eager to entertain her former ward and her friend.
    The kitchen was smaller than the one at Emma’s home, and it took her a moment to get oriented to the differences between the two. There was a small, plain pine table with a pretty green-and-white checkered tablecloth covering it. Anna had already set out a pitcher of meadow tea and a basket of freshly baked cookies. After the proper greetings were exchanged, Anna encouraged the girls to partake of the refreshments. While Emma merely took one cookie to nibble at, Hannah was more than happy to have two.
    “So which pattern will you do then?” Anna asked as she fingered the material. “You sure picked out beautiful colors.”
    And they had. Emma loved the color blue and had picked different variations and patterns in that color. Against a white backdrop, the quilt would be lovely on any bed. “For the center panel,” she responded, her fingers brushing against one bolt of the fabric. “Something simple like the shoofly pattern, I reckon. But I’m thinking to leave a wider border and do some more detailed quilting patterns there.”
    “Why, that will be quite lovely!” Anna exclaimed.
    “And we’ll be donating it to the Mennonite Central Committee to raise money for the poor,” Emma added with a smile. Her face lit up at the mention of helping others. She had first started donating her work when she was fourteen. Her older sister, Irene, had helped with her first quilt, a simple twin-size quilt in greens and brown cloth. While not a very intricate piecing design, the quilting itself had been labored over during the late summer and early autumn months. When she had finally finished it, everyone had been surprised at her proclamation that she was donating it, rather than putting it into her own hope chest.
    Over the years Anna had helped Emma with the piecing and quilting for at least five quilts. It saddened both of their hearts that, because of her marriage, she would not be able to work on this new quilt with Emma. In times past they enjoyed many a quiet afternoon seated in front of the old wooden quilting