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frame set up in the living room of the Weaver household. There was something about quilting that created a bond between women.
    “And Hannah,” Anna began, shifting her attention from Emma to the younger woman. “Have you made many quilts then?”
    “Nee .” Hannah shook her head in response. “This will be my first.”
    “Your first quilt?” The question came out more as an expression of disbelief. Anna looked from Hannah to Emma then back to Hannah. Emma didn’t need for Anna to say what was on her mind. It was almost impossible to believe that any Amish woman had never made a quilt. “ Ja vell , then,” Anna stammered, searching for the right words. “It’s right gut that Emma shows you how, I reckon. She has a lovely stitch.”
    “It’s no finer than yours, I reckon,” Emma countered demurely, but her eyes glowed at the compliment. “After all, it was you who taught me.”
    For the next hour the three women sketched out on paper the pattern for the quilt, deciding the order of the different fabric for each of the individual squares used to make up the quilt. Most of the discussion was between Emma and Anna, Hannah being a mere observer who watched the conversation as if she were at a volleyball game. Her eyes traveled from Emma to Anna and back to Emma again as the two women laid out their plan on paper, obvious experts in a field that Hannah knew nothing about and to which she could contribute nothing more than her enthusiasm for learning.
    It was close to eleven when they heard the sound of men’s footsteps on the porch. Emma lifted her head from the paper where she had been sketching the final design and glanced at Anna, an unspoken question lingering in the air. It didn’t need to be answered as Samuel appeared in the doorway with a familiar face by his side.
    “Why, Gideon King!” Emma exclaimed. “Whatever brings you here?”
    He laughed at her reaction. “Helping Samuel with some new equipment he bought at the auction. You shouldn’t sound so surprised, Emma. I do have other friends beside your daed .”
    She made a face at his teasing statement but did not respond. She was too used to Gideon being a fixture at their own house, a regular companion to her daed , welcomed even more now that Anna had married and moved to her own house with her new husband.
    “Equipment?” Anna smiled and glanced over Gideon’s shoulder at her husband. “Did you purchase something then?”
    “Ja , ja , I did.” He set his straw hat on the counter and ran his fingers through his graying hair. The age difference between Samuel and Anna disappeared whenever he set his eyes upon his young wife. The sparkle that lit up his face made it more than clear how he felt about her. “It’s only a small farmette, but we can have a right nice garden and I can set up my shop in the outer building.”
    Emma raised an eyebrow and glanced at Anna. “You’ll be gardening?”
    “Oh, ja ! A right big garden with corn, brussels sprouts, asparagus, and peppers, as well as the usual things we planted at your home.”
    The way Anna nodded her head and smiled surprised Emma, for while Anna had been the main gardener at the Weaver home for all of those years, she had never expressed such enthusiasm for the chore. Granted, the Weaver property was small, not even two full acres, and the garden had only consisted of simple things, such as herbs, tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers. For the rest of their needs they had chosen to buy their vegetables and canned goods from neighborsand friends. They had kept far too busy with quilting and visiting and tending to the care of the house and Daed , especially after he retired from his work repairing buggies.
    “I never knew you to be one to garden, Anna!” Emma laughed lightly as she said it. “I may have to learn one or two more things from you yet!”
    “I don’t think I taught you all of my tricks,” Anna teased back. “We are also going to raise chickens and sell eggs!”
    At this