It was a late fall morning in the town of Somewhere when a pivotal event was about to occur at Emmy Lou Custer’s Nimble Thimble quilt shop.
It all began when two gentlemen, Hans Reichmann and Derek Armstrong, walked into the shop to enquire about joining the Random Sampler quilt guild. After introducing themselves to Emmy Lou, they explained that they were retired engineers who had recently moved to the Oak Crest retirement community. They further mentioned that they specialized in long-arm quilting and were interested in finding space where they could set up their table and machine.
Now, Emmy Lou is very good at keeping up with new quilting trends, but so far there had been little interest shown by most members either in long-arm quilting or a long-arm quilting workshop. Suddenly, this new and exciting possibility presented itself. However, she wondered what impact the addition of two male quilters would have on some members of the guild, particularly since two of its notorious quilters, Delphia Plumtree and Vera Hofflinger, happened to be present in the shop. Those two were noted for creating negativity where none existed.
After giving Derek and Hans an information pamphlet with the location and dates of guild meetings as well as the president’s name and phone number, the two men left the shop, followed rapidly by Delphia and Vera.
Immediately, Emmy Lou grabbed her cellphone and contacted Carole Fortescue, President of the Random Sampler quilt guild.
“Carole, Emmy Lou here. I think the quilt guild’s meeting next week is going to be a lively one.”
Carole laughed. “When is it not? What’s going on this time?”
Emmy Lou explained what had taken place at her quilt shop a few minutes ago. She also added how excited she was that perhaps she could now seriously consider introducing long-arm quilting.
“I think that’s terrific Emmy! Long-arm quilting opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. Thanks for giving me a heads-up. I’m just leaving for the Tuesday morning Birds of a Feather quilting session so your news will certainly make for a very interesting discussion. I’ll keep you posted.”
As Carole cycled to Fredericka (Freddie) and Barney Schwartz’s House she mulled over Emmy Lou’s news. Everything is changing she thought—especially in small towns like Somewhere as an increasing number of city folk were opting to live out their retirement years in a more bucolic setting. Certainly this movement of people was not without friction but neither was it without new and exciting ideas. The challenge was to find a balance.
After Carole propped her bicycle against the Schwartz’s brick garage, she knocked on the side door of the compact, newly constructed, curve-shaped bungalow and marvelled at how Barney and Freddie had designed their home to harmonize with the contour of their small acreage.
Just then, Freddie opened the door. “Hi Carole,” she grinned as she gave her a hug. “I heard from Emmy Lou Custer that next week’s guild meeting is going to be a humdinger.”
