For My Quilting Friends
Quilters are a special
breed of people. We love beauty and
challenges and fabric. We sometimes
can’t get one project finished before we are off to the Quilt Shop to buy more
fabric for something else. Its an addictive habit. I’ve often wished some sew fairy
would step in overnight and either finish up a project for me, or find just the
right block or pattern that has been drumming around in my head just out of
reach. I know there has to be something
going on in that room when I’m in bed.
Ever wonder what happens when a quilter gives up for
the night and turns out the lights in her sewing room?
This tale is dedicated to all my quilting
friends. Happy
This story is copyrighted © No part of
this shall be printed or reproduced
Without the written permission of Patricia Mills
Polly
Cotton was taking her afternoon stroll and ran smack into her good friend Norma
Shears who was just leaving her house. Norma
was a fading movie star who wasn’t as sharp as she used to be and had retired
to
“Hi”,
Polly called out. “Come join me and lets catch up on the latest gossip.”
Never
one to pass up good gossip, Norma fell into step with Polly. They walked on past the next house where
Alice Hoffmann and Fran Dritz were rocking on the
porch, speaking
in suspiciously low Germanic tones.
“Those two old buzzards!” Norma cried out. “Always making mischief
about something. They think they
are the only people in the world who know anything about anything and don’t
mind telling you so too!”
“I
know,” Polly replied, “such a shame. “I’m glad I have better things to do. So, what’s new with you, Norma?”
“Well,
I think something big is about to happen.”
“Oh?
Do tell,” Polly needled. “Something in
Sew City?”
Norma
leaned closer to Polly and whispered, “I think that rascal Johnny Stiletto is
about to finally get caught breaking the law.”
“What
makes you say that?”
“Well, he has been acting
strange the last few days and I have it on good authority from Moda Brown that
he is planning some kind of escape route.
He was seen looking at a map of the Road to
“Oh
shoot,” Polly replied, “Moda must have been talking to Eunice Gutermann again.
Eunice is wound up tighter than a spool of thread and you know she is
good buds with Alice Hoffman and Fran Dritz. I think they have a German thing going. I wouldn’t believe anything she says.”
“I
don’t know, Polly. Johnny and Jack
Ripper have been in cahoots on a lot of mischief recently. If I didn’t know better I would think they’ve
been in jail before, maybe even been on an Irish Chain gang. Had to get those muscles
from someplace.”
“Oh
look! Isn’t that Apple Kay coming at us
on a dead run?”
Apple
Kay was quite out of breath when she reached Polly Cotton and Norma Shears on
the sidewalk. “Slow down, girl!” Norma
said. “What has you in such a hurry?”
“I’m
on my way to see Brother Janome, the preacher,” Apple Kay replied. “I have to hurry. I was supposed to meet him
on the Courthouse Steps ten minutes ago.
I would have gone sooner, but I have been sitting Baby Lock and that
little monster is all hands. You wouldn’t
believe the problems he caused. He
threw a Monkey Wrench into my Yankee Puzzle and scattered pieces
everywhere. Then he tossed his Tumbling
Blocks all over and I nearly broke my leg tripping over them. Little monster!”
“Do
tell us why you are going to see the preacher,” Polly begged.
Apple
Kay pushed by the two and said, “Sorry, can’t stop, will see you later.” She rushed on down the street.
“What
on earth is going on?” Norma asked as she watched Apple Kay hurry away.
“Not
sure,” Polly mumbled, “but maybe she got her feelings hurt.”
“What
do you mean?”
“Just
yesterday she was invited to have tea with Bette Mettler,
who, as you know, is another tightly wound old biddy. Poor Apple Kay went over and all Bette wanted
to do was show off her beautiful Dresden Plates. She knows Apple Kay only has some Broken
Dishes. It was very embarrassing for
Apple Kay.”
“I
guess so!” Norma exclaimed. “So much going on around here.” The two friends continued their walk.
Suddenly
Polly reached out and grabbed Norma’s arm and pulled her back against the hedge
they were passing. “Shush, don’t look
now. Ooooh! Do you see who I see?” Polly was positively giddy.
Norma
looked in the direction Polly had indicated and saw the cause for all the
excitement. It was Tommy Hoop, the local
heart throb, driving real slow in his jalopy.
Polly had had a crush on Tommy for a long time, but he never even looked
her way.
“What
do you think he is looking for?” Norma whispered.
“I
only know its not me,” lamented Polly.
Tommy
Hoop slowed his jalopy and pulled to the curb down the block. “Hey! Johnny, come on man, get in!” Johnny Stiletto was just coming out of a
house and ran over and jumped in Tommy’s car.
The two took off fast down the street.
“See,
he didn’t even look this way,” Polly whined.
“I
saw that. I also saw that bad boy Johnny
Stiletto go off with him. I wonder just what is going on. I can’t see Tommy being friends with that
devil Johnny.”
“Would
you look at that!” Polly squealed. She pointed to the house Johnny Stiletto had
just come from.
“Wow! Wonder what he was doing at Maria Trapunto’s house.
You know her mother Bernina hates him.
And look, up there, she’s watching from an Attic Window.”
“Maybe he was
robbing the place? There’s been a lot of
stuff gone missing around here lately. I
even heard that someone’s Jewel Box was taken.”
“Even
I don’t think Johnny is stupid enough to rob a place in plain sight of
everyone, then get in a car with Tommy Hoop. But you may be partly right. If he is the one who has been stealing stuff,
he must have a big Stash around here someplace.”
Polly pondered
on that for a minute. “Yes, that could
be it, if he’s going to be in trouble with the law. I wish Moda Brown had known more details.”
“It
doesn’t seem right that Johnny would be hanging with Tommy Hoop since he and
Jack Ripper are so close. By the way,
have you seen Jack’s Diamonds? Wonder
how a no account like him got such a ring?
Maybe there’s been a Double Cross someplace between the guys?”
“Say,
look over there by that Rail Fence.
Isn’t that Debbie Batt digging in her
Grandmother’s Flower Garden?” Norma
pointed across the street.
Polly
giggled. “That loony!
She’s probably burying something.
She claims to have seen a UFO three times this week alone. She is always Seeing Stars.” Norma laughed too. Just yesterday, Debbie had
seen some Flying Geese and decided winter was coming early. Poor Debbie Batt.
Everybody in town was laughing at her all the time. Behind her back, of course.
Polly
and Norma wandered into the town square and headed for the soda shop. “Oh do
let’s go in,” Norma said. “I need my
daily dose of chocolate or I just wont be myself.”
“Me
toooo,” Polly gushed as they went inside the soda
shop.
The
girls hopped up on stools at the counter and discussed what would be the best
treat to have. The soda jerk, Chubby
Quarter, smiled at them and made a few suggestions on new chocolate
concoctions. “They’re really good. I know, I tried them
all out.” Chubby boasted.
“Yes,
and just look at you now,” Polly chimed in.
Norma laughed. Poor Chubby did a
little too much tasting and had gotten plumb fat. No Hourglass figure on Chubby.
The
girls made their selection and checked for tunes on the juke box while Chubby
whipped them up some treats. “Here go
girls, and just for you, I even added a Triangle of hard chocolate on
top.” Chubby set the dishes on the
counter.
“Oh,
look!” Polly was still looking over the
juke box list. “It’s the new Elvis
Singer tune! I love it! Gotta play it. Man! I just bought his new Baltimore Album
and its wonderful!” She dug in her purse
for a coin.
Chubby
leaned over the counter toward Norma and said in a whisper, “I heard a rumor
that Elvis Singer might be coming to
Both
girl’s mouths dropped open. “Noooooo,” they
cried in unison. “How do you know? You have to tell us all.” Polly had a death
grip on Chubby’s big old Bear Paw of a hand and
wasn’t letting go until he spilled the beans.
“I’m
not supposed to talk about it,” Chubby admitted, “but something was said at the
Rotary meeting last night.”
“Tell
us!” Norma demanded, “or I’ll stuff your Bowtie where
the sun don’t shine!”
“Ok,
OK, just quit pinching me!”
Polly
let go of his hand, and the three leaned their heads close together for the
news.
“It
was something Mayor Angle said.”
“What
did old E. Z. Angle have to say?” Norma asked, knowing the Mayor was not always
the sharpest pin in the cushion.
“It
seems like something special is about to happen in Sew City and Elvis Singer might
just be making a special, private trip here…. So they don’t want the word to
get out. Don’t want the news media to
find out about it.”
Polly
looked ecstatic. “Wow, Elvis not wanting media coverage? Wow!
Wonder why?”
The
bell on the soda shop door tinkled and the three at the counter jumped like
they had been hit by a Snowball. It was
Apple Kay coming through the door and she was beaming a beautiful smile. She ambled over to the counter and hopped on
the vacant stool by Norma.
Chubby,
Polly and Norma just stared at her, waiting for some big announcement. When none came, Chubby asked Apple Kay if she
would like something.
“So,”
Norma asked, breaking the silence, “how was Brother Janome?”
“Fine,
just fine,” Apple Kay replied. She
obviously wasn’t going to tell them anything unless they dug it out of
her. The frozen stare they gave her
would have curdled buttermilk.
“Ok!
Ok!” Apple Kay gave in to the cold looks.
“You just can’t repeat any of this.
You have to promise.”
“Cross
my Heart!” Polly squealed, “now tell us!”
Against
her better judgment, Apple Kay gave in.
“My Double Wedding Ring has been bought.”
“Your Double Wedding Ring?
Oh, Apple Kay… I know how much it meant to you! I didn’t know you were selling it.” Norma was saddened by the news. Since Apple Kay lost her dear fiancé to a
tragedy years ago just before their wedding, her Double Wedding Ring was still
in a box, never used.
“Its all right, girls.
I never got to wear it and its such a shame for
it to just be boxed away.” Apple Kay was
still smiling, obviously not upset by giving up her prized possession.
“Who
bought it?” Polly asked.
This
was the question Apple Kay didn’t want to answer, but she had let the Calico
Cat out of the bag now. “I believe it is
Johnny Stiletto,” she whispered.
“Well
I never!” Norma squealed. She and Polly
had already decided that Johnny was a little thief and couldn’t imagine him
paying money for something in
“What
does he want it for?” Polly chimed in. Like
Norma, Polly was having a serious credibility problem.
“And
where would Johnny get that kind of money?” Norma added.
Apple
Kay took a sip of her coke. “I heard a
rumor that he owned a real nice Colorado Log Cabin and he sold it. That must be where the money came from.”
Polly
and Norma each had a look of disbelief on their faces. “Johnny OWNED something?” Polly whined. “That bum never did a days work in his life. How could he own something as special as a
Log Cabin?”
“Talk
about Robbing Peter to Pay Paul,” Norma added.
“Wonder who he stole the cabin from?”
“Now,
girls,” Chubby jumped in ready to defend the town’s bad boy. “Don’t be so mean spirited. Our Johnny might not be the bad guy you make
him out to be.”
“That’s
right,” Apple Kay said, “you shouldn’t judge people so much. You never can tell.”
“Oh, posh!” Polly chimed. “That Johnny is just leading you
down the Garden Path.”
“You
forget that before he came to
Just
about then a loud commotion developed outside in the street. There were several people on the sidewalk and
Chubby could see the flashing lights of a police cruiser. He and the girls ran to the front window to
look out. There was so much noise they
couldn’t hear well so Norma pushed open the soda shop door and they rushed
outside.
Sheriff
Cranston and his Deputy, Hartley Tuck, were trying to break up the small mob
that had gathered.
“What
has happened?” Chubby asked Deputy Tuck.
“We
had a complaint about Johnny Stiletto being in a house where he didn’t
belong. Nothing
serious. But then Tommy Hoop was
seen speeding down a street with Johnny.
Can’t allow speeding in
“Deputy! I just saw Johnny-Round-the-Corner,” Miles Bernatex yelled out, pointing down the street. Miles owned the Bernatex
Pharmacy next door to the soda shop.
“I
just knew it!” Norma squealed. “That
little rotter is finally going to get caught.”
“On
the other hand,” Polly offered in Johnny’s defense, “Bernina Trapunto was
watching that scene a while ago from her Attic Window. Since she doesn’t like Johnny – I’ll bet she
made that phone call out of spite.”
Sheriff
Cranston pushed through the crowd, “Break it up, people. Go on about your business. Nothing going on you need
to concern yourselves with.” The sheriff
coaxed most everyone to leave, including Apple Kay who hurried home. Chubby went back into the soda shop leaving
Norma and Polly standing on the sidewalk, chocolate ice cream and Elvis Singer
all but forgotten.
Polly
hovered near the Sheriff, throwing caution to the wind, “So, Sheriff Cranston, are
you going to arrest Johnny?”
“Not
any time soon, ladies. Have no
cause.”
Polly
and Norma exchanged looks of disbelief.
“But, everyone thinks he has been stealing stuff in town, Sheriff.” Norma had already been the judge and jury and
now she was going to be the executioner too, if she got her way.
“Don’t
worry about Johnny, ladies. We have a
lead on catching the town thief, and it’s not our Johnny.” The Sheriff saw the
wheels turning in the girls minds and quickly added, “And its
not his friend Jack Ripper either.”
With
disappointment clearly stamped on their faces, the girls turned to head up the
street. The Sheriff drove away and all
seemed back to normal.
As
they rounded the corner, Polly glanced in the window of the V.I.P. Dress Shop
to see the new fashions displayed. “My,
such a pretty dress,” Polly exclaimed, eyeing the gold brocade gown in the
window.
“Never
mind the dress,” Norma exclaimed, “check out the doings inside the store!”
Polly
leaned closer to the glass, looking back where Norma had been looking. Oh, what a sight! It was Maria Trapunto and the dressmaker with
their heads together over a bolt of white lace.
“I can’t see too well,” Polly said, “the glass is giving me Blurred
Vision, but
that sure looks like bridal lace. You
think Maria will be Leaving Home soon?”
Norma
was surprised also. “I can’t believe
it! How could she be thinking of getting
married and we never heard a whisper!”
The
two girls gaped at each other and cried out simultaneously, “Johnny Stiletto?”
About
that time the town’s rotten teenager, Val Crowe, came running around the corner
with some pearl trimmed Fans clutched in his hands and Deputy Hartley Tuck
close behind.
“Stop!”
yelled Deputy Tuck.
Val
Crowe appeared to be headed for the Schoolhouse, but Polly knew he wasn’t late
for school. The boy skipped school more
than he went. He jumped the curb to the
green grocers and knocked over three Baskets of fresh cut Jack-in-the-Pulpits
and Cactus Flowers and Sunflowers.
Deputy
Tuck brought Val down with a body tackle on the sidewalk. Sheriff Cranston came rolling down the
street in the police cruiser and stopped to load Val Crowe in for a trip to the
city lockup.
“Wow!”
Norma trilled. “What a morning! It makes perfectly good sense now.”
“Yes,”
Polly added, “Val Crowe should have been the obvious thief all along. That boy has the stickiest fingers in town.”
“You
got that right! He’s just a compulsive
thief. Everything he touches sticks like
glue.”
Norma
put her hand on the door of the dress shop, ready to go in. She was determined to find out what Maria
Trapunto was up to. She gave Polly a
conspirator’s wink and said, “Come on, lets see what’s
up.”
The
two girls wandered through the various racks of dresses, working their way to the
back of the shop where Maria was going over pattern books with the dressmaker.
Maria looked up and saw them and motioned for them to come closer. Norma was shocked and slightly embarrassed
that they had been caught, but Polly walked nonchalantly over to the
table. “Hello, Maria, fancy seeing you
here.”
“Girls,
do sit down. I’m so glad you came. I need your advice.” Maria motioned for them
to take the two vacant seats at the table while the dressmaker retreated to the
back store room.
“Thank
you, Maria,” Norma smiled as she sat. “Always glad to be of assistance. I see you are looking at wedding dress
patterns – are congratulations in order?”
“Yes,
yes, they are!” Maria exclaimed. “I am
getting married next month and I have a lot of planning to do.”
“Oh
how wonderful for you,” Polly said. “Is
it anyone we know?” She and Norma were
dreading hearing that it was Johnny Stiletto, but since he had been cleared of
stealing things, maybe he was o.k. after all.
“No,
I don’t think you have ever met him.
He’s not from
Norma’s
face fell about six inches. She was all
ready to make a remark about Johnny being such a good catch and all, and now he
wasn’t. She was at a loss for words.
“I’ll
tell you in a minute, but first, I have a favor to ask,” Maria said, leaning a
little closer toward the girls.
“Anything
at all,” Polly answered. “We’ll be more
than glad to give you a hand. Do you
need help with the planning, or the wedding clothes, or what?”
“A
little of all of that,” Maria answered.
“I would like for you two to be bridesmaids in my wedding.”
The
shocked look on their faces gave away a lot.
Polly recovered faster than Norma.
“Oh, how nice.
I would be honored, Maria.”
“Me
too,” Norma added. “How many attendants
are there?”
“Just you two for bridesmaids, and a maid of honor. Of course, the best man and
two groomsmen.”
“So,”
Norma asked, “it will be a big church wedding?”
“Sort
of,” Maria answered. “Brother Janome
will do the honors in the Church then we will have a reception in the
Garden Gazebo.”
“It
sounds really nice, Maria. Who will the
groomsmen be?” Polly asked, knowing full well, she and Norma would be stuck
with them for partners for the festivities.
“And who is the maid of honor and best man?”
“Well,
I have had to do most
of the planning myself since my fiancé is not here to help, and
mother is just not happy about the whole thing. Of course my sister will be the maid of
honor.” The girls waited, thinking this
was getting better and better for the gossip mill.
“I
have asked Johnny Stiletto to make recommendations for the groomsmen and he has
asked for Tommy Hoop and Jack Ripper.”
Polly’s eyes lit up like Christmas bulbs. Tommy Hoop!!!! She would finally get Tommy’s undivided
attention at last. Norma was still
calculating whether or not she could handle Jack Ripper, but he was a good
looking, although thin, young man.
“Great!”
Polly squealed. “Great! They are two very good choices. But what about Johnny Stiletto – is he to be
left out?”
Maria
smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Oh, no, not
left out. Johnny Stiletto is my groom’s
brother. He will be the best man. He has already acquired the rings for the
wedding since my fiancé needed it be done on the quiet side.”
Polly
and Norma looked at each other. Apple
Kay’s Double Wedding Ring. It was to be
Maria’s wedding ring. Wow. And Johnny for best man. There was only one question left and they
were thinking Maria was holding out on them for a purpose.
“And the groom?” Norma asked baldly. “You haven’t mentioned the groom, Maria.”
“This
is the hardest part to tell,” Maria said, “and I must have your word that you
will keep it quiet or my wedding could be ruined.”
Polly
and Norma stared at Maria and each crossed their heart and swore to
secrecy.
“I
am marrying my cousin. We have been
engaged for over a year, and mother has finally consented to letting me
marry. She was always afraid I would be
left at the Alter Steps. My dear cousin
wanted to be a success on the Road to Stardom so he could support me and make
mother proud, and he has done that in spades.”
The
girls waited with mouths agape.
“My
intended is Elvis Singer.”
The
bomb was dropped. The ceiling didn’t
fall in, but you could hear a pin drop from two doors down.
“OMG,”
Polly whispered, her eyes big as saucers. Tommy Hoop and Elvis Singer
and her. Sew City would never be
the same.
“Quick,”
Norma sang, pulling the pattern book closer.
“Let’s get a look at these wedding patterns. We have a lot of work to do.”
Maria
patted their hands, “Yes,
we do. I’m so glad you girls are my Best
Friends. After all, at the End of the
Day, friends count most.”
This story is copyrighted © No
part of this shall be printed or reproduced
Without the writen permission of Patricia Mills