Thursday morning, the first official day of sewing, began with a “Prayer for Our Hands”, led by our leader Anne.  I loved that.

Then Mary Ann spoke briefly of her design process, which was find two pieces of fabric you like, sew them together and go from there.  I admired her confidence.  But could I do it?

Maybe not.

I piled up my little 4″ squares and started making half-square triangles out of the white and blue-striped squares.  Maybe I would sew them together randomly and then put on a border.  I hoped I could find something in one of the many scrap bins.

My three table-mates were lovely.  Diann and Tisa were as enamored of the Gee’s Bend style and history as I was.  Arline was a total newbie who had come along with her two avid quilting friends and had never operated a sewing machine before.

Yes, that was weird and very unusual.  We took turns helping her, but she was overwhelmed but cheerful.

Meet  Diann, from California:

I enjoyed Diann so much. Truly such a nice and kind person.

And here is Tisa, from Vermont:

Tisa had a lot of sewing experience. On Saturday morning, at 6 am, we were the only ones who wanted to sit quietly in the dimly lit sewing room and think about our next project.

These pictures were taken during Saturday afternoon’s show-and-tell session.

I managed to put a small project together, but it wasn’t easy.  China went around giving people help with their quilts while Mary Ann taught hand-quilting.  China is known for slashing quilts–cutting a diagonal line or two and then sewing the piece back together after another strip of material has been inserted in between.  Friday afternoon I taped my pathetic project on the wall and asked her to slash it for me.

In a thick Alabama accent, she said no.  If I wanted to slash it I could sell it to her for her grandbaby instead.

She recommended trimming one of the borders and adding red borders to the sides.
And she offered to trim it for me.

I was thrilled. And kept sewing until 6 PM, dinner time. The tornado watch had begun and we were given instructions where to meet–in the basement-level dining room–should the tornado come our way.

I was in bed at 8. Banjo Man was watching the weather on tv–the local station had preempted the basketball game–but I was too tired to care. Sewing for eight hours had done me in.

The next morning I was up at five. I made my coffee in the room while Banjo Man slept, then I took a cup upstairs to sit in the sewing room and think about what I would sew that day. Something different. Something more in the Gee’s Bend style. The sewing room was dim and quiet, which was what I hoped.

Halfway into the room I heard a voice call, “Hi, Kristine. Where’d you get the coffee?”

My table mate, Tisa, had had the same idea as I’d had: sit in the quiet and think about the day’s project. She had a Gee’s Bend book in her lap and was looking for inspiration.

We chatted and looked at books until we assumed the coffee would be ready in the dining room.  Our meals consisted of down-home Southern comfort food, with plenty of salad and desserts available.  China and Mary Ann often broke into song while in line at the buffet or after dinner.

You’ve never seen forty-three happier women.  The mood was always joyous, with compliments given frequently, irons shared and fabric offered back and forth continually.

Coffee, tea and soda were available in the hall outside of the sewing room.

Projects overflowed into the hall.

Quilts appeared and disappeared from the walls.

We would sew until the evening on Saturday. And then we cleaned up our messes, packed up our projects, returned the sewing machines and lamps. Stacked the cutting mats.

Sunday morning breakfast was served, but several people had to leave early to catch their flights.  We said our goodbyes.  Followed Anne’s shuttle schedule.

Something very special had come to an end.

To be continued….