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This is a Quilted Halloween Story. It was a dark and stormy night.
smiled to herself as she thought of the cliché and hugged Joseph’s coat a little tighter around her. It was an old purple coat he had found abandoned in a trash can earlier this winter and had given to her along with a red hat. She thought the coat was a dandy, for she had spent her pension on brandy and summer gloves. The red hat didn’t go and didn’t suit her but she wore it anyway.
Lowering her head against the bitter wind, the old woman continued trudging down the street, running her stick along the graveyard’s rail fence to keep her balance. She imagined herself an ice-cutter ship, plowing through the storm at sea to open an access route in the deadly ice.
She kicked a mason jar. The noise startled her and she looked up, fearful that she might be lost. Pasted to a nearby pole was a carnival poster from the summer past. She closed her eyes for a moment, the memory of a bright summer day in her thoughts.
She remembered walking to the carnival in Salem, the sun warming the woven ribbons in her hair, calliope playing, her next-door neighbor Mollie at her side. Such happy times! So different from the sobriety of her youth. Mollie was gone now, having taken the road to Tennessee to live in the delectable mountains with her family.
was envious of Mollie’s choice for she herself had no family.
opened her eyes, looked around and was forced to walk around a box of broken dishes – Dresden plates, they looked like. There were matching cups and saucers, too. She reached down and picked one up, after removing a discarded apple core. ” True blue pottery” , she read. A howling black cat ran by and, without thinking,
hurled the shard at the cat. As it scampered through the light, she saw it was only a calico cat, chasing a mouse.
It was Halloween, and
was anxious to get inside before midnight. Faces looked at her from garret windows and attic windows. Ghosts gibbered at her from all sides. Jack-o-Lanterns leered at her. Her heart thumped and she set a drunkards path as she darted from bush to tree, compelled to get out of the way as something large rushed past her.
She tripped and fell on a toad in a puddle. Confused, she picked it up and discovered it was made of cement. She wondered – what was the beast that had rushed past her? Was it even real, or had her imagination conjured up yet another mystery? She was so tired!
sat on the pavement and rested a bit.
Examining the tracks it had left, she thought maybe they had been made by a bears paw. Was it a bear she saw?
brushed a maple leaf out of another impression and examined it. Could they be goose tracks? Looking up, she smiled as she saw the Scottie dog, just around the corner. That was it. She was comforted to see a flock of birds in the air, preparing to land in a nearby farmers field. They seemed to be the wild geese which been here before. The returning birds were a sign of safety.
She struggled to her feet, and setting her course by the big dipper, she tottered off towards a crooked path. She came to the crossed roads and shook her head to clear her thoughts. Where should she go? To the right was the barrister’s block, so named because of all the lawyers that lived there. Straight ahead was Union Square, the courthouse steps just barely visible behind the little red schoolhouse. To the left was Patience Corner, an aptly named community where her tolerant grandmother used to live. It had been her favorite block as a child.
’s mind traveled back in time again, as she remembered her grandmothers flower garden in Kansas. Her grandmother was a farmers daughter, a housewife, and her garden bloomed from May to December. The garden maze was her grandmothers pride and joy. As a child, it was
‘s job to take the garden basket and fill it with corn and beans. She would gather eggs from the hens & chicks barn, too.
’s grandmother believed in economy and was very thrifty.
A comet streaked by and illuminated the stepping stones that made it possible for her to navigate the railroad crossing safely. That settled the question. She was homeward bound. Humming gaily, she twirled on her tiptoes and crossed the rocky road.
made her way to the Log Cabin that was once her grandmothers home. She saw a golden glow in the distance, over the hill and valley. What was that in the window?
Through the light and shadow of the forest path and stiles, she thought she could see the glow of a jewel box. Could this be for her? She ran to the house. A gingerbread man who was adjusting his bow tie opened the door, his contrary wife in the back ground.
“Welcome, welcome!” he cried. “You have come just in time! We are about to go on a trip around the world and we need someone to watch our treasure!” He thrust a treasure box in her hands, picked up a nosegay and began a square dance.
thought this was very odd behavior indeed, but her attention was distracted by a puss in the corner. Before she could say jack-in-the box, the man and his wife had twirled out the door, looking for all the world like a spinning tops.
Stunned,
sat heavily on the stair steps and opened her prize. Inside was a cracker box, baby blocks, a jar of baby food and a toy fish. “That’s odd”, she thought. “I wonder what these are for?” Just then, a baby crawled in to the room and started to cry. “It’s going to be a very long winter”, she sighed. Then she brightened. It seemed she had a family after all.
Ok, now be honest. How long was it before you recognized the first quilt block? How many did you find?
If you really want to be adventurous, you can make the quilt to the left using the two blocks on the right below as setting blocks. I’ve seen it done once, but to my dismay, I never got a picture of it.
If you thought the beginning sounded familiar, you are absolutely right. The first paragraph is based on this book.
Phoebe Moon is a former quilt shop owner who began writing tutorials and patterns for her shop. Although she is no longer teaching, be sure to look through the Scrapdash blog for detailed tutorials with handouts, as well as many free mysteries and the occasional mystery.
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3 Comments
Sounds just like me! Mismatched clothes – we’re quilters after all and completely comfortable with variety! Love the story! I lost track of the number of quilts, but really awesome! Thanks.
You are brilliant. Period. Full stop. That was sooodadgumawesomelyFUN!!!….& inspiring. I fell in love with your post, style, writing first time.
Hugs from Ga
MelanieClaire
That was fun. So many quilt blocks hidden in the story. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds just like me! Mismatched clothes – we’re quilters after all and completely comfortable with variety! Love the story! I lost track of the number of quilts, but really awesome! Thanks.
You are brilliant. Period. Full stop. That was sooodadgumawesomelyFUN!!!….& inspiring. I fell in love with your post, style, writing first time.
Hugs from Ga
MelanieClaire
That was fun. So many quilt blocks hidden in the story. Thanks for sharing.