‘Carrie, you’re way better at sewing than I am,’ Fern concluded, watching Carrie stitch three different-sized stars to a midnight blue background. Ginny was already cutting out a crescent moon to add on with it.
Fabric was spreadacross the floor right up to the Christmas tree and Fern teased Carrie. ‘I’d watch your clothes, if I were you.’
Confused Carrie stopped stitching for a moment. ‘Why?’
‘Tell her, girls. Mum likes to cut up our clothes and use them on quilts.’
Daisy nodded. ‘Yep, even cut the shirt I was wearing once.’ When Carrie gasped she grinned. ‘I can’t do it, Fern, I can’t wind up the person who volunteeredto help us in our hour of need.’
Fern apologised. ‘But Mum did do that, although only with old clothes. It made the quilts all the more special though. What made you want to learn to sew and quilt, Carrie?’
She spoke softly, blonde hair falling in front of her face every now and then until she pushed it away. ‘My best friend says it’s a good escape from school work.’ She smiled. ‘She’s verytalented and wants to study fashion, she makes her own clothes already.’
‘Ginny used to do that,’ Daisy informed her.
Ginny nodded and told Carrie all about the things she’d made over the years. And as they talked, they sewed, they discussed ideas, worked on new squares for the quilt, thought about what Grandad would think of their ideas, how this was going to be the best Christmas present ever.
As Fern helped Daisy by holding a piece of fabric straight as she cut out a shape, Fern glanced over at Ginny to see her sister’s face lit up in a similar way to their mother’s as she worked. The flecks of light in her eyes took on a sparkle and Fern wondered about the pink sewing machine relegated to the loft and why it was still there when looking at her sister now, Ginny was more in her comfortzone than she’d seen her in a long time.
Daisy picked up a neatly cut piece of material. ‘This is one of the shop’s newer fabrics, isn’t it?’
‘I couldn’t resist,’ Loretta admitted. She’d come back into the room and had already had a quiet word with Carrie. Fern hadn’t been able to hear what she said, perhaps she was making sure the three sisters were behaving themselves.
Fern picked up oneof the bundles made up of materials in different patterns and tied together with a ribbon. The top design had cats printed on it, each animal hiding behind colourful parcels and little white mice cheekily twitching their whiskers. ‘This cat looks exactly like Horatio.’
‘He does!’ Both Ginny and Daisy agreed.
Ginny turned to Carrie. ‘Grandad had a cat called Horatio and he had the same mischievoustwinkle in his green eyes.’
As they pulled pieces of material together to see what worked well, Daisy wondered, ‘What colour will we have on the back of the quilt?’
‘I’d say either will go.’ Ginny got up, retrieved the rolls of fabric in cream and red that were leaning against the wall beside the tree, and brought them closer. ‘They’re both equally as soft but durable enough to hold the battingin between. What do you think, Carrie?’
‘Oh no, it’s your decision.’
‘I asked because I want your opinion.’ Ginny was looking from one roll to another.
‘I’ve got no idea,’ said Fern.
‘I like them both,’ said Carrie, getting ame toofrom Daisy.
The sitting room had become a mini workshop with the items they needed strewn across every available surface – quilting rulers, packets of needles,thimbles lined up on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, a plastic tub on the floor containing threads in all colours – red, green, white, gold. They’d set up a board to cover the coffee table, which would do for measuring and cutting material to size, and at the very edge of that were pots holding scissors, rotary cutters, pencils and a couple of steel rulers. Fern remembered the rotary cuttersand the warnings that had come every time one of them used it – they could slice through fabric incredibly quickly they were so sharp. She remembered Grandad making a slicing movement with his hands, the swishing sound from his lips, shocking them all into being careful.
Fern watched as Ginny issued Carrie a similar stark warning. Fern had been resistant to the idea of Carrie helping out whenit was first mentioned, but now? Now she watched the young girl laugh along with Daisy when she narrowly missed cutting her finger and had them all hold their breath, and she decided perhaps Carrie coming their way had made this all a little easier. Rather than only having each other, they had someone else to involve, and it shifted their focus. Rather than thinking about themselves and any bickeringor animosity raised over the years, they chatted with Carrie, who was beginning to talk more as she told them all about her school, her friends, and the happy home she’d been living in with her auntie since her mother died.
In the corner of the room was the ironing board and Fern’s mind wound back to when her mum had stood ironing the scraps of fabric as each of the sisters selected the nextpiece they wanted to use. She’d iron them, rid them of the creases first, then hand them back, each piece of fabric with a soft comforting warmth. Fern had never had a passion for quilting or sewing, but what she had loved back then was all of them sitting down and working together on something unique. And now, those memories were coming back. Perhaps they were even beginning to make some new ones.
Fern’s body started to ache from sitting on the floor so long so she volunteered at the ironing board. ‘Pass your fabrics up here one at a time, I’ll iron them. Carrie, you first.’
Carrie obliged, passing up the square of midnight blue she’d sewn stars onto. Once it was ironed it would be put aside ready for piecing the quilt together.
Daisy was wading through a tub with strips of ribbon, Ginnywas concentrating on embroidering on a Father Christmas figure to another piece of material, and Loretta had Busker at her feet while she watched them all.
Daisy must’ve noticed Carrie looking a little lost, picking up pieces of material here and there but not daring to start anything. ‘Pick whatever you like,’ she said.
Ginny weighed in. ‘Why don’t you do a simple block, one of the gorgeousChristmas fabrics. Anything goes when it comes to Grandad and Christmas.’ Carrie seemed relieved as she listened and Ginny picked up a collection of material tied together neatly with string. ‘Here’s a fat quarter bundle. It’s themed so that each material complements the other,’ she added, freeing the fabric from the string and separating them out. ‘See how they work together?’
There was a paleblue fabric with angels printed on, another fabric in white depicting holly berries and ivy leaves, a forest green with Father Christmases on sleighs containing coloured gift parcels and gold bells dotted across. And when Carrie unfolded the fabric in pine green with large white snowflakes interspersed with red, white and green candy canes all tied with delicate gold bows, Fern stepped out frombehind the ironing board.
