The Quilt Fiction Podcast: Recent Episodes
Frances O'Roark Dowell
The Quilting Life on the Written Page, as read to you by award-winning author Frances O'Roark Dowell (Birds in the Air, Margaret Goes Modern, Dovey Coe, Shooting the Moon). In Season One, Friendship Album, 1933, tells a heart-warming story of strangers brought together by quilting and made into family. In Season Two, Dowell reads Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. First published in 1907 and set in rural western Kentucky in the late nineteenth century, the book recounts an elderly quilt-maker Aunt Jane’s memories of life in the rural south as told to an unnamed younger woman visitor. The book was hugely popular in its time, reaching over a million readers, and President Theodore Roosevelt was one of Aunt Jane’s biggest fans.
Welcome to the 8th annual Friendship Album Christmas story, “Advent Wreath: Eula, 1908.” This year’s story is about Eula Baker, whose four-year marriage to Dan has been filled with happiness — but, so far, no children. A young sister-in-law constantly reminds Eula of her childless state, driving her to the edge of despair. But as Eula discovers, we learn a lot about ourselves when we have to wait for what we want — and we learn a lot about the people who love us best.
As she’s done almost every year, the incomparable Patty Dudek of Elm Street Quilts has designed a block to commemorate our Christmas story. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the pattern; you can also find a printable version on the Story Guild site.
Now, for some more wonderful news! The first five Friendship Album Christmas stories have been collected in one lovely ebook, A Friendship Album Christmas: Five Stories for the Season. Each and every paid member of the Story Guild will get a free copy! Head over to the Story Guild to sign up today!
Quilt Fiction’s Story Guild is an audio archive of almost every quilting story and novel I’ve written, including two Friendship Album novels, two Friendship Album novellas (with a third to be posted in the new year), and three years worth of my serialized story, Diary of a Mad Quilter. I also publish new stories almost every week that are delivered straight into your inbox.
Join to Get One Month Free! https://www.patreon.com/quiltfiction/redeem/68366
I hope you’ll come take a look around—the first month of membership is absolutely free After that, you only pay $5 a month and can quit at any time, although I hope you’ll want to stay for your weekly dose of stories to stitch by, not to mention the free patterns, printables and a weekly Back Porch Diary, plus the Anne of Green Gables Block Party!
I hope you have a lovely and joyful holiday season. Thanks for listening!
xoFrances
A conversation with author Marie Bostwick about her new book, The Book Club for Troublesome Women.
Greetings from the shortest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere! If you’re like me, you’re less focused on the winter solstice and more on your long to-do list. The holidays came on fast this year!
I’m pleased to announce that this year’s Friendship Album Christmas story is now available via the Quilt Fiction podcast! This year’s story, “Winter Stars,” finds Florence Grangerfield working on a Christmas quilt for sister-in-law Emmeline. When an unexpected Christmas card arrives, she’s taken back to 1916, the year she was 10 and committed a crime she’s never forgiven herself for.
When you’re a child (as Florence is in 1916), it’s easy to envy a friend whose family seems so much happier than your own. “Winter Stars” is a story about discovering that other people’s lives are as layered as our own. It’s also a story about forgiveness — both being forgiven and forgiving yourself for past transgressions. This is a good time of year to lean into that. As I’m doing my Christmas baking this weekend, I’ll be watching “A Christmas Carol” (my favorite version stars George C. Scott as Scrooge). If Ebenezer Scrooge can be redeemed, maybe — just maybe — so can I.
I’m very pleased to report that my dear friend Patty Dudek of Elm Street Quilts has designed a beautiful “Winter Stars” block pattern for Quilt Fiction listeners. Just go to quiltfiction.com to claim your copy!
I hope you enjoy this year’s story. If you want more quilt fiction in your life, please explore the website. There’s lots of free content available, and if that’s not enough, you can always subscribe to the Quilt Fiction Story Guild and get stories in your inbox nearly every week.
Thanks as always for listening! I’m wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons.
xoFrances
In this month’s podcast, we'll be reading a short story that originally appeared in the July 1884 issue of Godey’s Lady’s Book — “The Career of a Crazy Quilt."
Tune into the May episode of Quilt Fiction to listen to an interview with one of the queens of quilt fiction, the fabulous Marie Bostwick!
Tune into the April episode of the Quilt Fiction podcast for an interview with novelist Jennifer Chiaverini about her new Elm Creek Quilts book!
In this month’s episode, I’m sharing a work-in-progress with you, From the Homefront Diaries of Lorraine Shatterbuck. I seem to be writing a lot in diary form lately–I’m also writing Diary of a Mad Quilter, a contemporary story about an avid quilter. Both of these diaries, by the way, are available to read for free on the Quilt Fiction website. You can listen to the audio version of Diary of a Mad Quilter by joining the Quilt Fiction Story Guild for as low as $6 a month.
We’ve got three great sponsors for today’s episode: Suzie Quilts, Fat Quarter Shop and Denyse Schmidt Quilts! Our sponsors have provided some really nice things for this month’s giveaway. We’re doing two giveaway bundles for March–the first one includes three patterns of your choice from the Suzie Quilts pattern shop plus a Hip Hop Hooray Layer Cake from Fat Quarter Shop. The second giveaway bundle is a year-long membership in Denyse Schmidt’s Patchwork Panel Club, and this one is big–we’re talking a $165 value! Among other things, you’ll get four different fabric panels delivered to you throughout 2024. Each panel features nine mix-and-match fabric designs from the DSQ fabric archives printed on luxuriously soft, high-density quilting cotton and is over two yards of fabric.
March 2024 Block of the Month
The March 2024 Block of the Month is the Stars of Stripes block first published in Aunt Martha’s Work Basket and reprinted in newspapers across the country beginning in 1941.
Stars of Stripes block
March Book of the Month
The Quilt by Gary Paulsen, which is one in a trilogy of books that are based on Paulsen’s grandmother. The main character in The Quilt is an unnamed six-year-old boy, but this isn’t a sweet and cozy story. Even though the narrator is very young, this is a book for older, more mature readers. I think a thoughtful sixth grader might get a lot from it, and mature 7th and 8th graders even more so. In a way, I think the readers who might get the most from this are adult women.
The Quilt takes place during that time Paulsen lived in Northern Minnesota when he was a young boy. In the story, he travels with his grandmother to a remote farm, where a much older cousin of his is close to giving birth. Her husband is fighting in the war, and she’s tending to the farm by herself. Shortly after the boy and his grandmother arrive, the cousin, Kristina, goes into labor. With that,, the women of the community arrive. The labor is long, and while the women wait, they work on a quilt together. It's a quilt made up of scraps, each one telling a story about a family member’s life, and the women tell the boy all the stories that the quilt contains.
A new year of Quilt Fiction fun has begun! We’ve just dropped the February Quilt Fiction Podcast episode, which includes a wonderful interview with novelist Sandra Dallas. While Sandra has never set out to write quilt fiction per se, she’s clearly got a heart for quilts. In novels such as The Persian Pickle Club, Alice’s Tulips and The Diary of Mattie Spenser, quilts and quiltmaking are central to her characters’ lives. In this episode, Sandra talks about her own days as a quilter as well as some of the quilts that she’s collected over the years.
We’re doing two giveaways to celebrate this month’s podcast! The first is from February’s Quilt Fiction sponsor, Oliso, home of cutting-edge fabric tools tailored to the needs of quilters and sewists. Oliso has generously provided a TG1600 ProPlus autolift iron, the M2Pro travel iron, and a fabulous ironing board cover for one lucky listener to win.
Our second giveaway is a copy of The Persian Pickle Club, which is our February Book of the Month. If you haven’t read The Persian Pickle Club, you’re in for a treat. If you have, you’ll enjoy it just as much the second time around!
You have until March 1st, 2024, to enter to win one of these two great prizes!
Not only do we have a Book of the Month, we have a Block of the Month! For February, Block of the Month is “Rocky Road to Kansas,” a paper-pieced block you’ll need a pattern for–and we’ve got a free pattern pdf on our website that you can download by clicking here. New to paper-piecing? We have a how-to video up on the Quilt Fiction YouTube channel. (Note: This is my first-ever how-to quilting demo, and it’s a little goofy.)
One of our February projects is overhauling the Quilt Fiction website to make it easier for you to navigate. We have SO much content that it’s taken us a while to get it all sorted out. There are free audio stories, and we’ve got the ongoing online World War II Diary, From the Homefront Diaries of Lorraine Shatterbuck. You can listen to the first five chapters of Friendship Album, 1933, for free as well. If you ever have a question about how to find something, please don’t hesitate to email us at help@quiltfiction.com.
I want to remind you that if you want quilt fiction audio stories in your email box every week, along with access to a huge archive of quilting stories available to members only, you can sign up for my patron supported Story Guild podcast. For only $6 a month, that’s a lot of fiction! If you’re not ready to make a commitment, try our $10 a month membership, which you can cancel at any time.
Thanks so much for being a part of the Quilt Fiction community! I hope you enjoy this month’s podcast episode!
xoFrances
P.S. Did you get your copy of our free pattern, Eula’s Hen House?
This week, we spend time with Emmeline Grangerfield as a young bride finding her way in Milton Falls. Yes, it’s the annual Friendship Album Christmas story! Enjoy!
Be sure to download your free "December Star" quilt block pattern.
Spring has arrived and to celebrate all things new, we’re sharing the first three chapters of my new quilting novel Diary of a Mad Quilter on today’s episode. Normally, only paid members of the Quilt Fiction Story Guild have access to this story (they are already on Chapter Six), but we’re excited about the new story and thought you might be too.
Set in contemporary Milton Falls, Ohio, Diary of Mad Quilter is the story of avid quilter and retired third grade teacher, Marnie Fetzer. Marnie lives with her husband, Darrell, who just retired from his engineering job, and she’s still best friends with her high school BFF, Shiela. Son Sam lives on the other side of town with his wife and toddler twins, while daughter Katie makes her home in Atlanta. These days, Marnie’s life revolves around quilts, quilts and – well, quilts.
We hope you enjoy the first few chapters enough to consider an annual subscription to the Story Guild. As a subscriber, you’ll get weekly chapters of Friendship Album: Forget-Me-Not, bi-weekly updates to Diary of a Mad Quilter, along with access to the complete audio versions of Friendship Album, 1933 and Aunt Jane of Kentucky, plus other Milton Falls stories and big discounts on everything in the Quilt Fiction Shop.
To celebrate having you on board we’ll mail a packet of Friendship Album-themed vintage postcards right to your door. We'll also send you a coupon for 50 percent off the downloadable audiobook version of Friendship Album, 1933 -- a $15 value.
Not ready for an annual subscription just yet, please consider a month-to-month subscription for $10 and convert to an annual membership at any time.
See you next time!
Frances
In the post-story section, I mentioned several books and articles. Here are the links for more information:
Remembering Adelia: Quilts Inspired by Her Diary by Kathleen Tracy
The Civil War Diary Quilt: 121 Stories and the Quilt Blocks They Inspired by Rosemary Youngs
Quilts from the Civil War by Barbara Brackman
Cloth and Comfort: Pieces of Women’s Lives from their Quilts and Diaries by Roderick Kirocofe
The Quilt Alliance
Mountain Mist Patterns
Women's Quilts and Diaries: Creative Expression and Personal Resource by Gail R. Davis
Host Frances O'Roark Dowell reads her short story, "Persimmon Moon," and discusses the importance of world-building to fiction writers. Plus, a special giveaway for February over at QuiltFiction.com.
Several years ago, I picked up a used copy of the late, great journal, Quilt Digest, published and edited by Roderick Kiracoffe and Michael Kile. To my surprise, this particular issue (Issue 3, published in 1985) contained a short story by Marianne Fons. I had no idea that along with being a famous quilter, Marianne was also a writer!
Fast forward to -- oh, I don’t know. 2018, maybe? One day, out of the blue, Marianne Fons emailed me. After years of backburnering her writing life, she was back at it. She’d come across my book Birds in the Air and was curious who my agent was. With that email, a correspondence and eventually a friendship was born.
So when I started thinking about what -- and whose -- stories I wanted to read on the Quilt Fiction podcast, Marianne came immediately to mind. I emailed her for permission to read her story from that long ago issue of Quilt Digest, and she graciously gave her permission. Not only that -- she agreed to be interviewed for today’s episode!
One of the reasons I love talking to Marianne about writing is because she’s so passionate about it. If you want to know more about Marianne’s life story, and more about her quilting story, here’s a link to an interview I did with her in 2020 for the Quilt Alliance’s Story Bee show. If you’re not familiar with the Quilt Alliance, it’s a nonprofit organization that serves to document quilters and their stories. You can visit the Quilt Alliance by clicking on this link.
Visit Marianne’s website to read her blog and stay up to date with what she’s reading and quilting. While you’re there, sign up for her email newsletter! Check out Marianne’s pride and joy, the Iowa Quilt Museum.
Marianne took a year-long workshop at StoryStudio Chicago. Both in-person and online writing classes are available.
Remember: It’s not too late to sign up for Quilt Fiction’s first ever QAL! For more info, follow this link!
(Photo by AZUREE WIITALA https://www.azureewiitala.com
In “Dorothy’s Christmas Star,” Dorothy Johnson approves of her daughter’s friendship with a group of girls from prominent families, but then begins to worry that young Hannah has grown ashamed of where she comes from. When Dorothy is left out of an important event, she decides to take matters into her own hands — only to be surprised by the results.
Hello and happy holidays!If you’re looking for the free pattern and story download, you’ve come to the right place! I love the star block designed by Patty Dudek especially for this year’s Christmas story, and I know you’ll love it too!
If you want to know more about the Quilt Fiction Story Guild, you’ve also come to the right place! Just click here to find out how to become a member!
I talked about the Story Guild at the beginning of the podcast, but let’s take a minute review how much fun it’s going to be, shall we? First of all, we get to spend time with our favorite quilters, the ladies of the Milton Falls Wednesday Quilting Bee! We’ve got two new members on board, Edwina Baldwin and Eula’s daughter-in-law, Elise Baker, and you know how adding new people to the mix always complicates things. Yes, dears, there are some surprises in store!
Like Friendship Album, 1933, Friendship Album, 1934: Forget-Me-Not is a work-in-progress. I’ve written ten chapters so far and hope to have at least five more chapters done before Episode One drops on New Year’s Eve. By joining the Story Guild, you’ll be supporting me as I write. That’s right. you’ll be a patron of the arts, and this artist/writer greatly appreciates it!
I’m also super excited to share chapters from another WIP, Diary of a Mad Quilter. I’ve loved creating the modern day Milton Falls and my favorite new family, the Fetzers. Beginning in January, I’ll be sharing weekly excerpts from Marnie Fetzer’s diaries. As the title suggests, there’s a lot of humor in Marnie’s story, and I hope you’ll enjoy spending time with the newest addition to the Milton Falls quilting roster.
If you’re here, then you’re a story lover, so you’ll be glad to know that by joining the Story Guild, you’ll get even more Milton Falls quilting stories in your inbox. I’ve got a bunch of new stories in the hopper, including a Dorothy story from 1902, and a contemporary story that features Emmeline’s granddaughters(!). Expect surprise announcements of new audio stories and e-stories for you to download, one more way of saying thanks for your support!
As I mentioned on the podcast, we’ve got special gifts for everyone who joins in December. First, we’ll mail you a set of EIGHT holiday postcards as soon as you join–take a look at the cards on the website; they’re absolutely darling!
Second, for joining the Quilt Fiction Story Guild this month, you’ll receive a free downloadable Friendship Album, 1933 audiobook with updated chapters, a $39.95 value. Please note, Friendship Album 1933 is no longer available on the free Quilt Fiction podcast. It will be available for sale in our Etsy store in 2023, but if you join the Story Guild in December, you’ll get it for free!
I hope you’ll consider joining the Story Guild. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re getting a whole lot of great stuff in return for your support!
Finally, a little about this year’s Christmas story.“Dorothy’s Christmas Star” is set in 1918. If you’re looking for information about everyday life in the US at the turn of the 20th century, most of what you’ll find concerns white communities. This is a problem if you’re writing fiction about a black family and want to get all the details right.
However, I’m fortunate to live in Durham, NC, home of a historic black neighborhood known as Hayti, about which a great deal has been written. Hayti was founded as an independent community shortly after the Civil War by freed enslaved people who’d come to Durham to work in the tobacco warehouses. By the early 20th century, Hayti was a thriving city within a city, with over 200 black-owned businesses.
Dorothy’s neighborhood of Lincoln Heights is smaller than Hayti, but Hayti gave me the blueprint for what a self-contained black community in Milton Falls might be like in 1918. Like Hayti, Lincoln Heights has its own doctors, its own schools and its own black-owned businesses. And, like Hayti, it has its own elite, members of what W.B. Dubois called “the talented tenth.”
As a white, 21st century writer, I’m especially careful when writing about Dorothy and her family. While I believe that people of different backgrounds have more in common than not, and that a good writer can write outside of her own lived experience, I also stand by the edict that “You don’t know what you don’t know.” I’ve done my best to dig deep into my research when it comes to writing about Dorothy and her family. I hope I’ve done them justice, since they’re some of my favorite people in the world.
Thanks so much for being here and for supporting Quilt Fiction and my writing. I appreciate it.
Sending you the warmest holiday wishes and hopes for a very merry Christmas to all who observe!
--Frances
In this special holiday edition of the Quilt Fiction Podcast, we return to Milton Falls for Christmas! In this year's story, “Railroad Crossing, Bess: 1923," we find Bess Wilcox getting ready for the holidays -- she's shopping for presents, directing the church pageant, and trying to keep husband Bill from spoiling their three young daughters. When things start to go missing from her pantry shelves, Bess finds herself with a Christmas mystery on her hands!
In this special episode of Quiltfiction, we find Eula Baker doing her best to plan Christmas dinner for two as she remembers happier holidays surrounded by family. When the Christmas spirit finally moves her, it does so in very mysterious ways!
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading an abridged version of Chapter Nine of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled "The Gardens of Memory," in this chapter Aunt Jane discusses her philosophy of the garden. This is the last episode of the season. Thanks so much for listening!
Welcome to the Quilt Fiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading the second half of Chapter Eight of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled "Mary Andrews' Dinner Party," this is the story of how a woman takes revenge on her miserly husband.
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading the first half of Chapter Eight of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled "Mary Andrews' Dinner Party," this is the story of how a woman takes revenge on her miserly husband.
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading Chapter Seven of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled “How Sam Amos Rode in the Tournament” this is the story of the time Sam Amos thought he might win a blue ribbon riding in a horse show--until his horse kept going!
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading Chapter Six of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled “The Baptizing at Kittle Creek” this is the story of how some husbands and wives are destined (predestined?) to spend their marriages arguing about religion.
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading Chapter Five of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled “Milly Baker's Boy” this is the story of how a woman raises her son to be a great man, in spite of difficult circumstances.
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading Chapter Four of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. Entitled “Sweet Day of Rest," this is the story of the day Milly Amos came to church and refused to sing.
In "Aunt Jane's Album," Aunt Jane is giving her quilts an airing out and remembering the time Sarah Jane Mitchell finally won a blue ribbon at the County Fair.
Welcome to the Quiltfiction Podcast! In this episode, I’ll be reading Chapter Two of Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. In this chapter, “The New Organ,” Aunt Jane tells the story of the time the ladies of Goshen Church raise enough money to buy an organ and how the voice of one of their choir members, Uncle Jim Matthews, proves to be a trial and tribulation to the members of their congregation and beyond.
Hello and welcome to Season Two of the Quilt Fiction podcast. In this season, I'll be reading Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert Hall. First published in 1907 and set in rural western Kentucky in the late nineteenth century, the book recounts an elderly quilt-maker Aunt Jane’s memories of life in the rural south as told to an unnamed younger woman visitor. The book was hugely popular in its time, reaching over a million readers, and President Theodore Roosevelt was one of Aunt Jane’s biggest fans.
Because I wanted to get this season up and going, I recorded it under slightly more relaxed standards that Season One. If you hear anybody snoring during the recording, rest assured it’s my dog Travis, who is almost always at my side. Occasionally I stumble over a word, but I just kept going. I hope you don’t mind!
I hope you enjoy today’s episode, “Sally Ann’s Experience.” This is a story about the ladies of Goshen church, and in particular, it’s about Sally Ann, who decides it’s finally time to tell the men of the church a thing or two about their shortcomings. I hope you enjoy this funny story of one woman speaking her mind!
In this special episode of the Quiltfiction Podcast, Florence Grangerfield searches for the Christmas spirit in a church soup kitchen.
"Turkey in the Straw: Bess, 1925 (A Friendship Album Story)" finds Bess Wilcox preparing for a simple Thanksgiving dinner when the guest list begins to grow exponentially. As a modern woman, she feels she should be able to handle preparing a feast for a large gathering of friends, family and neighbors all by herself. Her new housekeeper, Dorothy Johnson, has her doubts.
To listen to "Friendship Album, 1933" and other quilting stories, please visit: QuiltFiction.com
Other Quilting Books by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Birds in the Air
BUY AT AMAZON BUY AT BARNES & NOBLE BUY AT INDIEBOUND
Margaret Goes Modern: Quilting Stories
Buy at Amazon.com Buy at Indiebound Buy at Barnes & Noble
Eighteen-year-old Eula Jean Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the best quilters and cooks in her small farming community of Homerville, Ohio. While some wonder when Eula will marry, Eula wonders who would be interested — and she's not sure if she cares. Life at home with her rambunctious brothers, fun-loving sisters and understanding mother is comfortable and comforting. But when she meets Dan Baker, a farmer with an eye for quilts, she begins to wonder if she might be ready to make a home of her own.
In the final chapter of the novel, Emmeline is in for a big surprise at the quilt show.
Florence recalls the first time Arthur proposed and the couple ponders a potential future together.
The Wednesday bee expands as Bess ponders whether the time has come for a new beginning.
Eula passes down kitchen advice to her new daughter-in-law and finally gets the news she's been waiting for.
Emmeline receives an unexpected offer while mulling over the latest news from Florence.
Dorothy tries to keep her temper around her stubborn son-in-law -- and discovers an unlikely ally in the process.
Eula gets a visit from an old friend and wonders if her farm dreams will ever come true.
Dorothy, worried about what the future holds for her family, opens the door to an unexpected visitor.
Florence finally catches up on her stitching in a hotel room in Emporia, Kansas, as she dreams of her business back in Milton Falls.
When Emmeline Grangerfield sets out to make Christmas merry and bright for a group of orphans, things quickly spiral out of control. Will help arrive in time to revive her holiday spirit? It will be up to the quilters of Depression-era Milton Falls, Ohio, to find time for the true meaning of Christmas during the busiest season of the year. In this short story prequel, Frances O’Roark Dowell visits two of the five women who come together to form an improbable quilting circle in her historical novel, Friendship Album, 1933 — which is currently being released as an audiocast one chapter at a time on The QuiltFiction Podcast.
Frances O’Roark Dowell is critically-acclaimed author of more than twenty “beloved books for tweens and teenagers” (New York Times Sunday Book Review). In 2016, she founded a small publishing company dedicated to telling the stories of women who quilt. Join her online at QuiltFiction.com.
Emmeline learns the fate of her Sears Contest quilt and hatches a new plan to put her back on the path to quilting fame and fortune.
Florence gets an unexpected proposal, while Eula and Emmeline are reeling from some stunning news.
Florence's new business is booming, and Emmeline seems intent on playing matchmaker, much to her sister-in-law's dismay.
Eula considers how she might earn enough money to get her family back on the farm, and the bee members give updates on their Sears Contest quilts.
Emmeline imagines her life as a famous quilt columnist and plays matchmaker for Florence.
Dorothy gets some much-needed alone time on her walk to work and comes up with a plan to lure Hannah back to Milton Falls.
Florence gets some help in the kitchen from Arthur, and the members of the bee grow closer as they reveal more about their lives to one another.
Bess eagerly awaits news of the birth of her first grandchild and worries about Helen, who brings home an unexpected guest in the middle of the day.
Eula dreams of going back to the farm, Dorothy worries about about her family, and a reformed Emmeline auditions her latest quilting column with the Bee.
Dorothy intercepts a letter for Hannah, and Emmeline makes a startling confession. Episode 9 includes an update by the author and a special offer.
Emmeline publishes a misguided quilt column and Eula tries to make her niece feel at home.
Florence takes a ride and thinks about what might have been, while Dorothy adjusts to life with grandchildren.
Eula gets some news that has her redecorating a bedroom and designing a new quilt. Meanwhile, Bess learns that she'll need to come up with some money fast if she doesn't want to sell her beloved home.
Dorothy and her own family troubles take center stage; Emmeline does research for her role as Emma Brown, but how will she ever come up with a wardrobe of last year's fashions?
Our five quilters play well together as they all gather for the first time; Florence plans for guests but is interrupted by a knock at the door.
Eula prepares for guests in her new home; Emmeline hatches a plan to revive her quilting column; Dorothy is dragged to the first meeting of the bee, but isn’t convinced she’ll be warmly received.
Eula, forced off the family farm by hard times, ventures into the imposing Milton Falls Library to post a notice; Bess, a widow of one year, joins the town's newest quilting circle to avoid altar guild duty; 27-year-old Florence takes a step to escape her life as a bored socialite.