I stopped by the Millers to update them on my boot search (we are getting close to the end), and I found Lena sitting behind a giant quilt brace. She asked if I  wanted to see her quilt. Of course, I did.

I thought it was beautiful. Lena said she named it the “Blazing Star.” All of her three quilts have names.

When an Amish woman turns 21, as Lena will do next year, she is entitled to make three quilts to take with her into adulthood and the next chapter in her life.

I asked if I could text the quilt to Maria, who texted right back that it was beautiful.

Lena, who  was working on with Fanny, her sinister, told me Maria was invited to come and see it if she wished

Maria did wish to see it. A half-hour we came up to the hill to take a look.

Maria and Lena could hardly be different, yet something about the other appeals to each of them. I think it’s the artist thing and also a directness and love of work.

 

The relationship between Maria and Lena is deepening.

Two women with different lives, but they each share and understand a part of the other. They talk easily and comfortably.

I doubt either one could live the other’s life, but it doesn’t matter to either of them.

Lena is creative, and she is fascinated by the way Maria works and by what she creates.

Maria admires the work Lena does; she says it is pretty extraordinary.

In a sense, we both were honored to be shown such private but essential things. Both have a fierce work ethic.

For a half-hour, the two of them talked quilts- technique, color, fabric, and patterns –  and discussed the stitches and patterns that Lena used (Maria got one of them for her online.)

Lena asked her if she’d like to see the other two quilts, and Maria did. They were both beautiful. They talked about each of them. The room was dark and quiet and spotless, almost monastic.

Fanny joined in once in a while but mostly stayed silent.

It was a lovely and peaceful scene. Lena and Fanny were exceptionally calm.

Everyone in the family was off to Jacob’s farm working on wreaths; I’d never seen the kitchen so quiet; the two girls were enjoying the peace. They were, as always, meticulously dressed and clean.

Lena and Fanny had a whole day to work on this quilt. Uninterrupted, Lena said, she could finish it in a few days.

Then she laughed. There are not many uninterrupted days in her life. Tomorrow she and Fanny will join the rest of the family to make wreaths.

Lena is looking forward to Christmas. The Amish do not celebrate most American holidays; they observe Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, and Christmas, of course.

Second Christmas, Easter Monday, Pentecost Monday, and Ascension Day are celebratory times for relaxing and visiting.  Amish businesses close on those days, and Amish men and women stop working.

People dressed in their Sunday clothes take long buggy rides to visit friends and go on bus and train trips to visit family members and distant friends. On Christmas Day, extended families try to gather for a day of eating, meditating, and visiting.

This is a travel season for them, a time to catch their breath and cement connections.

After Thanksgiving, work on their house will slow a bit; Christmas is a time of worship and community for them. There’s a lot of preparation.

I could sense that Lena sees this season coming.  The wreaths are a warning.

That lovely quilt won’t be finished for a while.