Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky by Sandra Dallas

Author:Sandra Dallas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press

The following week, the artist, whose name was Ethel, came to the quilting class. She brought drawings for the quilt. Most American quilts were made up of squares and triangles and rectangles pieced together in a pattern. Ethel’s design was abstract, a series of strips of different sizes and shapes. The women smiled when they saw it.

“The design is the sky over the camp late in the afternoon, when it turns so many shades of blue. See, one of the pieces of fabric had a bit of red in it, just the color of sunset.” Ethel said. “When it is finished, I will embroider it with lines of silver-white thread, like edges of clouds,” Ethel continued. “We will call it ‘Tallgrass Sky.’ ”

“Oh,” the women said together, because they knew such thread was expensive and impossible to buy in the camp. Ethel must have brought it with her.

“Such a quilt will be too pretty to put on a bed,” someone said.

“Then it will be a wall hanging, a piece of art,” Mrs. Hayashi told her. “A very special piece, so we must announce the winner at a very special event.”

“A Bon Odori,” one of the women said, and the others nodded their agreement. Bon Odori was a festival held in the summer. Women danced in their blue-and-white cotton yu kata, as summer kimonos were called, while girls wore colorful silk. Tomi remembered Mom saying once that immigrants brought their traditions with them when they came to the United States, that America was made up of cultures from all over the world. You could still be an American and celebrate Bon Odori.

“But if it is to be a quilt for our American army, shouldn’t the winner be announced at an American event?” Mom asked.

“Since it will have red, white, and blue in it, how about Fourth of July?” Tomi blurted out.

“That would be perfect,” Mom said. “We will have almost six months until July 4, so there will be time to finish the quilt. And to sell the tickets. The camp newspaper has agreed to print tickets for us. We will each take a few and see if we can sell them.”

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