1856] Home Life 



boy never will have any sense;" but she replied 

 that he "mustn't talk so to a mother; he will learn 

 as he grows up." 



Throughout my childhood, cooperative quilting 

 parties were a common social feature, groups of bees 

 neighbor women gathering of afternoons at the 

 various houses to help each other out. In this way 

 a good deal of work was agreeably accomplished 

 with a minimum expenditure of time and perhaps a 

 maximum of gossip. For the process, as most of 

 my readers know, two layers of cloth of the de- 

 sired dimensions usually of vari-colored squares or 

 strips of calico sewed together in simple or intricate 

 design and with generous interlining of cotton 

 batting, were stretched over a wooden frame 1 and 

 quilted through and through by hand. The result 

 was a "comforter" worthy of the name. Often also 

 the finished article was most attractive, and some 

 of the patterns, I am told, were both famous and 

 difficult. Today the "puff" of simple design and 

 frequently of expensive material has crowded out 

 the old-fashioned quilt, as the demands of modern 

 life leave little leisure for piecing bits of calico! 



Once when a "quilting bee" was on at our house, 

 I walked about under the frame and got playfully 

 thumped on the head by the thimbles of the women 

 working above. I remember also being considerably 

 puzzled by a proposal of marriage from one of the 

 ladies present. This I took somewhat seriously, 

 though it seemed to me best to wait a little while, as 

 I might perhaps do better. Moreover, I had already 



1 This was so adjusted that the quilt lay perfectly flat and three or four 

 women worked on each side. Then, as they continuously progressed toward 

 the middle, the finished portions were rolled under out of the way, the side slats 

 being made movable for that purpose. 



C 13 3 



