Peggy dropped onto a chair. “And you didn’t let on at all yesterday at the diner.” She narrowed her eyes into a glare.
“Wally asked me to keep it a secret until he could tell you. If he hadn’t, I would have given you every detail before the coffee even filled the mug. It was no easy feat, I tell you.” All the ladies laughed, even Stella.
The last button box unpacked, Mary Beth and Kate joined the group. “It sounds like you’ve kept yourselves entertained while we finished up,” said Mary Beth. “Are we ready to come up with an interesting theme for this year’s Harvest on the Harbor? Annie, this is your first Harvest project. How about you start us off?”
Guilt flashed across Annie’s face. “Umm, well … I confess, I got occupied yesterday and forgot to think about it. But, being from the South, I’m rather partial to autumn leaves since we don’t get much of that in Texas.”
“Autumn leaves are a perfect idea,” said Gwen.
“So perfect that we chose to do them last year,” Mary Beth finished, “and it was a huge success. But you’ve got the idea, Annie, even if you were preoccupied.”
“Were you working on a new mystery, by any chance?” asked Peggy. Annie’s knack of becoming embroiled in mysteries that had started in the attic of Grey Gables had often been the source of both entertainment—and sometimes discomfort—to the community of Stony Point, and particularly the members of the Hook and Needle Club.
“No!” Annie threw up her hands. “I don’t have time for a new mystery! Preparing for a visit from my family and working on the Harvest project is all I have time for.”
“How about apples?” Peggy suggested. “The orchard owners inland would like that, I think.” In her years working at The Cup & Saucer, Peggy had gotten to know the people who came to the Harvest on the Harbor celebration very well. She was also a huge fan of apple pie.
“Would that give enough scope for variety?” asked Mary Beth.
“We could do cornucopias,” offered Kate. “That adds a little variety with both fruits and vegetables.” She pursed her lips as she pictured the possibilities. “But I’m still not sure it’s enough.”
“I was thinking about scarecrows.” Alice patted her sewing bag. “I found an adorable scarecrow cross-stitch pattern book last year at a flea market.”
“I’ve heard that Wiscasset is hosting a scarecrow contest this year.” Stella had not missed a stitch as she followed the discussion. “Might it seem like we’re copying or competing? Wiscasset is our county seat, after all.”
“Hmmm, that’s something to think about,” said Mary Beth. “Any other ideas that would compete less?”
“Kate’s cornucopia idea has me thinking about the Pilgrims,” said Gwen. “Harvesttime was so vitally important to them.” As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Gwen felt a strong connection to the early settlers of New England.
“How would a Pilgrim theme be worked out in needlecraft?” Peggy asked. “I guess I could use a Log Cabin quilt pattern. Would that be Pilgrimy enough?”
Stella lowered her knitting into her lap. “Drawing our theme from the past certainly fits the spirit of the day, but how would you like to do something a little more daring?”
All eyes were fixed on Stella. Although Stella had lived many years in New York City—and since she had enough money to pretty well do whatever she wanted to do—the club members didn’t generally associate her with “daring.”
“In my work with various museums over the years I’ve been fascinated with the culture and art of the American Indian tribes of New England. In the five years since I’ve been back in Stony Point, I’ve never seen any of the American Indian tribes of this area acknowledged for their contribution to the survival of the early settlers or their sacrifices during the Revolutionary War. Wouldn’t the Harvest festival be an appropriate time to do that?” Stella lifted her knitting and added stitch by stitch. For a moment, the only sound to be heard in the circle was the clicking of needles.
“I, for one, love the idea.” Alice was the first to give her opinion, not an uncommon occurrence. “Except, I know absolutely nothing about the American Indian tribes around here.”
“I feel the same,” added Kate. “I’ve seen some amazing patterns in native artwork, but I need to learn much more to do the project justice.” The other women nodded their agreement.
Mary Beth turned to Stella. “Do you have suggestions of where we might find the guidance we need to do this successfully? It’s an exciting project idea, and we’d want to do it well.”