Rather than answer, he walked to where she’d put the quilt back on the rocker. He picked it up as if it were something precious, then moved to where she stood. He smiled down at her with something in his eyes she’d never seen before, something that stole her breath and made her knees shake.
“How long do I plan to stay?” he repeated. Taking the quilt, he wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled her to him. “Forever.”
Forever? That’s what shined in his eyes. Forever.
“You going to use that mistletoe?”
Sarah held up the green twig over their heads as he pulled her into his arms.
Epilogue
“Something borrowed,” Ruby said, fastening an emerald bracelet around Sarah’s wrist. “My Charlie gave me this for our forty-fifth anniversary.”
“Something old,” Claudia said, adjusting Aunt Jean’s wedding veil on Sarah’s head.
“There she goes talking about you again,” Rosie said half under her breath while eyeballing Maybelle.
“Shush your mouth, woman,” Maybelle ordered. “Can’t you see we’re getting ready for a wedding here?” Maybelle turned back to Sarah and placed a velvet box into her hands. “Something new. These are from all of us, even from your something blue over there.”
Sarah eyed her bridesmaids, not a one of them under sixty-five, and fought getting too emotional.
She could not cry. She’d ruin her makeup and they didn’t have time to repair it. She had a very important date to meet her father in just a few minutes.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she told them, opening the box.
“Let’s face it, neither does the rest of the world,” Rosie bragged. “Butterflies are essential.”
“Certainly, essential in my life.” Sarah laughed, then gasped as she saw what was in the box. Lifting her gaze, she met each woman’s eyes, seeing the pride and love shining there. “Really?”
They all nodded.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Put them on.”
With shaky fingers, Sarah removed the earrings from their box, sliding each one onto her earlobe, then walking to the mirror to admire her gift.
“I love them.”
The women beamed behind her.
“Of course, you do. What’s not to love about a butterfly?”
Sarah gave each woman a hug, then glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Still time to change your mind.”
“Bite your tongue, Rosie Matthews,” Ruby ordered.
“Oh, no, she can’t change her mind. Bodie is taking her out of the country for their honeymoon,” Claudia said matter-of-factly, then touched Sarah’s arm. “You’re going to love traveling, Sarah. When we went to Europe in the spring, it was so lovely.” Thanks to some Maybelle meddling, Claudia had been on three vacations that year. “I hope Bodie is taking you somewhere lovely for your honeymoon.”
“He’s still not told you where he’s taking you?” Rosie asked, sounding disappointed.
Sarah shook her head. “He says it’s a surprise.”
Maybelle tsked. “He should have at least told us.”
“And risk you showing up? He’s smarter than that,” Sarah teased, checking her reflection one last time. Where they went didn’t matter, not as long as she was with Bodie.
Ruby nodded. “Smart enough that he moved to Pine Hill and took a job with Sherriff Roscoe.”
That he had. Bodie was a full-time sheriff’s deputy, Hamilton House’s maintenance man, and Sarah’s best Christmas gift ever.
Music began playing over the intercom system.
“Oh!”
“That’s our cue.”
“Line up, ladies.”
The Butterflies gathered at the door, then slipped into the church hallway to make their way up the aisle to where Bodie, Lukas, and Harry waited.
When the Butterflies had taken their place at the front of the church, Sarah’s father held out his arm.
“You ready for this?”
From the moment Bodie had asked her to marry him, she’d been ready.
“Ready to replace that awful photo on the stairwell?” she asked. “Absolutely.”
Her father laughed. “Glad I know that’s not your only motive.”
“I might have one or two others.”
Like the wonderful man waiting for her to walk down the aisle. She wanted to glance around the church, to see her friends, Bodie’s mother, stepfather, stepsisters and their families, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the man smiling at her with love in his eyes.
When her father handed her off to Bodie and then stepped up to perform the marriage ceremony, Sarah smiled at her soon-to-be husband.
“I can’t believe you made me wait a year for this day.”
“You know Christmas is the best day of the year,” she reminded him. “How could we have gotten married on any other day?”
“There is that,” he whispered back. “Merry Christmas, Sarah.”
Sarah’s heart filled with joy.
Christmas really was the best day of the year.
The End
Cinnamon Swirl Bread
A Hallmark Original Recipe
In Wrapped Up In Christmas, one of the ladies at Sarah’s church is famous for her cinnamon bread recipe. Others attempt to copy it without success. Here’s that secret recipe, filled with cinnamon and covered with yummy icing. The trick to beautiful swirls is in folding the dough into thirds so you get an extra layer of the delicious cinnamon-sugar blend. This bread is perfect for a Christmas celebration, like Sarah and Bodie enjoy together, or for any time of year.
Yield: 2 loaves (16 servings)
Prep Time: 3 hours
Bake Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
¼ cup warm water
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups bread flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, beaten
Cinnamon Sugar:
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated white sugar
1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Vanilla Cream Cheese Spread:
2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
DIRECTIONS
To prepare dough: combine warm water, ½ teaspoon sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or until foamy.
While yeast is activating, combine milk and butter in small saucepan and heat briefly to melt butter. Remove from heat; cool.
Combine flour, ¼ cup sugar, and salt in mixing bowl fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until fully blended.
Add milk/butter mixture and egg to yeast mixture and gently stir to blend. Slowly add to flour mixture and beat until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface; knead dough for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl that’s either buttered or sprayed with cooking spray, cover loosely, and set in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for about 60 to 75 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size.
Gently punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold in the two outer sides of dough to meet in the middle, then fold in the upper and lower sides of dough to meet in the middle, forming the dough into a square shape. Cover loosely and let stand for 10 minutes.
To prepare cinnamon sugar: while dough is res
ting, combine brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon in small bowl and mix to blend. Heat butter in microwave-safe measuring cup for 30 to 45 seconds, or until melted. Reserve.
Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans with butter or cooking spray.
With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 26x12-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Brush top of dough with melted butter; sprinkle 2/3 of cinnamon sugar blend evenly over dough. Slice dough in half, forming two 13x12-inch halves.
For each half: fold dough into thirds, forming a 4x12-inch rectangle. Pinch outer edges of dough gently to seal seams. Roll dough out into a 7x13-inch rectangle. Brush top of dough lightly with butter and sprinkle half of remaining cinnamon sugar blend evenly over the top. Starting at long end of dough, roll up jelly roll-style. Place, seam side down, in buttered loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover loaf pans loosely with film wrap; let rise in a warm draft-free place for 1 hour, or until almost doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Cover each loaf pan loosely with aluminum foil during last 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. Remove loaf pans from oven; cool for 5 minute, gently remove bread from loaf pans.
To prepare vanilla cream cheese spread: combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk in bowl and whisk until smooth. Add additional milk, as needed, to form a spread-like consistency.
Serve cinnamon bread warm with cream cheese spread.
Stars and Stripes
A Quilts of Valor Group Project
Pattern instructions:
Copyright 2019 Ann Parsons Holte, www.AnnHolteQuilting.com
Designed by Kelly Harvey and Patty Gallmeyer, this quilt was chosen for the cover of Quilts of Valor: A Fifty State Salute (Schiffer, 2018). The book, written by Sue Reich, Renelda Peldunas-Harter, and Ann Parsons Holte, tells the story of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, gives a history of quilts that were made in response to war, documents the story of the makers and recipients of quilts pictured in the book, and features patterns for sixteen of those quilts. The Foundation is pleased to make this pattern available for quilters who want to participate in this important project to comfort those touched by war.
This pattern was adapted with quilt groups in mind. Often, volunteer quilters get together to make Quilts of Valor. As with any group project, things go more smoothly if the process is broken down into logical steps so that the parts can come together in the end. We hope that your group will enjoy making a quilt to thank a veteran for his or her service.
Fabric Requirements:
This quilt can be made from only three fabrics: red, white, and blue. However, assorted prints create an interesting, scrappy look. Note that these instructions are for 100% cotton, first quality, quilting weight fabric that is at least 40” wide. You will need approximately:
For Blocks: 2-1/4 yds White, 1-3/4 yds Blue, 1-3/8 yds Red
For Borders: 3/4 yd Blue, 3/4 yd Red
For Backing: 4-1/2 yds
For Binding: 3/4 yd
Cutting and Organizing the Fabric:
There are three elements to the main quilt top:
red+white stripes
blue+white 9” Morning Star blocks, and
red+white+blue 9” Split Star blocks
Whether you are sewing alone or with a group, a good idea is to make labels before you cut the fabric.
LabelFabricCutting Instructions
Borders
Left/Bottom BordersRed(2) 4-1/2” x WOF*
Top/Right BordersBlue(2) 4-1/2” x WOF
Stripes
Red StripesRed (11) 2-3/4” x WOF
White StripesWhite(11) 2-3/4” x WOF
Morning Star Blocks
Star Center Squares White (21) 3-1/2” squares
Star Points White (168) 2” squares
Star Corner Squares Blue (84) 3-1/2” squares
Star Background Blue (84) 31/2” squares
Split Star Blocks
Corner Square White (7) 3-1/2” squares
HST/QST Squares* White (25) 5” squares
HST Center Squares Blue (11) 5” squares
Corner Squares Red (7) 3-1/2” squares
HST/QST Squares* Red (14) 5” squares
*Note:
“WOF” means Width of Fabric.
“HST” means Half-Square Triangle.
“QST” means Quarter Square Triangle.
These squares will be cut larger than needed and then will
be trimmed to the correct size after the units are sewn.
Label and Assemble Red+White Stripe Units
If you are working in a group, this page is for the people who will work on the Stripe Units.
Make labels that say:
9-1/2” Segment
18-1/2” Segment
27-1/2” Segment
36-1/2” Segment
45-1/2” Segment
54-1/2” Segment
Cutting:
You have already cut (11) 2-3/4” x WOF assorted red strips and (11) 2-3/4” x WOF assorted white strips
Cut these strips into various lengths from 9” to 12” long
Make Strip Sets:
Attach short, scrappy red segments together with diagonal seams to make approx. 400” long strip
Repeat for scrappy white segments
Trim seam allowances to 1/4”
Press diagonal seams open
Attach the long red and white strips on a long edge to make a two-strip set that is approx. 400” long
Cut in half and sew the two halves together to make a four-strip set that is 9-1/2” wide x approx. 200” long
Cut the four-strip set into segments and attach the labels that you created
Set the segments aside until time to assemble the quilt.
Blue + White Morning Star Blocks
This page is for the people who will work on the (21) Blue + White Morning Star Blocks.
If you make “block kits,” each block will need:
(1) 3-1/2” Star Center Square (White)
(8) 2” Star Point Squares (White)
(4) 3-1/2” Star Corner Squares (Blue)
(4) 3-1/2” Star Background Squares
(Blue)
Make Star Point Units:
Draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of each 2” white Star Point square
Place 2” white Star Point square right sides together in a corner of a 3-1/2” blue Star Background square, as shown
Sew just next to the drawn line in order to place the seam line just a bit closer to the corner (this allows for the “foldover” on the corner)
Trim excess fabric and press seam allowance open
Repeat at adjoining corner of 3-1/2” blue Star Background square
Press and trim to 3-1/2”, if necessary
Assemble (21) Blue+White Star Blocks:
For each nine-patch block, you will need:(4) Blue Star Corner squares
(1) White Star Center square
(4) Star Point Units from previous step
Attach square units as shown
Set the blocks aside until time to assemble the quilt.
Split Star Blocks
This page is for making the (7) Split Star Blocks.
You have already cut and labeled:
White (7) 3-1/2” Corner Square (set aside)
White (25) 5” HST & QST Squares
Blue (11) 5” HST Center Square
Red (7) 3-1/2” Corner Squares (set aside)
Red (14) 5” HST & QST Squares
Please note:
The squares for the Half-Square Triangles (HSTs) and the Quarter-Square Triangles (QSTs) were cut larger than needed and then will be trimmed to the correct size after the units are sewn
Some HSTs will be trimmed to 3-1/2” square
Some HSTs will be used to make QSTs and trimmed afterwards
Make HST units from oversized 5” Squares
Draw diagonal line on back of all (25) white 5” squares
Place white squares right sides together with all red and blue 5” squares
Sew 1/4” on each side of the drawn line
Cut apart on the drawn line
Press seam allowance toward darker fabric
You will now have (22) Blue+White HSTs and (28) Red+White HSTsTRIM ONLY (7) of the Blue+White HSTs to 3-1/2” and set aside for Centers
TRIM ONLY (14) of the Red+White HSTs to 3-1/2” and set aside for Corners
Make QST units from the remaining (15) Blue+White HSTs and (14) Red+White HSTs:
Draw diagonal line perpendicular to the seamline on half of the blue and half of the red HST units
Place two same-color HSTs right sides together, nesting the seam line, with light and dark fabrics opposite each other
Sew 1/4” on each side of the drawn line
Cut apart on the drawn line
Press seam allowance open or “spin” the seam allowances so they all go in the same direction and then press