The Snyder County Quilting Bee - Volume 4 - Mandie's Marriage Dilemma

Louellen Friesen, her daughter Valerie (married to Lamar Hornberger and eight months pregnant with her second child), and Louellen’s daughter-in-law Katrina are in the middle of their busiest baking time of the year, Christmas. With orders from Kauffmans’ Groceries and Goods, folks in Mapletown, and two farmers’ markets, the ladies have been baking practically every day since the beginning of December.
Although Valerie’s biggest concern is whether her baby will come in the middle of the month as projected and she won’t be able to help for several days, the ladies’ baking chore is still one of pleasure, not frustration, enjoying each other’s company in the Friesen home and welcoming the extra income that helps with unexpected expenses. One of the perks they enjoy is delivering cookies to the neighbors in a horse-drawn sleigh “if the good Lord sends enough snow.” 
Besides their regular orders, the ladies also have a steady request from Darlings’ Bakery in the near-by town of Mifflinburg. Having electrical problems with one of her ovens, Andrea McAndrew Darling has subcontracted to purchase Christmas cookies from Valerie, whom she had met perchance at Kauffmans’ several months prior. Since Valerie’s last name is now Hornberger, Andrea has no idea she has met the daughter of Louellen Friesen, the McAndrews’ housekeeper from twenty-five years past, whom Andrea wanted her dad, Dr. David McAndrew, to marry. Valerie, as well, has no idea of the past connection her mother had with the McAndrews several years before Valerie was even born.
Two days before Christmas with the roads drifted shut from a snowstorm, Valerie goes into labor. Her trip to the hospital across farmers’ fields in the horse-drawn sled results in not only the birth of a healthy baby girl, but in an unwelcomed surprise for Valerie’s parents, Louellen and Eli.
When their paths cross with a man and his daughter, whom they have not seen in twenty-five years, how do Louellen and Eli handle this encounter? How do they face their not-too-pleasant past when they were still Amish and just newly weds?
 

Fifty-five-year-old Sadie Bletchler, a widow of fifteen years, is a woman in her central Pennsylvania Mennonite community who, despite the heartache of losing her husband Roland, enjoys life to its fullest. The head of the Snyder County Quilting Bee, she is also known as a lady who “gets things done and done right” but often finds herself in humorous or embarrassing situations because of her impulsiveness.  
Through a local travel agency, Sadie has planned a trip out West to see some of the natural marvels and wonders of her beautiful country. She has invited Katrina, John Friesen’s wife of seven months, to accompany her on the ten-day trip in early September. Sadie is excited about the trip for more than one reason, saying she wouldn’t mind if she’d meet a nice man looking for a widow who’s still got some kick in her
Flying into Phoenix, Arizona, Katrina and Sadie join a tour group of forty and begin their trip of a lifetime on a bus that will travel 2000 miles all the way to South Dakota. As Katrina gets to know Sadie in a much more personal way, she discovers that, as well as enjoying the splendor of God’s creativity and the ingenuity of man, she often enjoys Sadie’s antics just as much.
Sadie finds pleasure in keeping a journal of her days’ travels, buying more gifts than she can carry, and taking pictures of as many animals as she can. But her focus suddenly shifts from tourist attractions to Ken Shellhammer, a handsome middle-aged widower from Illinois, who is attracted to Sadie from the moment they meet. Sadie is also “hopelessly smitten” with Ken, and a kindred friendship begins.
Although Sadie enjoys Ken’s companionship, and they vow to keep in touch after the trip, Sadie says that their friendship will never develop into anything more because Ken is “English.” But as the trip progresses, Sadie’s feelings for Ken lead her into thoughts that she knows her Mennonite family and friends back home would not condone.
At the farewell dinner on the last evening of the trip, Ken approaches Sadie and asks her to be “more than friends.” Heart torn in two, Sadie tells Ken her deepest thoughts before they head their separate ways.
Sadie receives the surprise of her life when Ken tells her he is not English but Mennonite. When asked why he didn’t say so before, Ken replies, “You didn’t ask me.”

“I hate quilting! I hate sewing! I hate anything that has to do with needles and thread!”
Mennonite gal, Nanette Peachey, is a member of the Snyder County Quilting Bee, a group of ladies who sew as a ministry, giving their beautiful hand-made quilts to families with new babies, missionaries, newly-weds, and the needy. But Nanette is a tomboy, who’d rather play softball at church picnics, ride one of her six Tennessee Walking Horses, or just be outside than attend the ladies’ bee every Thursday evening.
With the support of her fiancé, horse breeder Brandon Specht, Nanette resigns from the quilting bee but offers to sew the bindings for all the quilts on her own time. When a gorgeous sateen gold binding that she has finished disappears into thin air, Nanette is baffled and has to start all over, lamenting over the hours of work she has lost.
Nanette receives one of the biggest surprises of her life when her mother and the quilting bee ladies throw a bridal shower for the bride-to-be. The most cherished gift of all is a beautiful tan quilt decorated with an appliqué of a prancing white stallion framed in quilted horseshoes. And what highlights the sewing masterpiece?  The missing gold border that had found its way to Nanette’s mother via Brandon’s scheming behind Nanette’s back.
“I can’t thank you enough for making this quilt and for making today a very special day,” Nanette says to her mother and everyone at the shower. “This quilt is a treasure … and so are all of you.”