Tuesday, November 09, 2010

A New Thought

For some reason I am always surprised when one person I know knows another person or place I know.

Thanks to my sister and daughter I have been in Harrisonburg, Virginia, a few times, which is a well-known Mennonite community but seems like it's on the other side of the world from Oregon and who from here ever goes there? While in Virginia I have shopped at Patchwork Plus, in the little town of Dayton, where they ought to have a stack of soup bowls by the front door so you can take one and drool into it while you shop. One time I was there and got to know Barbara Cline who runs the place, and she told me about her new book, and gave me a business card. And then some time later I hosted one stop on her blog tour.

Aunt Susie and I are in charge of sewing circle this year, and last week we were working on getting comforter kits ready to send overseas with Christian Aid Ministries. Part of the kit is these square blocks that the ladies in Romania or Ukraine will sew together, and another element is a big piece of fabric for the backing.

To facilitate this I had brought along the business card from Patchwork Plus because on the back it had this nifty little diagram for figuring yardage for quilt backings.

So Susie and I were consulting this little card and also asking Pauline for advice. Pauline is a short, chirpy, expert quilter who loves to work hard and shows up first and leaves last.

I had a thought. Pauline has a daughter in Virginia and isn't she close to Harrisonburg? And Pauline was just there for a visit not long ago. I showed her the front of the card. "Are you familiar with this place?" I asked her.

She squinted. "Patchwork Plus? Where Barbara Cline is? Oh, I go there all the time when I'm in Virginia. I was just there the other week. That's where I get my quilting needles--they have extra big eyes."

Oh.

It's an odd feeling when something you thought was all yours, so to speak, is someone else's too.

Quote of the Day:
"I meet people and they're like, 'I read your mom's blog!' and I'm like 'uh, [whisper] I don't!"
--Ben

7 comments:

  1. Hey, that happened to me just last week. And you (and Rosie and Judy)were the connection. A young man passed away in our church. The Bakers in your church are uncle-aunt-cousins. Two of the the Baker cousins stayed in our home!

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  2. I kinda like it when somebody else knows stuff like that...it's kinda comfy or something. F'instance, I'd already been feeling that way about you, talking of Harrisonburg and Dayton and Patchwork Plus--I grew up in Dayton, as well as frequently visited "Clothes Line" which was the forerunner of Patchwork Plus. (I even remember the SMELL of Patchwork Plus)!Now I'm married and in WI. But my brother owns Town & Country Furniture across the parking lot from PP. It makes me feel like I'm connected somehow to the famous Dorcas Smucker when she talks about my hometown and "old stompin' grounds"! :-)

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  3. Ben is really missing out by not reading your blog. --Julia

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  4. Dorcas I love your post and especially this one since the Barbara Cline you mentioned happens to be my sister.
    I love the Mennonite Game and the connections that happen when you play it. At the present time Barbara and her husband Terry are in India along with my husband Mark. I chose to spend some of the time while he is gone in Texas where my two daughters live. Thanks for your great posts. Polly Yoder from Delaware.

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  5. Ah, the Mennonite game. I've asked before, but didn't get an answer -- is Paul related to the late Dan Smucker of Harrisonburg?? His sister Naomi was a good friend of my mother -- in fact, Naomi was Mom's only bridal attendant.

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  6. Nonnie--Sorry I neglected to answer you before this. Paul and Dan are no relation that I know of. The Oregon Smuckers descended from a Smucker man (Christian? Orla?) who came to Oregon many years ago and was said to be a black sheep escaping his past. So he set the precedent, and the Oregon Smuckers never had much contact with their Smucker relatives back East.

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  7. Barbara Cline11/19/2010 10:44 AM

    Let me clear up a little something. I work at Patchwork Plus but don't run or own the place. My parents sold The Clothes Line about 8 years ago and it is now Patchwork Plus. It sure is fun playing the Mennonite game.

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