In Topeka, Indiana, a few miles from the Teaberry workshop, Elaine Jones smooths experienced hands over a blue-and-white field of patchwork stretched taut in a quilt frame. Jones, 62, hit on the idea of starting an endless quilting bee, where visitors can gather for an hour of stitching alongside Amish women who grew up with the craft. Visitors come for the chance to stitch (and for the homemade lunch) and soon realize they have much in common with the famously plain-living Amish, Jones said.
