Hanako stopped the sewing crew by mid-afternoon. They'd done very well, she thought, on cutting and pinning the cotton pieces they'd use as a pattern. They'd started basting the larger pieces. Sewing was hard work that tired the eyes as well as the hands and the back, even though they were only basting. The fine sewing that they'd do on the finished product would be more exacting. She hoped they'd have a run of sunny weather.

"That's done," Tsuruko said, dusting her hands ...