Establishing rapport between researcher and participants when conducting ethnography is essential to the successful outcome of the research. However, when participants are unwilling to engage, a different approach must be adopted. This article is an examination of the appropriation of a situated learning model during fieldwork with a group of female quilters in rural North Carolina. Using this model, and emphasizing the passing of knowledge from masters to novice, provides a successful framework for establishing and maintaining the research relationship. (Contains 2 notes.)