Once again, my mother has taught me something new. She had me borrow the first book in a series that so entranced me, I've been at her doorstep for the next installment, and the next.... Anyone who loves fabric, even a non-quilter, will love the way fabric and stitching impact the lives of so many, and carry a history that so many will never understand but always cherish.
If your looking for a gift for someone that sews, these books are bound to be a hit!
1. Elm Creek Quilts Sampler
A set of the first three novels in the Elm Creek Quilts series. [b]The Quilter's Apprentice[/b] Master quilter Sylvia Compson meets and shares the secrets of her creative gifts with her young assistant, Sarah McClure, who becomes so much more than an assistant as the novels progress. [b]Round Robin[/b] which celebrates the beginning of Elm Creek Quilts as Sarah, Sylvia, and their circle of friends name themselves the Elm Creek Quilters. In [b]The Cross-Country Quilters[/b] five women arrive at Elm Creek Manor, hoping that their quilting lessons will be an escape from the problems they have left at home.
2. The Quilter's Apprentice
The first in a series, the stepping stone into the past and a welcoming mat for new beginnings and friendship. An excellent introduction to the history of quilting and the impact pieces of fabric can have on everyone's life.3. Round Robin
Last seen in THE QUILTER'S APPRENTICE, Sarah McClure is now facing a troubling turning point in her life. Her marriage, once perfect, is now on the rocks. Her relationships with her mother and best friend Sylvia are suffering. It's only when Sarah joins the a woman's sewing group called the Elm Creek Quilters and learns of each woman's past that her faith in love and friendship is renewed.4. The Cross Country Quilters
At a quilting camp, five women meet, become fast friends, and agree to make a "challenge quilt": over the course of the upcoming year, they will each quilt one block of a five-block quilt, and then they will sew all the blocks together. As the year progresses, the women--young and old, domestic and career-oriented, famous and unknown--find that quilting can teach valuable lessons and can help them to negotiate their complicated lives.5. The Runaway Quilt
The fourth entry in the Elm Creek Quilts series, this novel features quilting guru Sylvia, who finds an old quilt on a trip south--a quilt that seems to reveal unsavory doings relating to the family of Sylvia's young assistant, Sarah. As the two women try to trace the message of the quilt, they uncover stories from the past that illuminate the complex world of a woman named Gerda, a 19th-century German immigrant.6. The Quilter's Legacy
Fifth in the Elm Creek Quilts series of novels, THE QUILTER'S LEGACY begins when Sylvia begins the poignant search for a pile of quilts made by her mother, Eleanor, who died when Sylvia was a child. Sylvia is about to wed for the second time--a late-in-life marriage to her old friend Andrew--to the dismay of her grown children. The narrative alternates between the lives of Sylvia and Eleanor--two feisty women who pursue their own paths.7. The Master Quilter: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel
After five books, Sylvia Compson's fictional Elm Creek Manor has become famous. Now a quilting school run by a group of friends and quilters, Elm Creek is the scene of many events, most of them quilting-related. Sarah is organizing the making of a wedding quilt for Sylvia and Andrew who, late in life, have eloped. Gwen, a quilting historian, finds her academic career blocked because her specialty is considered trivial.8. An Elm Creek Quilts Album
A set of three Elm Creek Quilts books that includes, [b]The Runaway Quilt[/b], in which a master quilter searches for evidence of her ancestors' courageous involvement in the Underground Railroad; [b]The Quilter's Legacy[/b], involving a cross-country search for missing heirloom quilts; and [b]The Master Quilter[/b], in which a circle member embarks on marriage.9. The Sugar Camp Quilt
Coming of age in Creek's Crossing, Pennsylvania, in the troubled years before the Civil War, dutiful quilter Dorothea Granger postpones her dreams of an education and agrees to sew an unusual quilt to fulfill her uncle's deathbed request, realizing afterward that the quilt pattern contains an Underground Railroad map.10. The Christmas Quilt
This novel is filled with the memories and traditions of Elm Creek Manor's indomitable master quilter, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson. Totally intriguing if you enjoy traditions and living history.