The New Year's Quilt (Elm Creek Quilts Series #11) [Hardcover] Review

Sylvia Compson, master quilter and senior owner of Elm Creek manor, has married beau Andrew Cooper at their Christmas Eve party, to the gleeful surprise of their friends and associates.But the occasion is a bittersweet one because Andrew's two grown children, Amy and Bob, chose not to make the trip to Pennsylvania and so were not in attendance.Sylvia is fairly certain that Bob and his family, out in California, will welcome her new role in the Cooper clan.She is less sure about Amy's reaction, for Andrew's daughter was adamantly against the engagement from the beginning.The newlyweds plan to drive from central Pennsylvania to Hartford, Connecticut, to share their news with Amy and Daniel and the three grands and to celebrate the start of the new year.Will Amy accept Sylvia as her father's wife?And will she even want the New Year's Resolution quilt that Sylvia is bringing her?

A long drive is the perfect time for reflective thinking; and as the miles pass, Sylvia remembers notable New Year's Eves of the past, while she diligently works to finish the quilt on time.Her memories are woven into the blocks themselves:the year her cousin Elizabeth announced she was marrying Henry and moving to California; the anticipation leading up to her brother Richard's birth; the first Christmas and New Year's after her mother's death; the events that led up to Sylvia's final argument with her sister Claudia and her abandonment of the Bergstrom farm; and the day she got the news that Claudia had died and the estate was hers.Throughout the decades, quilts were always a part of her life.Now Sylvia is ready to share her personal history, in fabric, with her new step-daughter.

Ms. Chiaverini has given us a heart-warming and thought-provoking read that's much more than mere holiday fluff.To Elm Creek fans, Sylvia's memories fill in some of gaps of backstory that heretofore have gone unexplored.To newcomers to the series, these colorful threads of history will surely lead them to seek out some of the earlier books.And we can all benefit from the advice given by one of the characters here:"Anyone can make promises.The challenge is in following through."A Happy New Year, indeed.

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Product Description:
At the close of THE QUILTER'S LEGACY, the Elm Creek Quilters were all in attendance on Christmas Eve, where they were surprised yet overjoyed to witness the wedding of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, the Master Quilter, to her beloved Andrew Cooper.

THE NEW YEAR S QUILT tells the story of how the newlyweds celebrate their first holiday season as husband and wife. Not content to rest at home by the fire, they set out on a journey across the snow-covered fields of Pennsylvania.

Their destination is Connecticut, and the home of Andrew's daughter Amy. Unlike the Elm Creek Quilters, Amy has not offered her blessing to the union. Though her father has reminded her that marriage endures in sickness and in health, Amy fears that Andrew and Sylvia have passed the age where marriage remains a prudent choice.

Sylvia hopes to win over her new daughter-in-law through the lessons that quilting reveals about the bonds of love and family. As a gift for Amy, she undertakes a quilt titledNew Year s Reflections,whose blocks represent the holiday traditions of Elm Creek Manor. As she stitches the blocks, memories of a lifetime come flooding back, along with words of wisdom meant to celebrate the achievements of generations past and create hope for the future.

Just as Christmas and New Year's Day bookend the joys of the season, THE NEW YEAR S QUILT is the perfect holiday companion volume to THE CHRISTMAS QUILT.

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Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community, and Craft [Bargain Price] [Hardcover] Review

The quilts tell this story...
Author Jane Kirkpatrick wrote two series of books taking place in the Willamette Valley of Oregon during the 1800s.Aurora, a German Christian commune, existed at that time.The members worked together using their skills to survive.

Aurora:An American Experience in Quilt, community, and Craft is a celebration of their lives and the artifacts they left behind.The skills and talent varied from quilts to furniture to numerous other items.This book is filled with photographs.I was particular impressed with the quilts, for each one tells a story.One of the quilts that caught my eye is a piece-appliquéd quilt.The background is brown and black with colorful appliquéd birds.This quilt seems to break the barriers that prevent friendships.

The hand-stitched samplers are beautiful.Needlework is quickly becoming a lost art.Few people in today's world have the time or take the time to put needle and thread to fabric.Aurora:An American Experience in Quilt, community, and Craft is a book to be cherished.It is gift quality.

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