The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini


My 2 cents:

Jennifer Chiaverini has written over 20 books. A New York Times bestselling author for her Elm Creek Quilts series, Chiaverini is a master of writing and quilting. The Giving Quilt was my first Chiaverini novel, and I'm already looking forward to her next one. I loved the pattern of her novel, and as I read her work, I can picture Chiaverini at her own sewing machine or quilting frame, sewing patch by patch, stitch by stitch.

The Giving Quilt opens with Sylvia and her staff preparing for a week-long quilting workshop, where women will arrive from all over the country to spend a week at the spacious, illustrious old Elm Creek Manor. There, they will make new friends with fellow quilters, renew old friendships, learn a new quilt pattern, eat delicious, home-cooked meals, and make quilts for “Project Linus,” an organization dedicated to providing soft, warm quilts to children in need. The annual quilt event is held each year the week after Thanksgiving, thus it's fittingly called “Quiltsgiving.”

Quilters will love the attention to detail Chiaverini gives to Gretchen's “Giving Quilt” classes as she teaches the Resolution Square quilt. Most of the workshop's participants are experienced quilters, but a few are new to the art, and all are encouraged to help each other. I don't quilt, and I found myself glossing over some of the technical quilting instructions, but the story and characters were compelling enough to keep me reading, even when I didn't understand the type of stitches Gretchen carefully explained. I found myself wondering about each fascinating character's life long after I finished reading The Giving Quilt.



Length: 357 pages

Worth Your Time: Yes! Especially if you quilt, want to learn, or just love quilts. Chiaverini also offers five collections of quilt projects, inspired by her books. The end flaps of her book are covered with colorful samples of her quilts, including Resolution Square.

Bonus: Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, Chiaverini's newest novel, comes out this week - January 15, 2013. It chronicles the “extraordinary relationship” between Mary Todd Lincoln and her talented dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave. For more about Chiaverini and her newest novel, go to:
elmcreek.net/books

Comments

  1. Sea View 12January 15, 2013 at 7:54 AM

    Jennifer Chiaverini's new book about Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker comes out TODAY! My copy is on the way, and I hope to have a review out for you soon ...

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 22, 2013 at 1:43 PM

    As a dressmaker (not a quiltmaker), I'm almost afraid to read this book. What if I fall in love with quiltmaking? Where will I find the space in my sewing room...Well, life is fraught with danger...One must take risks. :-)

    ReplyDelete

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