The Cross-Country Quilters

These are great books to unwind from a busy day with. Jennifer Chiaverini paints a word picture that makes you feel like you are apart of the story unfolding before you. You don't want to put it down, you can't put it down, you just keep saying to your self just a little more. Everyone in the story is so alive and real you need to keep reading. I love quilting and have done only small projects and hope to some day have the time to quilt like those Jennifer has created in her book and be a part of that kind of group. Even if you don't quilt I think the story can pull you in and make for an enjoyable read. The stories stand on there own so you can enjoy one book without reading the others, but if you have read the others you will have a little more insight into the characters. The story brings this group together with a challenge to create a quilt block to reflect what is going on in each of there lives and reflect how they deal with there problems.

I was disappointed when I read the review of this book to find that it did not center around the original characters, but was pleasantly surprised to see how the new storyline tied in with the old. It was actually my new favorite until I read "The Runaway Quilt" (fourth in the series). I love the descriptions of the quilting in these books. They always inspire me to get back to work on my own projects! The storyline in this one made it hard to put down because I wanted to know how each quilter's dilemma was resolved. The Cross Country Quilters is a wonderful addition to this series.

Every year quilters from around the country gather at the Elm Creek Quilt Camp. This installment of the series features five women who bring with them hurts from their past. There is an aging movie star, a woman who is worried about her grandson's single state, a single mother who is encountering difficulties in raising her young son, a woman who is frightened by her doctor's diagnosis, and the mother of a young woman who is involved in a troubling relationship. As they participate in the camp's activities, they improve their quilting skills, but more importantly, they form a close friendship where they feel free to share their concerns with the others in the group. They decide to make a challenge quilt in the year before the next camp. Each of them declares the personal challenge that she has taken on and each one agrees to create part of a quilt which will signify the overcoming of the challenge. The book follows their lives as they are together and apart, and shows that quilting is a simile for the friendship which binds their separate lives together. This is a satisfying and heartwarming book.

It was wonderful!! My sister, Susie, told me about the books by Jennifer Chiaverini, said they were so special. She was right! I have just finished the Quilters Apprentice and have just this minute ordered Round Robin!! I can't wait to get it and dive right in. I have been quilting for about 15 years and it was exciting to read a book that named a lot of the squares I have used in my own quilts. Keep the great books coming!! I will have them all for my own collection!

The Cross Country Quilters is the first book by Jennifer Chiaverini I have read. I also know nothing about quilting. Quilting knowledge is not a prerequisit to reading and enjoying this book. Much like Julia, the newest quilter at Elm Creek Quilt Camp, I was slowly drawn into the world of material,color, and design. During a summer session of quilt camp a unlikely grouping of friends takes root, and they promise to continue their friendship through designing and completing their own block of a challange quilt. They plan to meet the following summer to piece the blocks together. The five women, Julia, Vinnie, Megan, Grace and Donna return home not only to face the challanges of the quilt blocks. They also must face the continuing challanges of their busy lives with work, family, careers, and illness. At times it seems that each woman has too much to deal with, without worrying about the planned meeting the following summer. Just as quilting combines materials which don't seem to have much in common, Jennifer Chiaverini, using the theme of quilting and friendship, intertwines these women's varied lives with warmth and believability. I look forward to reading the other books by this author.

Everyone familiar with the hobby respects the famous quilting retreat at Elm Creak Manor in Waterford, Pennsylvania. Strangers come there to camp and life long friendships have formed such as the accidental meeting of the Cross-Country Quilters who vow to return next year. The group consists of people from a wide variety of lifestyles. Long time attendee octogenarian Vinnie has been at Elm Creek every year since it opened. Julia the actress needs to learn the art for a part. Award winning Grace suffers from a nasty medical diagnosis that has left her with a quilter's mental block. Megan earned a week at the camp as a prize from a quilting magazine and is accompanied by her cyber-friend Donna, escaping from a daughter that is worrying her to death. Even after the camp ends, the participants stay in contact encouraging, boosting, and cheering each one's triumphs. Jennifer Chiaverini has written a special book that demonstrates the resiliency and courage of an extraordinary group of determined women. Although Elm Creek manor is not the star of the story line, it serves as they catalyst that generates the development of subplots into a cohesive tale. THE CROSS COUNTRY Quilters is a powerful women's mainstream fiction at its literary best.Harriet Klausner