Tag Archives: quilting

Preserving Memories

Along with the names, dates and facts on paper that come with creating our family tree and researching our ancestors are the memories that were made along the way. It is important to preserve memories as well. As a gift for each member of my family, my grandmother did something very special to preserve the memory of my grandfather, who passed away several years ago. She took his clothes and used the pieces to quilt blocks of Overall Bill. Instead of quilting the blocks together in a quilt, she put each Overall Bill on a canvas. She then had my … Continue reading →

Book review: A Quilt of Wishes

A Quilt of Wishes is a charming little book. It tells how, while a baby girl sleeps in China, her mother waits across the ocean, wondering about her baby. She finds an old quilt that her mother had made for her, and hopes that her baby is warm and loved. She decides to make a quilt for her baby. She uses her own old baby clothes, and friends learn about the project and make squares for the baby’s quilt. They send wishes for the new baby and for the family’s happiness, which the mother repeats to herself as she sews. … Continue reading →

The Quilter’s Legacy — Jennifer Chiaverini

Sylvia Compson, owner of Elm Creek Manor and operator of the Elm Creek Quilt Camp, has finally accepted Andrew’s offer of marriage. He’s been courting her off and on for years, proposed three times to be refused three times, but he’s never given up. Now his persistence is finally being rewarded and he couldn’t be more delighted. Sylvia, however, is starting to wonder what she’s gotten herself into. The other ladies from Elm Creek are leaving bridal magazines on her desk, looking at wedding cakes, sharing their opinions about dresses and flowers, and basically having the time of their lives, … Continue reading →

The Quilter’s Apprentice – Jennifer Chiaverini

“The Quilter’s Apprentice” is the first volume in the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini, and is in fact Jennifer’s first novel. Sarah McClure and her husband Matt have come to Waterford, Pennsylvania, searching for a new life. Matt is starting up his own landscaping business, but Sarah can’t find anything that matches her skill set. Out of desperation, she takes a job as a housekeeper at Elm Creek Manor, a stately old place on the edge of town that’s full of history. The owner, Sylvia Compson, is an elderly and ornery woman, and a master quilter. When Sarah … Continue reading →

Author Review — Jennifer Chiaverini

As I prepare to start a blog series on the Elm Creek Quilts, I thought it would be fun to take a look behind the scenes at the woman who crafted the books. Jennifer Chiaverini has a long history of writing. She got a BA in English from Notre Dame and an MA from the University of Chicago, and has taught writing at Edgewood College as well as Penn State. After she married her husband Martin, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where the couple is raising their two sons. Jennifer is an accomplished quilter, as you can tell just by … Continue reading →

Building a Baby Clothes Quilt

Have you ever made a baby clothes quilt? I’ve got one in progress that I’ve been working on for several years. It started with my daughter’s baby clothes. I kept out several of the better items that I remember her wearing with love and cut out a 6”x 6” squares from each of them. Over the years, I have taken out 6” x 6” squares from all kinds of her clothes that she’s worn. I have about 30 separate squares at the moment. Those 30 squares are sewn into 5 nine-patch blocks. While those 5 blocks are hardly enough to … Continue reading →