The Lost Quilter (Elm Creek Quilts, #14)

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The Lost Quilter (Elm Creek Quilts #14)

by Jennifer Chiaverini

4.03 · rating details · 1,298 ratings · 333 reviews

Master Quilter Sylvia Bergstrom Compson treasures an antique quilt called by three names -- Birds in the Air, after its pattern; the Runaway Quilt, after the woman who sewed it; and the Elm Creek Quilt, after the place to which its maker longed to return. That quilter was Joanna, a fugitive slave who traveled by the Underground Railroad to reach safe haven in 1859 at ...more
Master Quilter Sylvia Bergstrom Compson treasures an antique quilt called by three names -- Birds in the Air, after its pattern; the Runaway Quilt, after the woman who sewed it; and the Elm Creek Quilt, after the place to which its maker longed to return. That quilter was Joanna, a fugitive slave who traveled by the Underground Railroad to reach safe haven in 1859 at Elm Creek Farm.

Though Joanna's freedom proved short-lived -- she was forcibly returned by slave catchers to Josiah Chester's plantation in Virginia -- she left the Bergstrom family a most precious gift, her son. Hans and Anneke Bergstrom, along with maiden aunt Gerda, raised the boy as their own, and the secret of his identity died with their generation. Now it falls to Sylvia -- drawing upon Gerda's diary and Joanna's quilt -- to connect Joanna's past to present-day Elm Creek Manor.

Just as Joanna could not have foreseen that, generations later, her quilt would become the subject of so much speculation and wonder, Sylvia and her friends never could have imagined the events Joanna witnessed in her lifetime. Punished for her escape by being sold off to her master's brother in Edisto Island, South Carolina, Joanna grieves over the loss of her son and resolves to run again, to reunite with him someday in the free North. Farther south than she has ever been, she nevertheless finds allies, friends, and even love in the slave quarter of Oak Grove, a cotton plantation where her skill with needle and thread soon becomes highly prized.

Through hardship and deprivation, Joanna dreams of freedom and returning to Elm Creek Farm. Determined to remember each landmark on the route north, Joanna pieces a quilt of scraps left over from the household sewing, concealing clues within the meticulous stitches. Later, in service as a seamstress to the new bride of a Confederate officer, Joanna moves on to Charleston, where secrets she keeps will affect the fate of a nation, and her abilities and courage enable her to aid the country and the people she loves most.

The knowledge that scraps can be pieced and sewn into simple lines -- beautiful both in and of themselves and also for what they represent and what they can accomplish -- carries Joanna through dark days. Sustaining herself and her family through ingenuity and art during the Civil War and into Reconstruction, Joanna leaves behind a remarkable artistic legacy that, at last, allows Sylvia to discover the fate of the long-lost quilter.

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Hardcover, 336 pages

Published March 31st 2009 by Simon & Schuster

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Jan 26, 2011

Melissa rated it

Shelves: crafts

I normally don't like the books in the Elm Creek Quilt series that diverge from the main storyline, but I found myself liking this one. Although I'm ashamed to admit it, I don't remember that much about the main character Joanna in this novel. She had appeared in a previous one but was more a side character than a main character. Because there are thirteen books before this in the series, I'm not going to bother recapping them because that would be a novel in itself. Chiaverini provides enough d...moreI normally don't like the books in the Elm Creek Quilt series that diverge from the main storyline, but I found myself liking this one. Although I'm ashamed to admit it, I don't remember that much about the main character Joanna in this novel. She had appeared in a previous one but was more a side character than a main character. Because there are thirteen books before this in the series, I'm not going to bother recapping them because that would be a novel in itself. Chiaverini provides enough detail that this book could be read as a stand alone anyway.

In an old drawer of a desk that had been hidden in the attic for some time, Sylvia Bergstrom-Compton finds a batch of letters written by one of her ancestors. They were written in regards to finding a woman who had been a runaway slave and stayed with them, only to be captured by slavers and returned South. She had always wondered what happend to this remarkable woman and sets about trying to find her history.

The rest of the novel details Joanna herself and what happened to her once she became a slave again. Forced even further south when her master gives her to his brother, she is regarded as an accomplished seamstress and makes a place for herself as one of the house slaves. In time, she falls in love with another slave and they have a daughter. They want more for their daughter however and as she quilts she starts working a map into her quilting. Her goal is to one day see them all to freedom. Things get even harder though when she is gifted to the master's daughter just recently wed and separated from her family. She is determined to go North and obtain freedom, but she doesn't want to leave her family behind.

Joanna is truly a like-able character. She has her moments of temper but who wouldn't in a situation like hers. She has the gift of hope and inspiring hope in others in addition to her many other talents. I do have to confess, I was silently cheering her on to slap her mistress as she was a perfect brat. That is my one complaint on the characters in this novel, they were either evil or good with no shades of grey. While I'm inclined to agree that slave owners were monsters, they probably all weren't quite as evil as the ones in this novel appeared to be.

I found that Chiaverini's writing became a little more harsh in this novel but that is understandable due to the nature of the subject. As much as it hurts to think about, people were beaten and owned and this is an undeniable fact of our history in this country. It may offend some sensitive readers but I think most should be able to handle the truth. As far as her description in this book it once again was on the scant side. Joanna's freedom quilt was barely described and it served more as a prop to remind the reader she wanted to be free and had to make a map to help herself.

While this book still wasn't as good as the ones who follow the main storyline I did enjoy it. I would have liked to see the characters developed more and a tad more detail, but overall it was an engrossing story. I look forward to the next in the series.

The Lost Quilter
Copyright 2009
337 pages (less)

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Jan 12, 2012

Carolyn rated it

Recommends it for: Everyone

I would give this book a perfect 10. It is an awesome, heart-wrenching story of Joanna, a young runaway, pregnant slave who has managed to make it to Elm Creek, Pennsylvania, where some sympathetic abolitionist women take her in and hide her until her baby is born. The story takes place in 1859, just prior to the beginning of the Civil War. It is a vivid, heart-breaking story of the abuse Joanna suffered before she ran away, and what happened to her after she was found and returned to her master...more

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Aug 11, 2011

Emily rated it

I've read a number of the Elm Creek quilt books although it's been a while since I came across any. They're generally stand alone stories that don't really require having read the entire series to date and this one was no different, although it might help to have read the Runaway Quilter book that immediately precedes this one just for a bit of extra background. In the previous book one of the main characters discovers some family history that suggests that her ancestors helping the underground...moreI've read a number of the Elm Creek quilt books although it's been a while since I came across any. They're generally stand alone stories that don't really require having read the entire series to date and this one was no different, although it might help to have read the Runaway Quilter book that immediately precedes this one just for a bit of extra background. In the previous book one of the main characters discovers some family history that suggests that her ancestors helping the underground railroad might have used quilts as a signal to help runaway slaves - quilts could safely be hung up to dry outside a house without attracting attention, and different patterns could signal different things to runaways. This is a theory that's never actually been confirmed by historical evidence and it's kept somewhat theoretical in the books too, but it's an interesting topic to the main characters and when they find some old letters about a runaway slave that their ancestors helped but who was later recaptured, they try to trace down more information and learn what might have happened to her.

With this opening frame set up, the main part of the book switches to the past and directly tells the story of Joanna the runaway slave who was recaptured and sold to the south, put to work as a laundress and seamstress in south Carolina, and how she keeps a record of the way she had learned back to freedom by sewing it into the pattern of a quilt so that she could try to escape again. At the end of the book as the story returns to the modern time, the main characters in the present day uncover parts of Joanna's tale via some of the quilts she had made and are able to piece together bits of her life story.

The author writes well and always manages to make quilting sound so interesting that I always end up wanting to try quilting after reading her books. This book was a little les about quilting than most, being also an interesting account of the life of a slave in the south during the civil war, but the story as always revolves around the art of quilting.(less)

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Aug 08, 2011

Karen rated it

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Nice read. Good story about the life of a black woman during the Civil War period. Great characterizations. However, what struck me was my reaction to the characterization of the white masters in the story. I saw their attitudes and behaviors as mirroring those of tyrannical and abusive bosses in Corporate America. That the total power imbalance in the slave/owner relationship is really a mirror of the boss/employee dynamic, when the boss is a control freak. Example, setting up impossible expec...more

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Dec 27, 2010

Dlora rated it

Shelves: history, romance

The Runaway Quilt is probably one of my most favorite books in this series. It is about the use of quilts as a signal along the Underground Railroad for escaping slaves. The Lost Quilter picks up where that novel ended. Joanna, who almost made it to safety, is captured by slave runners and dragged back to her master. We see the really heartrending plight of slaves who are viewed as property and less than human: "Negroes don't feel love or sadness the way we do. They may give the appearance ...more

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Nov 18, 2010

Shannon Nakamoto rated it

This book was sitting on the table at work last summer with a note that said that the owner was done with it and for the next person to enjoy it. It was this or a romance novel, so I took it. I thought, "Why not?" The beginning was rather dry, but once the historical sequence began, it really picked up the pace and became a fascinating read.

This was an excellent read. The characters were so three-dimensional that you really care about them and their fate. I love it when the c...more

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Mar 29, 2010

Scilla rated it

This novel is about a young woman slave, Joanna, beginning about 1859 and going through the Civil War. It ties into the Elm Creek Quiters, because Joanna sheltered there as a runaway in 1859, and bore her first son there (after a rape from her owner which was the cause of her running away) before being captured. (Sylvia had found the story of that visit in Gerda's diary in a previous novel.) The novel gives a detailed picture of the life of one slave. Joanna was an excellent seamstress, and c...more

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Dec 18, 2009

Terrah rated it

I've really loved these books. There's one more in the series so far, I'm sure she'll add more after that.

The series is about an older lady who returns to her historic family home after being gone 50 years. She and some new friends start a quilting camp business and she talks about her family history and memories. Some of the books are about the present time, with the quilting camp and the different people they meet and how they start up their business and make friends. And some of ...more

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May 21, 2009

Jamey rated it

This book is part of the Elm Creek quilts series.

Sylvia Bergstrom Compson is a master quilter who "treasures an antique quilt called by three names -- Birds in the Air, after its pattern; the Runaway Quilt, after the woman who sewed it; and the Elm Creek Quilt, after the place to which its maker longed to return. That quilter was Joanna, a fugitive slave who traveled by the Underground Railroad to reach safe haven in 1859 at Elm Creek Farm."

Her freedom wais sho...more

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Apr 04, 2009

Barbara rated it

Recommends it for: those who enjoy quilts, Civil War history, good characters

Shelves: general-fiction

This is a great addition to the Elm Creek novels, focused on quilters, stitching life together in many places and eras. In this installment, a contemporary discovery at Elm Creek Manor bookends an excellent historical story focused on Joanna, a runaway slave introduced in the earlier novel, "The Runaway Quilt." We learn about Joanna's return to her owners and how she survives while never giving up her dreams of freedom. She's a skilled seamstress and quilter which puts her in the house...more

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Jun 20, 2009

Kerry rated it

Shelves: everything, historic-fiction

I have enjoyed each and every Elm Creek Quilts book that I have ever read and look forward to each new installment. This book, The Lost Quilter, resolves most of the open questions left open by the Runaway Quilt, specifically the fate of Joanna, the runaway slave that found a temporary refuge at Elm Creek Manor. It was good to see Joanna get a (mostly) happy ending because the author does an excellent job of getting the reader invested in this character.

Having said that, most of the...more

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Mar 01, 2010

Anne Broyles rated it

This was a good audio-book for African American History Month. I have not read any of the thirteen other books in this series, but enjoyed this tale of an escaped slave who is recaptured and lives through many of the horrific things that happened to female slaves. Apparently, to fit this book in a well-loved series, Joanna's story (1859-almost the end of the Civil War) is sandwiched between the narrative of contemporary women who find evidence of her life. I thought Joanna's story would have st...more

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Jul 09, 2009

Robin Scharff rated it

I enjoyed this book; I'm a beginning quilter and happened to do an extensive research project last year on the idea of slave/abolitionist quilts. While I liked the ending Chiaverini put on Joanna's story, I like The Sugar Camp Quilt and The Runaway Quilt (especially The Runaway Quilt) more. I also think she was wise to leave Sylvia and the others (as characters) with conjecture, rather than saying, Yes, this quilt was made by Joanna, period. Historically, there is no proof for the idea of a s...more

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Apr 06, 2009

Marilyn rated it

This book is about a black slave named Joanna who had escaped to Pennsylvania and was taken in by the Bergstrom family. She learned to read and had a baby the was fathered by her slave owner. She was eventually caught and brought back to her owner and her story begins in the Lost Quilter. Joanna's story began in the The Runaway Quilt. The author Jennifer Chiaverini has written numerous stories all revolving around a quilt group-but- not totally about quilting, it's the stories of the members ...more

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Nov 09, 2010

Jo rated it

Shelves: 2010, jennifer-chiaverini

It took me a while to get into this Elm Creek Quilts book. I've loved all the books so far, and for a while I wondered if this would be the one that I didn't, partly because I prefer the modern-day books in the series rather than the historical ones, and partly because the descriptions of slave treatment were so dark and brutal - it took me a while to be able to read without flinching. However, once I got used to those elements (and they lessened as the book went on) I found it a fabulous read...more

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Jan 21, 2010

Jodi rated it

This was an excellent read! It's part of the Elm Creek Quilts series which is a series of different stories of women who quilt... Random, I know, but this one was actually really good! And you don't have to read the series to know what's going on.

The story is about a black slave whose failed attempt at running away continued her horrific and heartbreaking life as a slave during the 1860's.

I don't know why, but I haven't read too many novels on American slavery, so I real...more

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Jan 20, 2010

Catharine rated it

Goodreads should really add the potential to rate with 1/2 stars. This one would be a 3 1/2. I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a young slave girl's (Joanna's) quest for freedom. The book put forth another example of man's inhumanity to man. I can't believe how the blacks have been treated throughout history. The author began the story with a prologue set in present time, went back to the time of the civil war to tell Joanna's story, then finished with an epilogue, again in present time....more

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May 30, 2009

Mascanlon rated it

Shelves: 2009-100-book-challenge, 2009-library-challenge

Although this is one of the "Elm Creek Quilts Novel" it continues the story of the runaway quilter from that early novel in the series. We follow Joanne as she is dragged back from freedom to the south where she finds love in the slave quarter only to be uprooted at the whim of the master. Through it all she longs for freedom, no matter the cost and risk and stitches into a special quilt the story of her early journey the farm in Pa where she learned to quilt and was forced to le...more

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Jun 29, 2009

Elizabeth Downey rated it

This is a series and I hadn't read the previously written books. Usually authors will give context to the relationship between characters but this author did not. I was intrigued by the regular characters, a group of women devoted to quilting, and may pick up an early book in the series if I need something to read and they're available but it was difficult to get truly involved with them. They were mostly just names and too many of them began with S (Sylvia and Sarah and something else).
...more

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Jun 21, 2009

Nicole rated it

Shelves: favorites

Wow! This book was amazing. During the first few pages I felt a little lost as I hadn't read Chiaverini's other works. However, after I got my bearings the story took off. Chiaverini is an amazing story teller and this book was heart breaking, thought-provoking, sad, funny, thrilling...this book is moving. Revisiting the themes of Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Color Purple, Beloved, and other books dealing with the Civil War and slavery. However, it isn't redundant and is told originally. Chiave...more

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Aug 04, 2011

Lora Leigh rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, ponder-worthy

I could hardly put this book down. It's #11 in the series, which I didn't realize until I had read into it a ways. Since I have only read up to #6 or 7, I was a little lost at first, but caught on quickly. If you've read any of the series up to The Runaway Quilt, you'll love it. It discusses some hard things, though, since it is the story of a woman who was born into slavery, escaped, and then was recaptured. It makes me wonder if I can read Gone With the Wind with the same enjoyment again. What...more

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Jun 04, 2010

Melanie rated it

I bought this book hoping to read more about the Elm Creek regulars but apart from a few pages at the front and back they weren't mentioned. It doesn't really add anything to the current story as it is just about Johanna the run away slave and what happened to her away from Elm Creek. We don't find out if Slyvia is descended from her son who the Bergstrom's adopted or if she is descended from Anneke.

I was very disappointed with the book as I bought it to relax and meet with "ol...more

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Apr 20, 2009

GoldenjoyBazyll rated it

Shelves: j-chiavirini

This book is very different from the others because it is not really about anyone at the Elm Creek Manor. However, it is about the birds in air quilt that Sylvia acquired form A guest at the quilt camp that was sure that it was conencted to the manor and Sylv1a's family (Run Away Quilt). As it turns out it is the story of Joanna- the first slave that the Bergstroms took into their underground railroad station.

The book is heart wrenching. If you have read books about slavery you c...more

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Jun 11, 2009

Melissa rated it

I loved this book! For a historical fiction novel about slavery during the Civil War era, it was nothing short of captivating! This novel was proof that Jennifer Chiaverini is brilliant with her chosen craft!

I was instantly drawn into the characters and the lives they were living. I could not help but feel empathy for those who were forced against their will to burden for the white people in their lives, never sure that they would stay with their families or be reunited with them ...more

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Aug 21, 2011

Cath rated it

Shelves: us-historical-fiction, read-audio-version

The audio book was well done.

I enjoy historical fiction and this novel revealed the very personal stories of slaves through many aspects of their lives. The inclusion of the details about the work done by a seamstress and her quilts made it more interesting for me because sewing is a part of my life as well. There are passages which have graphic descriptions about the cruel treatment of slaves, so be prepared that you will encounter that along the way. By the end of the book I had ...more

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Oct 10, 2010

Katy rated it

Oh my! I didn't know what I was getting whenever I checked out this book. Part of the Elm Creek Quilt stories, this is a tale of letters found in a locked desk, letters that ask about a runaway slave who was recaptured. And then we follow the story of Joanna, a slave who ran away from her brutal master who was raping her, and how she was sold "further South" upon her recapture. The pathos of her story will remain, and her desire for freeedom---first for her children: the child she...more

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Apr 08, 2009

Cathy rated it

Shelves: cd-books, finished-2009

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Jan 12, 2010

Jennifer rated it

Shelves: light-reading

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Jun 19, 2009

Ragan rated it

This book tells the story of a slave woman and her fight for freedom. Somethings things I liked were that about half the book took place in South Carolina and I like to learn things about my new home state. I also liked that though Joanna goes though many horrible trials the author only goes into enough details so you can understand what is happening (like when she is whipped after running away) and shows the after effects. The story is well formed and moves at a nice pace. I didn't care for...more

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Jun 10, 2009

Trisha rated it

Jennifer Chiaverini has done it again! I loved this book. I think it might be my second favorite. The Runaway Quilt is my all time favorite. It doesn't surprise me that this is my second favorite since it is (in a way) a sequel to The Runaway Quilt.

I find it so interesting that I happened upon the book Kindred, a book about slavery, and read it before this book. I loved finding out what happened to Joanna after the slave catchers found her in Pennsylvania and took her back down ...more

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About Jennifer Chiaverini

Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of ten Elm Creek Quilts novels and An Elm Creek Quilts Sampler and An Elm Creek Quilts Album, as well as Elm Creek Quilts and Return to Elm Creek, two collections of quilt projects inspired by the series, and is the designer of the Elm Creek Quilts fabric lines from Red Rooster fabrics. She lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Books by Jennifer Chiaverini

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The Lost Quilter (Elm Creek Quilts #14)

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