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Elm Creek Quilts #8
The Christmas Quilt
When Christmas Eve comes to Elm Creek Manor, the tenor of the holiday is far from certain. Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, the Master Quilter, has her own reasons for preferring a quiet, even subdued, Christmas. Her young friend Sarah McClure, however, takes the opposite view and decides to deck the halls brightly. As she explores the trunks packed with Bergstrom family decorations that haven't been touched in more than fifty years, Sarah discovers a curious Christmas quilt. Begun in seasonal fabrics and patterns, the quilt remains unfinished.
Sylvia reveals that the handiwork spans several generations and a quartet of Bergstrom quilters -- her great aunt, her mother, her sister, and herself. As she examines the array of quilt blocks each family member contributed but never completed, memories of Christmases past emerge.
At Elm Creek Manor, Christmas began as a celebration of simple virtues -- joy and hope buoyed by the spirit of giving. As each successive generation of Bergstroms lived through its unique trials -- the antebellum era, the Great Depression, World War II -- tradition offered sustenance even during the most difficult times. For Sylvia, who is coping with the modern problem of family dispersed, estranged, or even forgotten, reconciliation with her personal history may prove as elusive as piecing the Christmas Quilt.
Elm Creek Manor is full of secrets, from a Christmas tree with unusual properties to the sublime Bergstrom strudel recipe. Sylvia's tales at first seem to inform her family legacy but ultimately illuminate far more, from the importance of women's art to its place in commemorating our shared experience, at Christmastime and in every season.
Sylvia reveals that the handiwork spans several generations and a quartet of Bergstrom quilters -- her great aunt, her mother, her sister, and herself. As she examines the array of quilt blocks each family member contributed but never completed, memories of Christmases past emerge.
At Elm Creek Manor, Christmas began as a celebration of simple virtues -- joy and hope buoyed by the spirit of giving. As each successive generation of Bergstroms lived through its unique trials -- the antebellum era, the Great Depression, World War II -- tradition offered sustenance even during the most difficult times. For Sylvia, who is coping with the modern problem of family dispersed, estranged, or even forgotten, reconciliation with her personal history may prove as elusive as piecing the Christmas Quilt.
Elm Creek Manor is full of secrets, from a Christmas tree with unusual properties to the sublime Bergstrom strudel recipe. Sylvia's tales at first seem to inform her family legacy but ultimately illuminate far more, from the importance of women's art to its place in commemorating our shared experience, at Christmastime and in every season.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2005
330 people are currently reading
2490 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Chiaverini
78 books5,228 followersJennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty-three novels, including acclaimed historical fiction and the beloved Elm Creek Quilts series. She has also written seven quilt pattern books inspired by her novels. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Chicago, she lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. About her historical fiction, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes, "In addition to simply being fascinating stories, these novels go a long way in capturing the texture of life for women, rich and poor, black and white, in those perilous years."
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December 2, 2022
The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. Filled with misunderstandings, family drama and sadness. Love and family. Book didn’t do much for me. Worth a read as long as you don’t expect depth
April 4, 2011
I respect that this book is well-written, and I like that Chiaverini really made me care about her characters. That said, it was a huge disappoinment. The plot is almost non-existent, which is generally fine for character-driven texts, but I'm not really sure what Chiaverini was trying to accomplish with this. It starts strongly enough, but it sort of train wrecks into nowhere. The main character is an old lady who, at Christmas, remembers the joys of her past and the now-dead family members that she has lost. Some deaths were inescapable tragedies (WWII, for example), but in other cases, she has caused the problems. She has made the decision to avoid her family for fifty years of self-imposed estrangement. The protagonist has remained bitter because of a decades-old grievance (albeit a significant one) and has chosen not to speak to her family. Of course, now that everyone that she has loved is dead, she deeply regrets her decisions. It's too little, too late.
The whole book is a remembrance of one sorrow after another, and Sylvia is powerless to change anything now. That doesn't stop Chiaverini from trying to make this a story about redemption. She tacks on a thin ending that seems like an attempt to be uplifting. It isn't. This book is depressing as all get-out, nothing happens at all, and in the end, the main character's epiphany and newfound peace (because she has come to terms with her past) is sloppy and forced. I don't know why she wrote it this way. Was she trying for an epic tragedy and then lost her nerve? Was she trying for something uplifting, but ran out time to put effort into the end? Was she trying to cater to certain expectations? I'll never know. I'll also never re-read this.
This book is for you if you like reveling in someone else's suffering. Or if you happen to prefer stories where 97% of the text shows, with remarkable clarity, how devastating someone's life can be, only for the last few pages to throw out a casual remark about how she's managed to find peace. In any writing class, students learn to show, not tell. Chiaverini's unbalanced text "shows" pain very well - and the first three-quarters of the book are remarkably well written - but features one of the poorest excuses for an ending that I've ever seen. A cheap, tacked-on cop-out that not only fails to be literary on its own terms, the ending of this book is an insult to its readers' intelligence.
I hate to blast this book completely - particularly since so much of it is remarkably well-done - but as whole, it was a crushing disappointment. Seriously, people are depressed enough during the holidays. You don't have to endure the Christmas season AND read this book.
The whole book is a remembrance of one sorrow after another, and Sylvia is powerless to change anything now. That doesn't stop Chiaverini from trying to make this a story about redemption. She tacks on a thin ending that seems like an attempt to be uplifting. It isn't. This book is depressing as all get-out, nothing happens at all, and in the end, the main character's epiphany and newfound peace (because she has come to terms with her past) is sloppy and forced. I don't know why she wrote it this way. Was she trying for an epic tragedy and then lost her nerve? Was she trying for something uplifting, but ran out time to put effort into the end? Was she trying to cater to certain expectations? I'll never know. I'll also never re-read this.
This book is for you if you like reveling in someone else's suffering. Or if you happen to prefer stories where 97% of the text shows, with remarkable clarity, how devastating someone's life can be, only for the last few pages to throw out a casual remark about how she's managed to find peace. In any writing class, students learn to show, not tell. Chiaverini's unbalanced text "shows" pain very well - and the first three-quarters of the book are remarkably well written - but features one of the poorest excuses for an ending that I've ever seen. A cheap, tacked-on cop-out that not only fails to be literary on its own terms, the ending of this book is an insult to its readers' intelligence.
I hate to blast this book completely - particularly since so much of it is remarkably well-done - but as whole, it was a crushing disappointment. Seriously, people are depressed enough during the holidays. You don't have to endure the Christmas season AND read this book.
November 9, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
A cozy, wholesome story to put you in the holiday spirit. I’m thankful for easy to read work like this that allows me to escape into a simpler time.
A cozy, wholesome story to put you in the holiday spirit. I’m thankful for easy to read work like this that allows me to escape into a simpler time.
April 19, 2012
Honestly I love this series, but it really needs to get some new material!! This book just felt like a rehash of half a dozen other books retold in a slightly different way. We've already heard about Sarah's relationship with her mother and how she hates Matt, Slyvia's relationship with Elizabeth, Claudia, James, Richard, Andrew when she was a child or young women. There was not a story in this book which I hadn't read already in another, albeit with slightly different detail, but the same conclusion. Giving it all a Christmas message doesn't disguise the fact that it's all the same. Perhaps I just haven't found the right book in the series yet, but there are so many parts of the story that remain untold (eg: Slyvias life after leaving Elm Creek and before returning) that it seems such a waste to simply retell everything that we've already read. I was severely disapointed and hope the next one I pick up improves!
November 8, 2011
I thought this book was a somewhat slow and draggy read. There was not enough action to keep me truly engaged. Although I enjoyed Sylvia's reminiscenses about the past and the changes they made in her perspective, it just didn't keep my interest at high level.
December 9, 2015
A really nice Christmas read. Follows family through their dreams, sorrows and trials of life. A Christmas quilt plays a part in the story but only in a way to tie the stories together.
November 28, 2025
Formal, somewhat old fashioned language to match the narrator's age, tone and upbringing used to describe flashbacks of Christmas events and traditions. A bit sappy but did get me in the Christmas spirit!
September 7, 2025
This is an older book, but I didn't think this is one of her better books. The regular quilting books in the series, are much better. This one just seemed like a synopsis of the different books in the series, just thrown in as fillers.
January 26, 2011
The Christmas Quilt is one of many in the Elm Creek quilt series by Jeniffer Chiaverini. Even though it is part of a series though, this book can definitely be read as a stand alone. In fact, even though it rehashes things from previous books, Chiaverini describes all incidences within the book well enough that no reference from the firs seven are needed.
The story takes place further back in the time line than some of the other books. It occurs about one year after the first book took place. The scene is Christmas and Sylvia Compton, owner of Elm Creek Manor and the associated quilter's retreat, is thinking back on past Christmases with both fond and sad memories. When Sarah, her helper, brings down the Christmas decorations and an old unfinished Christmas quilt, she can hold back the reminisces about the past. She starts thinking about the different Christmases from when she was a little girl, on up to when she was first married. Similar in every story was the choosing of a Christmas tree, a special star, and a fabulously delicious strudel.
Also on her mind though is the rift between Sarah and her mother. She wanted desperately for the two to see each other this Christmas but Sarah was not as enthusiastic. Sarah and her mother do not get along very well and she doesn't wish to see her. Instead she wants to finish the Christmas quilt found in the attic which had been worked on by so many women before her.
While I was glad to see some of the regular characters returned in this novel, it still lacked a large part of them and I just didn't find the story as engaging. While some of it was interesting, a lot of it was almost copied word for word out of her other books. Naturally these were more of the scenes in the past, but still there were enough and I remembered them well enough that I knew they were directly copied. One other point was that the Christmas quilt that could never get finished, I think that might have remained that way in this story as I cannot remember them mentioning it at the end or what state it was in.
Chiaverini is a very easy writer to read. She's not offensive in any way and gives a decent amount of description when describing her characters and the scenery around. She does however lack a bit in the description department when it comes to describing the quilt in this novel though.
Overall I would say its a nice short read, good for a rainy or snowy afternoon. I wasn't as terribly impressed as I have been with some of her other works, but it fits in the series nicely.
The Christmas Quilt
Copyright 2005
225 pages
The story takes place further back in the time line than some of the other books. It occurs about one year after the first book took place. The scene is Christmas and Sylvia Compton, owner of Elm Creek Manor and the associated quilter's retreat, is thinking back on past Christmases with both fond and sad memories. When Sarah, her helper, brings down the Christmas decorations and an old unfinished Christmas quilt, she can hold back the reminisces about the past. She starts thinking about the different Christmases from when she was a little girl, on up to when she was first married. Similar in every story was the choosing of a Christmas tree, a special star, and a fabulously delicious strudel.
Also on her mind though is the rift between Sarah and her mother. She wanted desperately for the two to see each other this Christmas but Sarah was not as enthusiastic. Sarah and her mother do not get along very well and she doesn't wish to see her. Instead she wants to finish the Christmas quilt found in the attic which had been worked on by so many women before her.
While I was glad to see some of the regular characters returned in this novel, it still lacked a large part of them and I just didn't find the story as engaging. While some of it was interesting, a lot of it was almost copied word for word out of her other books. Naturally these were more of the scenes in the past, but still there were enough and I remembered them well enough that I knew they were directly copied. One other point was that the Christmas quilt that could never get finished, I think that might have remained that way in this story as I cannot remember them mentioning it at the end or what state it was in.
Chiaverini is a very easy writer to read. She's not offensive in any way and gives a decent amount of description when describing her characters and the scenery around. She does however lack a bit in the description department when it comes to describing the quilt in this novel though.
Overall I would say its a nice short read, good for a rainy or snowy afternoon. I wasn't as terribly impressed as I have been with some of her other works, but it fits in the series nicely.
The Christmas Quilt
Copyright 2005
225 pages
December 16, 2021
This book (#8) is an indication of why a series should be read in order. I've previously read "The Christmas Boutique" (#21), "Quilter's Holiday" (#15), and "The Giving Quilt" (#20) in random order. My complaint each time was that the cast of characters was too huge to keep track of and that there was much too much description of quilt patterns, fabric, and stitches for non-quilters. I also had a hard time getting handle on the time period and the age of the characters.
Although this was not the first in the series, it does take the reader back to the beginning of Sylvia's life and how Elm Creek Manor evolved from a family home into a quilter's paradise. I got a clear sense of her age (76) and of the timeframe in which the story takes place (She was a young bride/WW II widow.) The cast of characters is spare in comparison to the later novels, much easier to keep track of. With fewer characters, there seems be more character development. Sylvia and Sarah, especially, seem to be more fully realized. The writing seemed to flow better, too. I stayed interested because there weren't so many extraneous characters and storylines. My interest in the Elm Creek Quilters series is piqued.
Although this was not the first in the series, it does take the reader back to the beginning of Sylvia's life and how Elm Creek Manor evolved from a family home into a quilter's paradise. I got a clear sense of her age (76) and of the timeframe in which the story takes place (She was a young bride/WW II widow.) The cast of characters is spare in comparison to the later novels, much easier to keep track of. With fewer characters, there seems be more character development. Sylvia and Sarah, especially, seem to be more fully realized. The writing seemed to flow better, too. I stayed interested because there weren't so many extraneous characters and storylines. My interest in the Elm Creek Quilters series is piqued.
July 6, 2023
According to the Goodreads page that shows all the books in this series, this book falls chronologically between book 1 and book 2 , so even though it is called book 8, it's really like 1.5.
So, I decided to read it before I get too much further in the series.
They also say that The Christmas Quilt can be read as a "stand alone" book if you don't want to read the whole series.
There are lots of details about relationships between characters that I would have missed out on had I not read this now. I loved learning about the Christmas Eve ritual of choosing the tree.
Next, I'm going to read The New Year's Quilt because it follows this one in the story line.
But I will put a few other books from other authors in between, so I can string out the series for awhile longer! It's comforting. I like the characters.
I'm only 69. I have lots of good reading years left, I hope:)
So, I decided to read it before I get too much further in the series.
They also say that The Christmas Quilt can be read as a "stand alone" book if you don't want to read the whole series.
There are lots of details about relationships between characters that I would have missed out on had I not read this now. I loved learning about the Christmas Eve ritual of choosing the tree.
Next, I'm going to read The New Year's Quilt because it follows this one in the story line.
But I will put a few other books from other authors in between, so I can string out the series for awhile longer! It's comforting. I like the characters.
I'm only 69. I have lots of good reading years left, I hope:)
January 2, 2021
The least favorite so far in this Quilt series. A simple story that really just rehashed the previous books.
December 11, 2022
The Christmas Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
225-page Hardback
Elm Creek Quilts #8
Genre: Holiday > Christmas; Crafts > Quilting; Historical > Historical Fiction; Women's Fiction > Chick Lit; Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Arts > Crafts
Featuring: Family Drama, German Immigrants, Quilting Business, Storytelling, Long Chapters, Multiple Timelines, Apple Strudel, The Great Depression, WWII
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult situations
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🎄
My thoughts: 📖 Page 43 of 225 Ch. 2 - Ugh! First of all, this font should be illegal. This story is all over the place, one minute a 76-year-old Sylvie was giving Sarah advice, and the next she was a little girl back in the day. I'm in the middle of a series so I wasn't expecting to know the history of the characters but I was hoping to be able to follow the plot. This book only has 5 chapters, so this is going to take a while.
Once you get into the story it's not so bad. The plot is thin and wasn't expecting a story from 1929-1945, and the transition was odd. I didn't know what was happening at first. All in all the story was okay, I wasn't crazy about the characters, events, or 40+ page chapters in tiny font, but I didn't hate it. I was actually hoping for more information. I'm not interested in the series based on this book.
Recommend to others?: Maybe. This story wasn't exciting to me but if you like history and quilts it may be your thing.
225-page Hardback
Elm Creek Quilts #8
Genre: Holiday > Christmas; Crafts > Quilting; Historical > Historical Fiction; Women's Fiction > Chick Lit; Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Arts > Crafts
Featuring: Family Drama, German Immigrants, Quilting Business, Storytelling, Long Chapters, Multiple Timelines, Apple Strudel, The Great Depression, WWII
Rating as a movie: PG-13 for adult situations
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🎄
My thoughts: 📖 Page 43 of 225 Ch. 2 - Ugh! First of all, this font should be illegal. This story is all over the place, one minute a 76-year-old Sylvie was giving Sarah advice, and the next she was a little girl back in the day. I'm in the middle of a series so I wasn't expecting to know the history of the characters but I was hoping to be able to follow the plot. This book only has 5 chapters, so this is going to take a while.
Once you get into the story it's not so bad. The plot is thin and wasn't expecting a story from 1929-1945, and the transition was odd. I didn't know what was happening at first. All in all the story was okay, I wasn't crazy about the characters, events, or 40+ page chapters in tiny font, but I didn't hate it. I was actually hoping for more information. I'm not interested in the series based on this book.
Recommend to others?: Maybe. This story wasn't exciting to me but if you like history and quilts it may be your thing.
December 20, 2020
The premise of this book sounded lovely - a woman reminiscing about past Christmases based on aspects of a hidden-away and never-finished quilt. But, it missed the mark for me. Towards the end of the book, I realized that this was the eighth installment in a series. That makes me think I needed more context for the characters. I never really connected to either Sylvia or Sarah or anyone in Sylvia's past. It was somewhat pleasant to hear Sylvia's memories of past Christmases and it did help me get into the Christmas spirit somewhat. But, overall, very much of a meh book.
January 3, 2025
If you are looking for a book with lots of Christmas, this is the one for you. It covers a number of Christmas seasons, with lots of cutting down trees, baking strudels, family traditions, special gifts, and more. It is bittersweet and looks back on hard times, but it has a satisfying and realistic resolution. It is not a religious book per se, but it does include some beautiful moments at Christmas Day Masses and some sincere expressions of Christian faith and joy at Christmas. (It is a wholesome book as well, with no profanity or sexual content.) It is #8 of the Elm Creek Quilts series, but it is not necessary to have read the other books in the series.
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February 23, 2018this book felt out of order to me because it was written as if Sylvia and Andrew hadn't gotten married. also there was lots of repetition with earlier stories and these read more like summaries or synopsis. although i still enjoyed hearing about the family and Sylvia's childhood, i feel that this one was a bit thin. sorry to say. but it's such a good series overall. i look forward to subsequent books. and now i have a huge craving for strudel.
January 10, 2019
It was a sweet little book, and fun to read during the holidays. I particularly loved the traditions of the Bergstrom family, especially how the newest married couple goes and picks the Christmas tree for the manor from the grounds. It was nice to hear more stories of Sylvia's mother, her relationships with Claudia and Agnes, and her time living at the estate.
January 3, 2022
Just in time for the holidays, dive into the Elm Creek Quilt series and discover the story behind the Christmas Quilt. If you are unfamiliar with these quilting themed novels, do savor the first novel and get hooked. Recommended!
November 22, 2020
I liked the memories of Christmas past in this book better than the story of what was happening in the present.
March 4, 2022
❤️❤️❤️
June 21, 2022
I do enjoy this author and the quilt connection. Reminds me of the quilts my grandmother made. I always enjoy a Christmas story, especially when family traditions are passed down through generations.
December 10, 2020
Sweet Christmas story about family forgiveness and love.
December 20, 2022
Really three stars but an entire star added for the wonderful passages about baking strudel.
November 22, 2018
It’s refreshing to read a Christmas novel that is (1) not a romance and (2) about a woman in her late 70s who grows intellectually and emotionally as the story progresses. Sylvia has returned to her childhood home in Sewickley, PA, because she is the only surviving heir to the family’s stately manor. A young couple lives harmoniously with her in the manor, and they have helped Sylvia fashion their home into a quilters’ retreat center. Sylvia left this home 50 years earlier under circumstances that are revealed during the novel, with Christmas as the catalyst. Sylvia had not returned once between leaving home as a young adult and returning home after everyone was gone.
As the holidays approach, Sylvia is determined not to celebrate. She has many family traditions that she’d rather not revive because they’d bring up too many memories and emotions. Her young friend Sarah insists upon decorating, and as Sylvia begins to agree to allow more and more celebratory traditions to creep back in, so she experiences memories from many past Christmases. She remembers her parents, grandmother, favorite cousin, aunts and uncles, brother and sister, and family friends. She remembers happy times, sad times, rich times, poor times, and times when her stubbornness made some family members, including herself, less than happy. As past hardships are revealed, we see why Sylvia would not want to celebrate. And yet, as she recounts the past, she sees more reasons to preserve the family traditions and reach out to find the family that she thinks she has lost.
Regarding the title: while searching in the attic for the Christmas decorations, Sarah also finds the Christmas quilt, which has never been finished. Throughout generations, the women in Sylvia’s family have made squares for the quilt, yet no one has sewn them together. Sylvia cannot imagine how so many different parts could come together into an attractive whole, but it turns out that there’s a secret about the quilt squares that Sylvia doesn’t know.
The Christmas Quilt has the requisite touch of magical Christmas coincidences that make for happy seasonal storytelling. At the same time, the breadth of emotions that Sylvia experiences, from excruciating loss to pure joy, elevate this novel above the usual Christmas fluff. Readers looking for a Christmas novel with some depth and introspection as well as light heartedness, tradition, and fun will enjoy this book. Women intrigued by the women in their families throughout the generations might find it interesting. Quilters will also enjoy it, and appreciate the details about the different quilt patterns and how they reflect the personalities of the quilters.
As the holidays approach, Sylvia is determined not to celebrate. She has many family traditions that she’d rather not revive because they’d bring up too many memories and emotions. Her young friend Sarah insists upon decorating, and as Sylvia begins to agree to allow more and more celebratory traditions to creep back in, so she experiences memories from many past Christmases. She remembers her parents, grandmother, favorite cousin, aunts and uncles, brother and sister, and family friends. She remembers happy times, sad times, rich times, poor times, and times when her stubbornness made some family members, including herself, less than happy. As past hardships are revealed, we see why Sylvia would not want to celebrate. And yet, as she recounts the past, she sees more reasons to preserve the family traditions and reach out to find the family that she thinks she has lost.
Regarding the title: while searching in the attic for the Christmas decorations, Sarah also finds the Christmas quilt, which has never been finished. Throughout generations, the women in Sylvia’s family have made squares for the quilt, yet no one has sewn them together. Sylvia cannot imagine how so many different parts could come together into an attractive whole, but it turns out that there’s a secret about the quilt squares that Sylvia doesn’t know.
The Christmas Quilt has the requisite touch of magical Christmas coincidences that make for happy seasonal storytelling. At the same time, the breadth of emotions that Sylvia experiences, from excruciating loss to pure joy, elevate this novel above the usual Christmas fluff. Readers looking for a Christmas novel with some depth and introspection as well as light heartedness, tradition, and fun will enjoy this book. Women intrigued by the women in their families throughout the generations might find it interesting. Quilters will also enjoy it, and appreciate the details about the different quilt patterns and how they reflect the personalities of the quilters.
January 13, 2014
I've read a few of Jennifer Chiaverini's books, but I don't think I've loved one as much as I have this one.
The story is told in the present and in flashbacks and by the time the last page is turned there will be a tear or two in your eyes. (In my case, I was crying like a baby.)
I love emotional family stories, and this was absolutely perfect. It blends tradition, with trials, love and forgiveness, as well as dealing with regrets.
I absolutely loved Sylvia. My heart ached for her many times through the course of her life. Her sister, Claudia, I wanted to pop in the nose. She was a snot nosed brat, who seemed to grow up into a snot nosed adult.
The sibling rivalry between the two is priceless and heartbreaking. As events in the present bring back memories from Sylvia's past, it is easy to see why she might not be as into Christmas as her friend Sarah. Though as the story unfolds, it is easy to see why she wants Sarah to reconcile with her mother.
Sylvia truly had a life that was full of sadness, though their were good times as well. It is just a shame that she had to reconcile with memories rather than people.
A beautifully written holiday story that anyone can appreciate.
The story is told in the present and in flashbacks and by the time the last page is turned there will be a tear or two in your eyes. (In my case, I was crying like a baby.)
I love emotional family stories, and this was absolutely perfect. It blends tradition, with trials, love and forgiveness, as well as dealing with regrets.
I absolutely loved Sylvia. My heart ached for her many times through the course of her life. Her sister, Claudia, I wanted to pop in the nose. She was a snot nosed brat, who seemed to grow up into a snot nosed adult.
The sibling rivalry between the two is priceless and heartbreaking. As events in the present bring back memories from Sylvia's past, it is easy to see why she might not be as into Christmas as her friend Sarah. Though as the story unfolds, it is easy to see why she wants Sarah to reconcile with her mother.
Sylvia truly had a life that was full of sadness, though their were good times as well. It is just a shame that she had to reconcile with memories rather than people.
A beautifully written holiday story that anyone can appreciate.
December 7, 2011
A nice, quick to read, book about a Christmas quilt in which several generations of women in a family worked to make over the years. A blend of present and past stories. Nice traditions are described as well as some heartbreak for the families.
This is the first Christmas themed book I've read since my Dad's entrance into the hospital 16 December 2005. He passed away exactly 30 days later; 16 January 2006. And after reading a couple of the reviews here, I was skeptical of reading this book as it was seen as depressing to some folks. Well, yes, the book is bittersweet. But, then, as we grow older I feel our Christmases do become bittersweet. We enjoy the memories of Christmas Past. Yet, Christmas Present seems to sadden us. Loved ones who have passed on, broken dreams and promises, sometimes tragedy in our lives. Christmas is also a time to rejoice in the new beginnings in our families. New members whether by marriage, birth or just new friendships/frienships. I feel this book is well worth spending an evening or two reading.
This is the first Christmas themed book I've read since my Dad's entrance into the hospital 16 December 2005. He passed away exactly 30 days later; 16 January 2006. And after reading a couple of the reviews here, I was skeptical of reading this book as it was seen as depressing to some folks. Well, yes, the book is bittersweet. But, then, as we grow older I feel our Christmases do become bittersweet. We enjoy the memories of Christmas Past. Yet, Christmas Present seems to sadden us. Loved ones who have passed on, broken dreams and promises, sometimes tragedy in our lives. Christmas is also a time to rejoice in the new beginnings in our families. New members whether by marriage, birth or just new friendships/frienships. I feel this book is well worth spending an evening or two reading.
April 26, 2008
I had read the Quilter's Apprentice and after meeting the characters wanted to read more in this heartwarming (but a little sad) series. We had met Sarah McClure who meets and befriends Sylvia, a cranky lady moving back to her childhood home, Elm Creek Manor. Sarah is given quilting lessons and during the lessons learns about Sylvia and the tragedies of her past. Stories are told during quilting lessons that are centered around the tragedies of WW II, family, forgiveness and relationships between people You see a unique comparison between Sylvia's stories, life and quilting. After meeting Sylvia in the first book, we learn so much more of her life growing up in the Bergstrom manor with wonderful Christmas memories and traditions in "The Christmas Quilt". We have a deeper understanding of Sylvia as stories of Christmas past at the Bergstrom manor and special family traditions are told.
December 10, 2011
December 9, 2011 Update: 2nd time. I enjoyed reliving Sylvia's past Christmases at Elm Creek. I'm sad for her, too, for all of the missed times between her and her sister, Claudia.
I really liked how the 3 gals decorated the tree outdoors for the wildlife. It's something I'd like to do with my family!
From January:
I'm not a quilter, but I did want to view the pictures of 'finished' quilts. I had finally went to Barnes & Noble to see if they had any of Jennifer Chiaverini's pattern books. They had 3 of them. I found a cushy chair and perused all of them in order of the books up to this story. Not all of the books have patterns, but it was enough to satisfy my curiousity!
It was neat to see how "The Christmas Quilt" turned out. So many generations in one quilt! How nice it would be to posess an heirloom like that!
I really liked how the 3 gals decorated the tree outdoors for the wildlife. It's something I'd like to do with my family!
From January:
I'm not a quilter, but I did want to view the pictures of 'finished' quilts. I had finally went to Barnes & Noble to see if they had any of Jennifer Chiaverini's pattern books. They had 3 of them. I found a cushy chair and perused all of them in order of the books up to this story. Not all of the books have patterns, but it was enough to satisfy my curiousity!
It was neat to see how "The Christmas Quilt" turned out. So many generations in one quilt! How nice it would be to posess an heirloom like that!
November 14, 2009
Elm Creek Quilt books by Jennifer Chiaverini are another series of books that I love. I especially enjoyed The Christmas Quilt--the first one I read--out of order. These books follow a familyof quilters and explore the history of quilts and quilt design. I loved this book and enjoyed it so much during the Christmas season. It is heartwarming, nostalgic and full of family relationships, traditions, love, heartbreak and sorrow. Two others I particularly enjoyed were The Runaway Quilt and The Sugar Camp Quilt. Some of the earlier books u
December 28, 2009
After a fifty year absence from her family and family home, Sylvia returns home to inherit the family estate after the death of her sister. In spite of her attempts to ignore the Christmas season, a young friend encourages celebration which leads to memories and a few revelations for Sylvia. This was a sweet, easy read, perfect for the holiday season. Although it wasn't always a happy story, when I reached the end I felt completely satisfied. This book is in the middle of a series, but it didn't detract from the story at all and it was not at all difficult to follow the story.
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