The Cross-Country Quilters (Elm Creek Quilts Series #3) » (Bargain)

 Jennifer Chiaverini is the author of fourteen Elm Creek Quilts novels, as well as three 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.

Julia, Megan, Donna, Grace, and Vinnie are cross-country friends who are about to begin work on a challenge quilt. A piece of fabric is divided among the women, with the understanding that the following year they will all meet at the Elm Creek Quilt Camp to sew the sections together into a single quilt. But the friends have set themselves a special challenge: no one can start working on her block until she has taken steps to solve her problems and achieve her personal goals.

Although they share a common creative objective, the Cross-Country Quilters find their friendship tested by the demands of everyday life. Yet despite differences in age, race, and background, the women's love of quilting and affection for one another unite them. The quilt they create becomes a symbol of the threads that hold their lives together-a glorious patchwork of caring and loyalty that brings home an enduring truth: Friends may be separated by great distance, but the strength of their bond can transcend any obstacle.

Publishers Weekly

The third installment in the popular Elm Creek Quilts series (The Quilter's Apprentice; Round Robin) once again features an ensemble cast of women who learn the importance of friendship and sisterhood by way of their passion for quilting. This time, five women from across the country meet during a weeklong visit to Elm Creek quilting camp in rural Waterford, Pa. Craft and crises intertwine as each woman reveals her private tale of family conflict, marital woes and health concerns. Julia Merchaud is an aging soap star, at camp to acquire quilting skills she falsely claimed to possess in order to secure a film role, while renowned quilter Grace Daniels, recently diagnosed with MS, suffers quilter's block and comes to Elm Creek hoping for inspiration. Megan and Donna are e-mail buddies, both from the Midwest, meeting in person for the first time. Megan, an aerospace engineer, is a recently divorced single mom with a friendless and troubled nine-year-old son, while Donna is escaping her daughter's sudden engagement and the attendant social chores. Rounding out the bunch is happy-go-lucky octogenarian Nana, an Elm Creek veteran intent on making a match for her single grandson, Adam. After a week of bonding and binding, the five women agree to collaborate on a Challenge Quilt, in which each participant must overcome a major obstacle in her life before beginning her section of the project. When they return the following year, each problem has been resolved with ample amounts of sugar and sentiment. Endearing characters and pleasant vignettes render this series as charming and cozy as a favorite blanket. Agent, Maria Massie. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.