Round Robin (Elm Creek Quilts Series #2) [Hardcover]

Jennifer Chiaverini (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2000

She chose green and blue for the colors of Elm Creek Manor. She chose blue for truth and green for new beginnings....She pieced a border of pinwheel blocks -- pinwheels for her windblown life, which with faith and perseverance she tried to stitch into order. The pattern was a four patch, a square divided into four smaller squares, which were in turn divided into two equal triangles, one light, one dark, like the darkness of the past...and the light hope of the future.

In Round Robin, the much-anticipated follow-up to The Quilter's Apprentice, Jennifer Chiaverini reunites us with the Elm Creek Quilters in a continuing tale of friendship and loyalty in which quilting is a bountiful metaphor for the way we stitch our lives together, piece by imperfect piece.

A round robin quilt is created by sewing concentric patchwork or appliqué borders to a central block as it is passed around a circle of friends. We rejoin the Elm Creek Quilters as they embark on just such a project, intended as a gift to their beloved Sylvia. But for each member of the circle, the threads of happiness begin to unravel.

As each woman adds a border to the central block, she contributes her story to the ongoing history of Elm Creek Manor. Resplendent in green, blue, and gold, the quilt serves as a symbol of the complex, lasting ties that unify mothers and daughters, sisters and friends. As they stitch together the sometimes harmonious, often discordant scraps of their crazy-quilt lives, the Elm Creek Quilters learn that friendship is a most precious gift, and that even in the darkest of times, love illuminates the way home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Elm [Creek] quilters return in this sequel to the popular The Quilter's Apprentice, and again a round-robin quilt is made collaboratively by a group of friends, each contributing a border of patchwork around a central block. The apt metaphor is used once more to share the individual stories and bonds of friendship of the club members. Sarah McClure helps her aging friend Sylvia Compson run a quilting school from Sylvia's large manor house in the small town of Waterford, Pa. The quilters decide to surprise Sylvia with a round robin, and in passing the work-in-progress to one another, their stories unfold. Sarah struggles with her cold and critical mother and with her husband's identity crisis, while overachiever Gwen must accept that her daughter wants to work at the quilt store rather than attend graduate school. Supermom Diane copes with her teenage son, a friendless delinquent whose troubles disappear as soon as the family puts a skateboard ramp in their backyard. Bonnie discovers that her husband is conducting a romance over the Internet. In the most complicated and most strained vignette, Judy, a Vietnamese-American professor of computer science, receives a letter from an American half-sister she never knew of, reporting that their biological father, who abandoned Judy and her mother in Vietnam, is dying. Rounding out the ensemble is Sylvia, whose health is deteriorating but who gleans new hope when an old flame visits. By the end of this sugary story, not only have the Elm [Creek] ladies stitched a beautiful quilt, but they've also learned to rely on and help each other. The tale is neatly concluded on a tender if sentimental note: "true friends are the most precious gift." Agent, Maria Massie. 3-city author tour. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this sequel to The Quilter's Apprentice, Chiaverini, a quilter herself, has pieced together an even more beautiful story. A tale of love, courage, friendship, hope, and determination, it concerns the Elm Creek Quilters some time after this group has become professionally viable. Still focusing on Sylvia Compson and Sarah McClure, the action includes others in the group who share friendship while dealing with individual problems involving their children and spouses. Sarah still faces her difficult relationship with her mother, while Sylvia must resolve issues of loneliness and illness before she can love again. The Round Robin quilt of the title serves to bind together the women of Elm Creek Manor, who finally learn that the fabric of life consists of many tiny stitches, sometimes poorly connected. Women readers in particular will be touched and charmed. Highly recommended.
-Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 4, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068486892X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684868929
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #844,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Chiaverini lives with her husband and two sons in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to the sixteen volumes in the Elm Creek Quilts series and four books of quilt patterns inspired by the novels, she designs the Elm Creek Quilts fabric line from Red Rooster Fabrics. For more information about Jennifer, please visit her website at www.elmcreek.net .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story about friendship, March 16, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Round Robin (Elm Creek Quilts Series #2) (Hardcover)

The small peaceful town of Waterford in Pennsylvania hosts the Elm Creek Quilters, a group of eight women dedicated to passing on their quilting skills to any interested person. The octet runs a quilting camp inside the Elm Creek Manor. The group makes it on national TV, starring in a segment of America's Back Roads.

Two participants, Sarah and Sylvia happen to be two generations apart, but have found a love and support neither one previously knew. Sylvia has known a life of pain and sorrow and desperately wants to spare Sarah from any suffering. She invites Sarah's estrange mother to the manor in hope of reconciling the two estranged family members. Though Sarah fails to open up, the seven other members adopt Carol. Their kindness alienates Sarah until a tragedy makes her realize how fragile and precious a strong relationship is.

The characters of ROUND ROBIN are memorable folks who enrich the story line in many ways. Jennifer Chiaverini has shown in a simple but beautiful plot that people need the support of loved ones to survive a crisis. The tale focuses on the human condition and offers up the hope that, no matter how bleak the situation is; good times are near as long as good friends stand by you. Similar in tone to Jan Karon, this novel is a spiritually uplifting reading experience that serves as the sequel to the wonderful THE QUILTER'S APPRENTICE.

Harriet Klausner

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy successor to The Quilter's Apprentice, March 27, 2000

By 

Debbie (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Round Robin (Elm Creek Quilts Series #2) (Hardcover)

Jennifer Chiaverini scores again with this beautiful follow-up to A Quilter's Apprentice. Elm Creek Quilts has successfully established its series of weeklong quilting retreats, and the quilters have settled into the pattern of teaching assignments, but in this book personal relationships are starting to unravel. Sylvia is determined to reunite Sarah and her mother. Sarah's husband Matt begins to regret what he sees as his and Sarah's dependency on Sylvia. Quilters from all over are coming to Elm Creek to escape and renew, while the Elm Creek Quilters are facing a multitude of personal problems. As the group pieces a round robin as a gift for Sylvia, we learn a little more about the strengths and challenges of all of the women who make up the group. Though at times predictable, the stories are touching, and well-told.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Round Robin, May 1, 2000

By 

Barb P (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Round Robin (Elm Creek Quilts Series #2) (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book --- even more than I enjoyed Quilter's Apprentice. Jennifer has a real talent for capturing the feelings that we quilters share about our work and our families. The story is similar to How To Make An American Quilt, in that it shares a little vignette about each of the lead characters and their lives.

I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to read about quilters and their special connection to each other.