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

~ (Author) "JULIA LOATHED retirement parties..." (more)
Key Phrases: quilt camp, challenge quilt, other quilters, Aunt Lynn, Elm Creek Manor, Julia Merchaud (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From 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.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Readers of The Quilter's Apprentice and Round Robin have been enchanted by Elm Creek Quilt Camp, where women gather each year for quilting, friendship, and fun. The third in the Elm Creek Quilts series introduces the Cross-Country Quilters, a group of far-flung friends who pledge to complete a "challenge quilt" -- symbolic of each woman's personal goals -- in one year's time.

These five women arrive at Elm Creek Manor hoping to find in their quilt lessons an escape from the problems they left at home. Julia, an aging starlet, has pinned her hopes to a plum role in a historical epic whose director is under the mistaken impression that Julia already knows how to quilt. Megan is a successful engineer who has won prizes for her miniature quilt designs. The one challenge she has yet to master is single motherhood. Donna, a mother of two, must hasten to teach her daughter independence and self-esteem -- lessons she, too, must take to heart. Grace is a renowned curator of antique quilts, whose creative flair is waning for reasons she is unwilling to reveal -- even to her closest friends. Vinnie, the senior member of the group, is a sunny soul with a tragic past. Her overwhelming desire is to bring happiness into the lives of those she loves.

Although the Cross-Country Quilters share a common creative goal, as the year goes by their bonds are tested by the demands of daily life. But despite differences in age, race, and background, the friends' love for quilting and affection for one another unite them in a patchwork of caring and acceptance. The quilt they make reminds them of an everlasting truth -- friends may be separated by great distance, yet the strength of their bond can transcend any obstacle.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Edition edition (April 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743202570
• ISBN-13: 978-0743202572
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #114,226 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Elm Creek Quilts Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't have to be a quilter to appreciate this book, April 17, 2001

By	Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Cross Country Quilters is the first book by Jennifer Chiaverini I have read. I also know nothing about quilting. Quilting knowledge is not a prerequisit to reading and enjoying this book. Much like Julia, the newest quilter at Elm Creek Quilt Camp, I was slowly drawn into the world of material,color, and design. During a summer session of quilt camp a unlikely grouping of friends takes root, and they promise to continue their friendship through designing and completing their own block of a challange quilt. They plan to meet the following summer to piece the blocks together. The five women, Julia, Vinnie, Megan, Grace and Donna return home not only to face the challanges of the quilt blocks. They also must face the continuing challanges of their busy lives with work, family, careers, and illness. At times it seems that each woman has too much to deal with, without worrying about the planned meeting the following summer. Just as quilting combines materials which don't seem to have much in common, Jennifer Chiaverini, using the theme of quilting and friendship, intertwines these women's varied lives with warmth and believability. I look forward to reading the other books by this author.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely novel, March 18, 2002

By	K. Fromal "kristinof" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Chiaverini has again written a beautiful, heartwarming story covering the lives of friends, and how women can come together over objects they create from their own hands.

An unlikely circle of women meet at Elm Creek Manor for a week-long quilt camp. As these women begin working on various projects, they realize that they are all experiencing different stresses in their lives. The women experience illness, trouble with their children and grandchildren, and work difficulties. None are extraordinary hardships - they are what women everywhere face on a daily basis. In order to help each other with their problems, the women decide to work on a challenge quilt - however, they are not permitted to start on their square until they have addressed the problems afflicting their lives.

As the book progresses, each woman is followed on her individual journey. The stories are perhaps predictable, but are told with such loving care that the reader cannot help but find themselves cheering each of these lovely people on.

The only disappointment about Cross-Country Quilters is that little time was devoted to Elm Creek Manor itself. Through Chiaverini's last two books I have grown to love the Elm Creek Quilters, and was looking forward to reading about their latest triumphs.

Overall, Cross-Country Quilters is a wonderful read and is well-recommended.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful work of women's fiction, February 18, 2001

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Everyone familiar with the hobby respects the famous quilting retreat at Elm Creak Manor in Waterford, Pennsylvania. Strangers come there to camp and life long friendships have formed such as the accidental meeting of the Cross-Country Quilters who vow to return next year.

The group consists of people from a wide variety of lifestyles. Long time attendee octogenarian Vinnie has been at Elm Creek every year since it opened. Julia the actress needs to learn the art for a part. Award winning Grace suffers from a nasty medical diagnosis that has left her with a quilter's mental block. Megan earned a week at the camp as a prize from a quilting magazine and is accompanied by her cyber-friend Donna, escaping from a daughter that is worrying her to death. Even after the camp ends, the participants stay in contact encouraging, boosting, and cheering each one's triumphs.

Jennifer Chiaverini has written a special book that demonstrates the resiliency and courage of an extraordinary group of determined women. Although Elm Creek manor is not the star of the story line, it serves as they catalyst that generates the development of subplots into a cohesive tale. THE CROSS COUNTRY Quilters is a powerful women's mainstream fiction at its literary best.

Harriet Klausner