Second book in a fortnight (3rd in 2 months) dealing with a side of slavery. Whilst this is #7 in the Elm Creek series, I didn ( )

I made it through 3 discs and this story just didn't catch my attention. I like the Elm Creek Quilter ladies stories better. ( )

Unsteady start with stilted dialogue and cliched situations but Chiaverini eventually got into her stride and it turned out to be an intriguing and thought provoking read. ( )

Excellent addition to series. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery. ( )

This series is a bit repetitive and predictable. But they are still fun reads. ( )

Sugar Camp Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini
Wanted to read all the books in the series and this one sounds fascinating.
Dorothea is making Uncle Jacob's quilt. He had a certain design but to her the squares did not make sense.
Once you realize what they are depicting the secret will be out. The story tells of the times before the war when slaves were owned by others.
She hopes to get the quilt done for Christmas day to surprise him. She really labored over it and he didn't seem to appreciate her best work.
The women are also involved in album blocks where everybody signs a section of muslin. It is also known as chimney sweep and they are hoping to get 80 blocks.
Days later she notices the quilt is not on the back of the rocking chair. Silas had given her a gift-silver comb and mirror and she will treasure it.
Her uncle is acting differently than normal and is making more trips to the camp and she watches for clues as to what is going on...
Loved the chat about the maples and how they were tapped back then. So many mysteries, loved the clues and following the trails.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device). ( )

I've read several books in Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts series and all of them up until now have centered on Sylvia Compson and friends in modern-day Elm Creek, Pennsylvania who have a quilting retreat. This book is a deviation from that pattern. It is set in Elm Creek, but it deals with a period prior to the American Civil War when slaves were making their escape via the Underground Railroad. Dorothea Granger is the main character. She and her parents live with her uncle Jacob who asks her to quilt a most unusual pattern that makes no sense to her. She tries to correct the pattern, but he is very insistent that she follow the pattern. She later discovers that the quilt was a map to direct escaped slaves to the next safe haven on the underground railroad. There are some other threads running in the book including Dorothea's replacement as teacher by a man with a criminal record and fundraising for a new library. It's a quite pleasant historical novel, even if I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get to visit with Sylvia and friends. ( )

Good! A quilt is used to show guests on underground railroad the path to the next station. ( )

Aside from the "Runaway Quilt," which partly set in modern time and partly set during the civil war, this is the first book I've read which is entirely on the Underground Railroad. It reminds me somewhat of books I've read about people hiding Jews during WWII. Since Dorothea was a friend of Sylvia Compson's first ancestors in Elm Creek, I thought they would be in it, but this proceeds it by a few years and tells how they get involved in helping runaway slaves. ( )

This is the first book in the series I have read. I didn't expect much from it, but was surprised at how I was sucked into the story. Good read. ( )

Long before Elm Creek Quilts opened for business, quilting played a role in local history. Schoolteacher Dorothea Granger and her parents live on her uncle's farm after the failure of their utopian farm venture. Dorothea naively believes that all of Creek's Crossing's polite society shares her family's social ideals, including abolitionist views. As the events of the book unfold, Dorothea learns just how mistaken she has been.

The Runaway Quilt is my favorite of the Elm Creek Quilts books I've read so far, and I looked forward to revisiting some of the characters who were introduced in that book. Set in about 1850, the events of The Sugar Camp Quilt precede The Runaway Quilt by a few years. I didn't love The Sugar Camp Quilt quite as much as The Runaway Quilt, but it was still an absorbing read with its mixture of danger and romance. Jane Austen's readers will immediately recognize where the romance part of the story is headed.

This book is tied to the Elm Creek Quilts series primarily by location. It can easily be read as a stand-alone and, with its historical setting, it may appeal to a broader range of readers than do other books in this series. ( )

The 7th in the Elm Creek Quilters series, but this one covers the era before the American Civil War and doesn't once leave its time frame. If you want to read this, then I suggest you read the first six as characters have already been introduced. Nice homage to Jane Austen - I shall say no more, except read it! ( )

Continuing storyline of the Elm Creek ladies. Fun, easy read. ( )

Amish lifestyles ( )