Blog Give-Away: The Giving Quilt novel by Jennifer Chiaverini

Sometimes I am contacted by publishers of quilt-related books to do book reviews or give-aways for my readers.  Today I have a chance for you to win a copy of Jennifer Chiaverini's latest Elm Creek Quilts novel.

 

Here is the information sent by the publisher.

 

 

Thanksgiving inspires generosity once a year, but what happens to the spirit of giving on the other 363 days?  In THE GIVING QUILT, now available from Plume, New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini offers an affecting novel that imagines what good could come from practicing the holiday spirit year round

 

With numerous New York Times bestsellers, Chiaverini is undoubtedly one  of the masters of both modern and historical women's fiction.  In the last year alone, her Elm Creek Quilts novels have graced the bestseller list twice, first with The Wedding Quilt, a twenty-first century celebration of a treasured romantic tradition, and again with Sonoma Rose, a prohibition-era novel about one woman's courageous fight to save her family.

 

Year after year, Chiaverini takes a page from her own life to deliver an emotional and poignant story very close to her heart.  As a long-time member and advocate of Project Linus, an organization dedicated to providing handmade quilts and blankets to children in need, Jennifer decided to donate a very unique and special gift- a prime spot in one of her bestselling novels.

 

At Elm Creek Manor, the circle of quilters is hard a t work preparing for "Quiltsgiving."  Held annually the week after Thanksgiving, expert and novice quilters from near and far gather for a special winter session of quilt camp to make pieces for Project Linus.  As the week unfolds, the quilters respond to the question, "Why do you give?"  in ways as varied s the life experiences that drew them to Elm Creek Manor.  Each of the quilters, including a librarian, a teacher, a college student, and a quilt shop clerk, uses her unique talents to teach, inspire, and give back to her fellow campers.

 

Once a gain Chiaverini delivers the complex characters and rich descriptions of setting and mood that fans and critics have come to expect.  Featuring not only well-loved characters but intriguing newcomers, THE GIVING QUILT will remind us all that it is truly better to give than to receive.

 

And now for the give-away:

 

Leave a comment on this post telling about any charity quilts or blankets that you or your quilt group have made.  Do you participate in Project Linus?  Leave your comment (and be sure to include your e-mail) by Monday,  May 20 at 9:00 PM. 

 

The winner will receive a brand-new paperback copy of THE GIVING QUILT, along with three quilt pins symbolizing three of the Elm Creek Quilts novels.

 

 

 

I have some extra quilt pins to give away, too, so if you enter the drawing you might win a lovely quilt pin.

 

I am currently reading the novel, and will post a review within the next few days.

 

Good luck if you enter the drawing!



 

 



Ricky Tims Fabric Sale

I just received a package of hand-dyed fabric from Ricky Tims.  He had a close-out sale of his Caveman and Rhapsody fabrics last week because he was switching to a new base fabric.  I always liked the very robust hand of his old fabrics, so I hope the new line will be even better.  I got three yards of dark Caveman, a bright orange and a dusty gold.

I have used that dark fabric in the past on many quilts.  I especially like it for bindings as it has blues, purples, and a little blue-green, making it a good blender.

Buying pretty new fabric almost makes up for missing my trip to Mary Jo's last Friday!

Last night I attended a meeting of a book club that I have belonged to since the 1990's.  The members are all former elementary school teachers or staff members.  I worked with many of them at Millbrook Elementary in Raleigh for eleven years.  Now most of them are either retired, or teach at Baileywick Elementary School. 

I have not attended a meeting in a couple of years, although I enjoy reading the monthly e-mails about which book they are discussing.  Last night the meeting was in the Heritage neighborhood, exactly 1.4 miles from my house, so I had no excuse not to venture out!  We talked from 7:00 PM until after 10:00!  I have a new list of great book recommendations.  My suggestion for next month's book was accepted:  The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. 

It is a fictional account of a young girl of Mexican heritage growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago.  The book is actually a series of vignettes, some only a page and a half long, describing the people in her family and neighborhood.  I think it should be required reading for teachers who are now responding to the needs of a growing population of Hispanic students.  I am currently reading Caramelo, by the same author, which goes into more detail of her family, particularly her Mexican grandparents.

I am still having to run back and forth to Rex Hospital every three or four days.  On Monday, my lab results for my anticoagulant levels were back within normal limits, but they still want to monitor me closely after that bad one last Thursday.  I also have a prescription for a compression stocking that I am going to pick up on my next visit on Friday. That is supposed to help with the swelling and pain from the blood clot.  I keep getting more medical bills every day.  I did not know that when you visit the emergency room, you get separate bills from the radiologist, emergency room physicians, and sometimes the lab.  My little fall in the mountains ending up being a costly mistake!  But I am thankful that so far, everything I have is fixable.

How is your week going? 

Sewing and Reading

I have been cocooned in my sewing room for the past two days, finishing up two quilt tops and cutting out another. I have finished the deer fabric Yellow Brick Road, including borders and backing, and also added the borders to my Lilly Pulitzer fabric quilt and made the backing. One of these will go on the Gammill today. It might have to be the Lilly: its bright cheerful fabrics will be a solace for cold winter days!


The one I cut out is using up lots of the other deer/mountain related fabric. I am a little tired of Yellow Brick Road, so I pulled out another Atkinson pattern, Lucky Stars. This one also uses fat quarters cut into strips. This is the quilt on the pattern and the website. I am thinking of combining flannel and regular cotton in the top. Anything wrong with that?


Bonus: Much more space in the sewing room after cutting up all those fabrics and making backings!

While I have been sewing, I have been listening to the audiobook, On Agate Hill by Lee Smith. I love to read books by North Carolina authors, and Lee Smith is certainly a master story-teller. This book follows Molly Petree from her girlhood on a plantation during reconstruction days, to her adult life teaching school. Guess where? In Ashe County, North Carolina! Huge smiles as I listened about living in Jefferson, NC in the late 1800's. Of course this is where we go shopping when we are in the mountains at our cabin. I want to go to the sewing room and make some bindings before quilting on the Gammill, just so I can listen to the end of the story.

When we got back from the very same Ashe County on Monday, I had a Voice message from a woman in my Cary High School class with information about our 40th Re-Union. Yikes! That seems impossible! Our re-union will be very informal, a pig-picking followed by a DJ and dancing. This is to occur on the day we return from our annual beach vacation. Usually that is a day to unwind after frantic packing, traveling, and unpacking. I may be attending by myself if I can't talk DSH into going. I live about 45 minutes from Cary in non-rush hour traffic, and may join the group of planners at the monthly lunch meetings. How fun to re-connect with old school chums.