inspired's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
elligraydee's review against another edition
3.0
a simple story line about relatively boring characters, brought together by their love of quilting. I enjoyed the back story of Mrs Compson growing up and events leading to the demise of her family. The rest...hmmm. Main character Sarah is so lacking in dimension and there's only so much i can read about quilting stitches.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
5.0
What a charming story. I love quilting. I love reading. So this book was just about perfect for me. While it was largely a work of fiction, the aspects about quilting were not. They were very instructional in a non-boring type of way.
Sarah and her husband have recently moved to a small town where he was able to find a job. Having had to give up her own job for the move, Sarah is desperately trying to find one in this place with no luck. No luck that is until she accompanies him to one of his client's he is doing landscaping restoration for.
At first she find Sylvia Compson to be crotchety and rude. Certainly no one to spend a lot of time with. However, when Mrs. Compson offers her a job restoring and cleaning the inside of her beautiful mansion, Sarah agrees on one condition; part of her pay will be quilting lessons. Mrs. Compson quickly agrees and as Sarah spends more time with her she learns that Mrs. Compson truly is a wonderful person and also has many stories to tell and quilting knowledge to share.
Through these stories she is able to see why Mrs. Compson is the way she is and also why she is so hesitant to join a local quilting guild. They also try to devise a way to save Elm Creek Manor, Mrs. Compson's beautiful home.
The writing was largely in the 3rd person except for when Mrs. Compson is telling her stories. Those are told in the first person and are separated by different chapters from the rest of the text. A bit of warning, if you aren't familiar with quilting it could be somewhat hard to understand some of the terminology. As it is, as a novice quilter myself I had to go look up some of the patterns I didn't recognize. But really, that's half the fun!
I look forward to reading the next in the series. Chiaverini apparently has many books out that all relate so its nice to know I can continue enjoying the stories for quite some time. It definitely inspires me to go finish that quilt I've been slacking on!
The Quilter's Apprentice
Copyright 1999
210 pages
Sarah and her husband have recently moved to a small town where he was able to find a job. Having had to give up her own job for the move, Sarah is desperately trying to find one in this place with no luck. No luck that is until she accompanies him to one of his client's he is doing landscaping restoration for.
At first she find Sylvia Compson to be crotchety and rude. Certainly no one to spend a lot of time with. However, when Mrs. Compson offers her a job restoring and cleaning the inside of her beautiful mansion, Sarah agrees on one condition; part of her pay will be quilting lessons. Mrs. Compson quickly agrees and as Sarah spends more time with her she learns that Mrs. Compson truly is a wonderful person and also has many stories to tell and quilting knowledge to share.
Through these stories she is able to see why Mrs. Compson is the way she is and also why she is so hesitant to join a local quilting guild. They also try to devise a way to save Elm Creek Manor, Mrs. Compson's beautiful home.
The writing was largely in the 3rd person except for when Mrs. Compson is telling her stories. Those are told in the first person and are separated by different chapters from the rest of the text. A bit of warning, if you aren't familiar with quilting it could be somewhat hard to understand some of the terminology. As it is, as a novice quilter myself I had to go look up some of the patterns I didn't recognize. But really, that's half the fun!
I look forward to reading the next in the series. Chiaverini apparently has many books out that all relate so its nice to know I can continue enjoying the stories for quite some time. It definitely inspires me to go finish that quilt I've been slacking on!
The Quilter's Apprentice
Copyright 1999
210 pages
kdferrin's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this book was okay but there was nothing really special or memorable about it.
laural's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
barnettbunch's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good, sweet story. Not earth-shattering, but kept me interested. Predictable, but in a sweet way. A nice book, will likely continue the series when I just want a book that is refreshing, between deep or intense books. (As a side note, the quilting fascinated me, perhaps because I love quilts. :))