Rating: 
Summary: Round Robin is charming & thoughful
Review: A round robin quilt is created by sewing patchwork to a central block as it is passed around a circle of friends. As The Elm Creek Quilters embark on a gift for their beloved founder, the threads of their happiness begin to unravel.A well designed novel of emotions & choices, friendship & disappointments; of generations, fears & of finding one's path. As each woman adds her efforts to their Round Robin Quilt, she also adds her story to the history of Elm Creek Manor. In the vibrant greens, blues & golds of assorted fabrics, their quilt is a symbol of their complex & inter-stitched lives that unify mothers & daughters, sisters & friends. A lovely womanly read! Reminded me so much of my hours with my quilting sisters, sometimes in the bright autumn light & sometimes in the chilly dank of winter. Sometimes outside on a beach in spring & sometimes in a meadow in summer - we stitched & talked, cried & laughed as our quilts evolved into things of great beauty & our friendship into lifetime relationships. Do check out my site for my full review & other reviews of quilting books.
Rating: 
Summary: Worse than her First
Review: Can I give a review on a book I haven't actually finished? I just can't bear to pick it up to read. Her 1st book, The Quilter's Apprentice, was lackluster and poorly editted; but I made it through. I only have this book because Amazon had a 2-for-1 special. I hoped for improvement, but I'm extremely disappointed. It's so boring, it's making me angry! I doubt I'll finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I came across these books (I bought the Sampler- the first three books) while looking for something to read on vacation. These books are exactly what I have been looking for. I loved getting to know each of the Tangled Web quilters. Their stories were rich and varied. What a wonderful group to be a part of and I am part of their group each time I pick up the book. This is not just a book for "crafty" women. It's a book for mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, and anyone who has (or has not) ever picked up a needle. Also, there is nothing objectionable in this book - no crude language, no violence, no sex - a very pleasant read. (You can share it with your grandmother!) I have to warn you though - this book will spark another interest besides reading! When can we find time to learn to quilt and can we get together at Elm Creek?
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I came across these books (I bought the Sampler- the first three books) while looking for something to read on vacation. These books are exactly what I have been looking for. I loved getting to know each of the Tangled Web quilters. Their stories were rich and varied. What a wonderful group to be a part of and I am part of their group each time I pick up the book. This is not just a book for "crafty" women. It's a book for mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, and anyone who has (or has not) ever picked up a needle. Also, there is nothing objectionable in this book - no crude language, no violence, no sex - a very pleasant read. (You can share it with your grandmother!) I have to warn you though - this book will spark another interest besides reading! When can we find time to learn to quilt and can we get together at Elm Creek?
Rating:
Summary: A pleasure to read!
Review: In the first book of the series, Quilter's Apprentice, the Elm Creek quilt camp is established. In this second book of the series, author Chiaverini takes us deeper into the lives of the Elm Creek Quilters. We read about a mother and daughter who don't get along, a woman whose father deserted her mother before she was born, a mother having trouble with her teenage son, a quilter whose husband is considering adultery, and others. Quilters will probably enjoy this book on several levels, but even a non-quilter such as myself can appreciate reading about the talents of others and will enjoy the friendship and support that the women in this book give to one another.
Rating:
Summary: Life As a Quilt
Review: It's a metaphor that may be old, may be even trite, but in this simply lovely story, sequel to "The Quilter's Apprentice," it works. In this novel, we meet all our old friends, women of various ages and circumstances, who make up the Elm Creek Quilters, formed at the end of the last book. As a surprise for matriarch Sylvia, whose mansion now houses a quilt camp for paying guests, her fellow Elm Creek Quilters decide to gift her with a round robin--a quilt of many designs and colors, each design personal to the woman who creates and sews it. As each woman works on her design, we are allowed into her most private life, and we see--instead of the fairly one-dimensional people we met in the last book--gifted, creative people with richly interwoven lives, just like the quilt. We are privy to their secrets, their sorrows and their joys as each of their quilt sections is created to mirror their most personal selves. In the end, the quilt is a varied collection of interweaving but highly individual sections that--when sewn together--make an exquisite and unbreakable whole. Just like the women themselves and their strong and unbreakable friendship. Like the creation of a quilt itself (which I have never done, but want to do more than ever, courtesy of this book and its predecessor), the story is told quietly, slowly, and in a methodical rhythm that should be boring--but is decidedly not. If you are looking for a fast-paced, hard-hitting story, this is not your book. But if you like a truly "good" book, in every sense of the word, with good old-fashioned values set in a 21st-century world, this is a treasure. I am so glad to have discovered Jennifer Chiaverini and her joy of quilting, and I am so glad to be given the chance to share it with her, even though my quilting talents are nil. A beautiful, highly recommended book for young and old alike. Give it a try!
Rating:
Summary: Loved, loved, loved it!!
Review: It's a metaphor that may be old, may be even trite, but in this simply lovely story, sequel to "The Quilter's Apprentice," it works. In this novel, we meet all our old friends, women of various ages and circumstances, who make up the Elm Creek Quilters, formed at the end of the last book. As a surprise for matriarch Sylvia, whose mansion now houses a quilt camp for paying guests, her fellow Elm Creek Quilters decide to gift her with a round robin--a quilt of many designs and colors, each design personal to the woman who creates and sews it. As each woman works on her design, we are allowed into her most private life, and we see--instead of the fairly one-dimensional people we met in the last book--gifted, creative people with richly interwoven lives, just like the quilt. We are privy to their secrets, their sorrows and their joys as each of their quilt sections is created to mirror their most personal selves. In the end, the quilt is a varied collection of interweaving but highly individual sections that--when sewn together--make an exquisite and unbreakable whole. Just like the women themselves and their strong and unbreakable friendship. Like the creation of a quilt itself (which I have never done, but want to do more than ever, courtesy of this book and its predecessor), the story is told quietly, slowly, and in a methodical rhythm that should be boring--but is decidedly not. If you are looking for a fast-paced, hard-hitting story, this is not your book. But if you like a truly "good" book, in every sense of the word, with good old-fashioned values set in a 21st-century world, this is a treasure. I am so glad to have discovered Jennifer Chiaverini and her joy of quilting, and I am so glad to be given the chance to share it with her, even though my quilting talents are nil. A beautiful, highly recommended book for young and old alike. Give it a try!
Rating:
Summary: A worthy successor to The Quilter's Apprentice
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A tale of two quilts
Review: Reading Round Robin, or any of the other quilting books by Jennifer Chiaverini, is the literary equivalent to being wrapped in a warm, broken star quilt on a cold winter's night.
"It was an act of courage to take the scraps life provided and stitch them together, wrestling the chaos into order, taking what had been cast off and creating something from it, something useful, beautiful, and strong, something whose true value was known only to the heart of the woman who made it."
Agnes thinks these words as she appliques the center block of the round robin quilt she and the other members of the Elm Creek Quilters are making for their quilt camp. In a round robin quilt, one woman makes the center block, and then others make the boarders to complement the center square. This book follows the journey of a group of friends as they work to complete a quilt for their mentor, Sylvia, to hang at the main entrance to the quilting camp they have developed together. Each of these women face everyday hardships along the way - dealing with their teenage sons, meeting a new half-sister, choosing the course of their career, and dealing with their estranged mothers. These experiences help guide their choices in their quilts, with them each choosing colors and patterns that represent their individual journeys as women. The book guides us through their experiences, and how both their lives and art become richer as a result of them. In the meantime, Sylvia is attempting to make a quilt of her own. To do so will require courage, strength, and perhaps a bit of love that she has been missing. This book is a wonderful follow-up to the Quilter's Apprentice. It makes the reader feel a part of this warm and caring group of friends, and experience their journeys. There is no need to quilt to enjoy these books - just a need to be able to appreciate the joy that comes through women's lives.
Rating:
Summary: A Story of Quilting and Friendship
Review: Round Robin is the second book in the Elm Creek Quilt series and a wonderful follow up to Ms. Chiaverini's her first book The Quilter's Apprentice. Both of these books left me with a desire to learn to quilt and an appreciation for my friendships, both in the present and past.
Along with her young friend Sarah and members of the Tangled Quilters, Sylvia Compson has turned her ancestral home, Elm Creek Manor, into a camp and school for quilters. While each member of this group work on a round robin quilt for Sylvia, each member of the group's past or present is explored. While some of the women's lives and dillemmas are more interesting than others, this book continues to delve into the past realtionshup between Sylvia and her sister in law, Agnes Emberly who is also a quilter.
This was a good read which was reminiscent of How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto. In Round Robin, the author presents her readers with wonderful characters who I now feel are like friends. I look forward to reading the next title, Cross Country Quilters shortly, as well as the other books in this series. I do hope I enjoy the other books as much as the first two.
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