Jennifer Chiaverini has written more than forty books, but she is a new-to-me author! I will definitely be on the look out for more of her titles. The Museum of Lost Quilts is a part of the large Em Creek Quilts series, but I was unaware of that until I read the author's note at the end. It worked very well as a stand-alone read. I found it enthralling. Summer Sullivan is struggling to complete her masters thesis, having lost the heart for it has brought on a bad case of writer's block. Looking for a place of peace and refuge, Summer returns to her home among the Elm Creek Quilters. Once there, she quickly gets side-tracked with a project for the local historical society, collecting quilts of historical significance and curating an exhibit of these quilts. That in itself is a great undertaking, but a local businessman is determined to make it even more difficult.

Not only did I immensely enjoy the well-written story, I was very interested in the object labels for he exhibited quilts. Their descriptions and history were intriguing. I highly recommend The Museum of Lost Quilts to readers of women's fiction, to those who have an interest in historical artifacts or quilting, and to those who enjoy stories of finding one's true self. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of this novel from William Morrow/Harper Collins Publishers via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini is a throwback to her earlier series of books about the Elm Creek Quilter and one I welcome with open arms. Summer has come home, well, to be at home. She has worked tirelessly on her Masters’ degree and has only to finish her thesis, but she had lost her momentum. While she is ruminating over how to start, she is offered a temporary position as the curator for a quilt show at the Historical Society. Doing what she loves, she throws herself into it, learning about her community as she does. Not everyone is thrilled with her results, however and tries to undermine the exhibit and the historical society. The Elm Creek Quilters rally around Summer as they would any of their number and she is able to locate historic quilts as well as information one some that have been lost to time. The exhibit is a success. The thesis is completed. What next?

Summer is a complex character who appears to be much simpler than she really is. She care deeply about Cross Creek and the Elm Creek Quilters and the business she helped build. She is questioning her desire to become a college professor, but doesn’t want to disappoint her mother. It is difficult for a young adult to chart their future and Summer is going through that time in her life. It was a complex and interesting read, even if you aren’t totally in love with the series. Thanks Jennifer Chiaverini for revisiting this wonderful series!

I was invited to read The Museum of Lost Quilts by William Morrow. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #JenniferChiaverini #TheMuseumOfLost Quilts #ElmCreekQuilters

Full disclosure, this is the latest book in a series and the first one I have read. That being said, there was set up with the characters and references in the beginning to happenings in the past so I understood where we were in the story but I would imagine that if I was a devotee of the series I would have understood the characters much better.

Summer comes back to Elm Creek because she has hit a brick wall writing her graduate thesis. She comes back "home" and gets wrapped up in curating a quilt display at the rebuilding of the historical museum. The mysteries surrounding some quilts and the letters and memoirs related to other quilts keep her busy with research, something she is very good at. She also meets a young man at the local college library who she is intrigued by.

It's a nice story with some interesting factoids about the history of quilts. I did learn some but I think the book would really appeal to someone who quilts; there was a lot of referencing to various types of patterns and stitches which mean nothing to me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Jennifer Chiaverini for allowing me to review this gem, The Museum of List Quilts.
I stumbled onto this book by recommendation of someone in one of my book clubs and I blindly requested a copy. Little did I know that It was book number 22 in the series, nonetheless it was completely standalone, I was not lost at all.
In the books opening, we find Summer a disillusioned masters candidate coming home for the summer to try and finish her thesis that she’s been given an extension to complete. Home, in this case is not a single-family dwelling, but a quilters haven. Elk Creek Manor is a beautiful old sprawling estate that has been restored to It’s former Glory to become a seasonal quilting camp. As the story unfolds, we learned that Summer is no longer happy with the direction her education has taken and she has found out that her thesis topic had been covered a couple years earlier and is now struggling to not lose all of her work, but also finish what she started, but now in a different way.
Summer is a member Of the Elm Creek quilters who, along with her mother, best friend, the manor's owner, and an hand full of other quilters guild members founded the camp to give quilters a place to go for a week to learn and participate In anything quilting.
One of the members of the Guild is also president of Waterford Historical Society. The society has recently begun renovating an original city structure, which was known as the Union Hall. Before renovations of this structure could begin the society had to win a court case declaring it a historical landmark, but the fight was not an easy one as a local realtor/land developer wanted this prime piece of property as well. After the society won the court battle, they decided their first exhibit was to honor local quilters of the region because quilting in the early days were also used as family trees, or told a story that had much historical value. They were looking for quilts that told the story of Elm Creek, beginning with Elm Creeks Manor owners own family quilt.
Aside from working on her thesis, Summer needed something to fill her time. The guild asked her to become the curator of the museums first exhibit. The guild had already advertised the search for quilts and had received a number of requests to have quilts considered for the exhibit. With Summers research capabilities she was the perfect person. She would contact the owners of quilts and determine from the available information weathere it had historical value, then research their provenance and ultimately hang in the building new gallery. In her position Summer found out much more of the history of her beloved city and how its residence came together through the various wars that its population served. It was not all favorable but is all history and needed to be shared.
As Summer concludes her research and the union hall is unveiled in a grand reopening, the story is all tied together and Summer gets her life back on track
I am not a quilter and have to admit I had my phone handy to look up the different term and types of quilts as they were mentioned, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I will definitely search out the rest of the series. I rate this 4⭐️

Readers who loved the Elm Creek Quilt series will enjoy this 22nd book in the series. Those who have not read the previous ones will like this story as well. The timeline is a little off but the author weaves another story of quilting as Summer joins in the save the museum. The history of the quilts gives readers a glimpse into past times as quilters came together to support their love ones and communities. Loved catching up with all the quilters. The story is a bit predictable but enjoyable. Recommended.

Summer returns to Elm Creek to make difficult decisions about her future. Surrounded by family, old friends and fellow quilters she finds exciting new opportunities. As curator for an exhibit of historic quilts, Summer not only finds quilts that tell the history of Elm Creek to exhibit but enough leads on quilts long missing to turn the exhibit into The Museum of Lost Quilts. A journey into history and self discovery.
The Museum Lost Quilts is a wonderful return trip to Elm Creek and characters that are like old friends. I love this series and highly recommend it to anyone who loves stories of friendship, history and quilts.

This is a very interesting book about quilts and their history. Summer is a member of the quilting guild that is restoring a historic landmark and adding quilts to their display. She is attending college, writing her thesis and contemplating going for her doctorate. Things change when she goes home and gets more involved in the history of "lost quilts" and trying to obtain them for the museum they are opening. The museum will help to raise funds for the restoration of the hall it is located in. There are many twists and turns and some opposition to the quilts and their subject matter. I recommend this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

I have followed this series from almost the beginning, devouring the new additions as soon as they came out, so I was excited about this one, despite not liking the last Christmas one. It’s been a while since I’ve had a new one so it makes sense that there would be a little reminiscing and scene setting in this one, but the real story doesn’t start until 20% into the book – that’s too much! I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to get a new story. When it finally does start, it gets interesting, with the histories of the various quilts but it felt like an information dump all centered around a not-so-interesting character. Summer took forever to get to the conclusion we all immediately figured out and it got old. I wish I had liked this one more.

I was so happy to return to Elm Creek Quilts for this satisfying “conclusion” to the series. I enjoyed catching up with old friends, as well as learning of how the history of quilting in general, as well as of several quilts in particular, both reflected and influenced the history of the area. And although the novel is set twenty years ago, the theme of re-writing history to show only the good is dishearteningly current.

Although this novel might be more satisfying to fans of the series, it can be easily read and enjoyed by anyone who likes reading about local history, quilting, and handcrafts. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Museum of Lost Quilts is a sequel to the author's popular Elm Creek Quilts cozy series. Jennifer Chiaverini wrote the novel in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the publication of the first book in the series.

In this installment of the series
Summer Sullivan, the youngest founding member of Elm Creek Quilts, has spent the last two years pursuing a master’s degree in history at the University of Chicago. Her unexpected return home to the celebrated quilter’s retreat is met with delight but also concern from her mother, Gwen; her best friend, Sarah; master quilter Sylvia; and her other colleagues—and rightly so. Stymied by writer’s block, Summer hasn’t finished her thesis, and she can’t graduate until she does. Elm Creek Manor offers respite while Summer struggles to meet her extended deadline. She finds welcome distraction in organizing an exhibit of antique quilts as a fundraiser to renovate Union Hall, the 1863 Greek Revival headquarters of the Waterford Historical Society. But Summer’s research uncovers startling facts about Waterford’s past, prompting unsettling questions about racism, economic injustice, and political corruption within their community, past and present.

I loved this novel!!! It was an enjoyable trip down memory lane. In many ways this book is historical fiction. As Summer researches quilts loaned for display, she finds clues to her hometown's past. During the Civil War, the ladies of the area quilt guild made a victory quilt with the names of local soldiers stitched into each block. Summer uncovers that there was another local quilt guild that made a victory quilt for auction too. The reality that these guilds were segregated by race shocks her. The main historian for the town in the mid-1800s was a former slave who was a successful businessman. However, when the KKK found its way into Waterford, he packed up his family and moved to Colorado. As news about the quilt display spreads, Summer hears about additional quilts that the owners have lost. Her daily readings of old newspapers and diaries shed light on other area quilts such as the Sugar Camp Quilt and an Authors Album Quilt where she is unable to locate the quilt owner. As she researches these quilts, Summer uncovers more and more secrets in the area's history.

In addition, she finds examples of signature quilts (contains signatures of well known people) as well as opportunity quilts, which were made for the sole purpose of raising money to fund a worthy cause. While Summer is a long time series character, it seemed to me that her research activities mirrored those of the author. Both did research on Civil War era quilts for this novel.

Fans of the series will definitely want to read this one. If the series is new to you, I recommend starting with the first book in the series.

The Museum of Lost Quilts is an endearing read containing sweet friendships among a group of quilters. While one of their younger members, Summer Sullivan, is in the middle of her own personal academic crisis, a mystery reveals itself to her giving her an opportunity to resolve not only her own problems, but those of her hometown community. As Summer works to coordinate a fundraiser to renovate the historic Union Hall consisting of antique quilts and save it from the hands of a local vapid developer, she struggles to simultaneously work to salvage her graduate plans to complete a thesis that is hanging on by a thread of an impending extended deadline. History lovers will enjoy the fascinating Civil War bits of significance. I personally enjoyed to camaraderie of the quilters as they triumph over their nemesis and secure a historically significant building for the community.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. #TheMuseumofLostQuilts #NetGalley

I truly enjoyed this book! Jennifer Chiaverini writes with such passion and imagery! I found myself picturing the beautiful quilts described in the book!

The characters are very familiar and endearing! I enjoyed getting to know Summer more! She's inspiring! The sense of community and comradery among the ladies is heartwarming! I love how they rally around each other!

I was provided a copy of the book from HarperCollins Publishers via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Loved this beautiful novel and was excited to continue with this incredible series. My mother (a quilter) and I read the first twenty books 12-15 years ago and loved all of the amazing characters and their stories.
Ms. Chiaverini does an amazing job with the backstories so everyone can enjoy this story whether they have read the series or not.
Eagerly awaiting the next book!!

In 2013 I discovered the Elm Creek Quilts series. Originating in 2000, it now celebrates its 25th anniversary with a 22nd entry. I’ve only read seven but consider it a favorite literary palate cleanser. The recurring themes involve quilting (obviously), southern US history and female friendship. Whatever dilemma faces the Quilters is ultimately and sometimes unexpectedly resolved. Each novel focuses on one character while still detailing others.

Here the spotlight shines on the youngest quilter, Summer Sullivan. Giving up a free ride to Penn to start Elm Creek Quilts has left Summer with an overachieving desire to follow in fellow quilter (and her mom) Gwen’s footsteps into academia no matter what. To that end, she attends graduate school and is about to finish her Masters at the University of Chicago with plans to pursue a Doctorate in History. Then she unexpectedly shows up at the Manor with a secret and a dilemma.

Being at home gives Summer an unlikely opportunity - create and curate a historical collection of quilts while completing her thesis. The museum is an ingenious plot device. Museums are apolitical, detailing only facts. Even if the historical record is incomplete, diligent research can reveal at least fragments. That’s an essential skill. Not to mention highlights libraries!

This entry surprised me, which might be why I am suffering the same writer’s block as Summer. I expected a familiar, easy read. But it isn’t. Reading about the Southern US now evokes different feelings, most of which in my case are unfortunately negative. It’s difficult to write this without invoking politics, which now seem to polarize so many discussions. There were a few parts where I cringed and a few where I became incensed. Why can’t there be one series without politics? I thought. But I kept reading. Thankfully.

This is a novel about growth. Growth of a nation through using quilts to provide Underground Railroad directions. Sometimes it is essential to step back and look at things more objectively, like Summer’s quilt labels. In the end, history happened. It cannot be changed. One’s relationship with history depends on the individual and someone’s individual perspective. Perspective also oftentimes missing.

I enjoyed the read so much I went to Chiaverini’s website. What I didn’t know is that the site contains pictures of quilts she made after finishing the novels. One in particular called Authors Album contains signatures from famous writers. I highly recommend you check out both the novel and the site. A quarter century is a long time. This novel shows not just the changes in the country, but also the changes in us. That’s something that cannot be examined enough.

I have read other books by Jennifer Chiaverini but none in this series. I enjoyed this lovely novel. The author did a great job of smoothly introducing characters with just enough background that even if you were new to this complicated group of quilters you understood relationships and interactions. The main themes of learning from history and empowering women were interwoven throughout the book.
I can see why this series is so beloved. I have several quilting friends who I will be especially recommending this series to.

The Museum of Lost Quilts is book number 22 in a series. Without reading any of the other books in the series, this was a easy book to enjoy and get lost in. Summer took a break from graduate school and returned to Elm Creek Manor. Elm Creek Manor was almost a home away from home for Summer. Quilting camps were held at the manor. While back in town, Summer got involved in resorting the Union Hall through curating a quilt display that old about the city and the quilts historical connections. She researched all of the historical connections and was ablet to help save the Union Hall preserving the towns history. This was a nice read even without reading the other books in the series. The author did a great job researching the historical connections and providing all of the detailed quilting information throughout the story, Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book for a review.

The Museum of Lost Quilts is sweet book about, Summer Sullivan, and her struggles to preserve the history of quilting in her community.

This is not the first book in the series, but the first one I’ve read. I was able to follow along without reading any of the others.

Summer is at a crossroads in her life and takes a break to come home and help out with the community quilting camp that she helped found. While she is there,she uncovers some unsettling information about the history of the quilting guilds in the area. Summer ends up having to stand up for what’s right in the face of adversity.

It was hard for me to connect to Summer’s character. I understood her actions but not who she was as a person. There are references to her activities, the food she eats and what people are doing around her but it doesn’t go much deeper. This is probably because I haven’t read the previous books in the series.

I liked all of the quilting references and learning about the history of quilting, however this was not a book I would usually read. I thought it was a mystery and it’s not. Maybe that’s why I ended up not enjoying its as much as I thought I would. I think people who enjoy quilting and like a cozy, warm read will enjoy this book.

This was a very intricate historical mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed! I found it fascinating as the mystery unfolded and felt I was right there with the characters ss they experienced the happenings! I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their deep personalities, relationship, and experiences.. I especially enjoyed the way the story depicted the historical political and social attitude changes highlighted by the mystery. and the way the characters stood up for the inequality associated with the attitudes of those who had not yet changed. All in all this was a very interesting book emphasizing the way our every day arts portray and are effected by our social values.

For me, reading The Museum of Lost Quilts by Jennifer Chiaverini was like coming home. Sometimes you don’t fully understand the people you’ve missed until you come in contact with them again. And then, sigh, it’s just so comforting. Chiaverini puts a note at the end that she had to change some of the futures for our favorite characters she had previously written in the novel she intended to be the last of The Elm Creek Quilters series. Let me raise my hand just to say that I don’t mind! Summer makes a surprising trip home to Elm Creek when she finds herself unable to complete her thesis and her masters degree. She is hoping that home and the people she loves will help her to complete the job. She quickly becomes involved in her familiar world (as does this reader 😀). She leads yoga, accepts the position of curator for a display of historical quilts - and through her research revisits one of her favorite places, the university library. She is even battling the bad guy - Gregory Krolich and his Universal Realty in an effort to preserve the historical Union Hall.
The characters of Elm Creek are old friends to me, I am delighted to meet up with them again. As with most friends, I was quickly back into the rhythm and remembering the individual characteristics of each and eager to hear what was new in their lives. In so many ways, Summer spoke to me this time, so I was happy to see her featured. (More later.) Chiaverini does such a good job of creating conflict and suspense in a genre that is not a thriller or even a straight up mystery. She relates directly to those of us living in communities we love and trying to do what we can to improve them. She is also excellent with infusing history into this work. Learning about the civil war has always been interesting to me and the plot points that explore the quilts of his era and their historical impact is fascinating.
So, Summer spoke to me. I guess I am currently drawn to characters who are conflicted about the direction their lives should go. She was very committed to a path and is no longer sure that the path is right for her. Her instincts send her home to the people she has loved and trusted her whole life to try and figure things out. They give her a soft place to land, but challenge her to challenge herself. I am blessed with friends and family who will do that for me. I am slow to make decisions and very quick to second guess them. I am grateful for the support I receive in those processes. Also, I am a retired librarian who has longed to be a museum curator. How can I not love that part of Summer’s journey? Librarians matter. Artifacts matter. History matters. Community matters. Family matters. Tradition matters. In the Museum of Lost Quilts, Jennifer Chiaverini illustrates these and much more. Welcome back to Elm Creek.

Where has this series been all my life?! Even though this is the most recent book in the Elm Creek Quilts series, I will be going back to read them all. “The Museum of Lost Quilts” got me hooked on Jennifer’s Chiaverini’s writing. It was a fun, easy read with a great storyline and historial pieces woven throughout. I loved this!