Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts novels are as lovingly crafted and heartwarming as the homemade quilts featured prominently in each story. The milestone 20th entry in this charming series, The Giving Quiltchronicles the week af-ter Thanksgiving- Quiltsgiving- as residents of Elm Creek Manor find creative ways to answer the question, ''Why do you give?''

"Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can't whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot. He doesn't know why he's a quilt. His parents are both sheets, and so are all of his friends. (His great-grandmother was a lace curtain, but that doesn't really help cheer him up.) He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can't...

The making of "Show ways," or quilts which once served as secret maps for freedom-seeking slaves, is a tradition passed from mother to daughter in the author's family.

In this creative nonfiction story, Jennifer and her friends at the community center are making a quilt. They begin with lots of colorful fabrics and an idea. Then they measure, cut, stitch, layer, and quilt. It's the work of many hands, many hours, and many stories. And the result is something warm and wonderful they can all share. Lizzy Rockwell tells the heartwarming story of a diverse group of people coming together to make things both lasting...

The impending marriage of Elm Creek's most renowned quilting instructor prompts the stitching of a perfect commemorative bridal quilt, an endeavor that is challenged by closely guarded secrets among the Elm Creek Quilters.

In this latest entry to the bestselling Elm Creek Quilts series, quilting queen Bonnie Markham explores Hawaii and learns about the islands' quilting traditions while setting up a tropical quilt camp. Weary from a difficult divorce battle, Bonnie leaves beloved Elm Creek Manor and takes up her friend's invitation to start the camp; once in Hawaii, she gets to work on hiring staff and making her version of a Hawaiian quilt. When her mean-spirited ex-husband-to-be...