The World’s Fair Quilt

Chiaverini (Museum of Lost Quilts) continues the charming adventures of octogenarian quilter Sylvia Bergstrom and her friends at the Elm Creek Quilt Camp retreat in Waterford, Pa. It’s 2004, and recurring character Summer, a curator at the Waterford Historical Society, wants to exhibit the quilt that Sylvia and her estranged sister Claudia made when they were teenagers for a quilting contest at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. In flashbacks, Sylvia recalls painful memories of jealousy and competition with her sister during the making of the quilt. Meanwhile, Sylvia’s accountant, Sarah, reveals the retreat’s financial shortfalls and suggests opening the adjacent orchard to apple pickers to increase revenue. Sylvia, however, balks at “amateurs running amok in my orchard.” The novel’s pastoral details, such as the delivery by wagon of homemade apple cider to workers building a farm stand, evoke a simpler time of camaraderie and cooperation between neighbors, and this sense of tight-knit community blends seamlessly with the historical details and enriching quilt lore. Series fans and newcomers alike will be glad to be in Sylvia’s company. Agent: Maria Massie, Massie & McQuilkin. (Apr.)