Completely stand-alone from the rest of the series - set in the 1850s and is about a young woman helping runaway slaves. Good plot, but the characters could have been developed better and been less of caricatures.

In this Elm Creek Quilts novel Dorthea and her family find themselves becoming an underground railroad station for runaway slaves escaping to better, hopefully, lives.
Dorthea is asked by her Uncle to quilt a rather odd design which at the time she doesn't realize is a map for the runaways to memorize to get them to the next station. What I loved about this book is the rich history and historical accuracy of the story. I have heard of many underground stations doing creative things like quilting a map, etc in order to aid the runaways to freedom. It's a time of history that has always captured my interest and heart.

Not my fav of the series but still good. I missed the dual time line-periods. This one was solely set in pre-civil war era, Pennsylvania- race, runaway slaves, Underground Railroad were all themes in this story.

Most of these books are really cozy reads, but this one was a nail-biter! I was on the edge of my seat at the end! It’s also more of a stand-alone, getting into some of the historical figures previously mentioned in other books!

Another great quilt book! This one was different, though, in that it took place wholly in the 1800s and did not portray any of the Cross Creek Quilters. It was about the Underground Railroad and took place BEFORE the Runaway Quilt.

I loved this story; discovering how Mr. Nelson and Dorothea came to love one another, and how they played an important part in the success of the Underground Railroad before the start of the Civil War... and while these characters are fictitious, there were many wonderful, brave abolitionists like these two characters, whose acts of bravery and heroism really did save the lives of runaway slaves; Jennifer Chiaverini once again tells a magnificent story and captures my attention and imagination completely. I only wish this book, like some of her previous installments, jumped back and forth between the current owners/residents of Elm Creek as they were once again unraveling more of their surprising history, while their own personal stories and adventures also continue to progress. I love the mix of several different time-lines, giving even more depth and dimension to this wonderful series.

This is another in the Elm Creek Quilts series that I'm thoroughly enjoying, and it gives the story of neighbours of Elm Creek before Elm Creek became the family farm of the Bergstroms and the present-day owner, Sylvia. Dorothea and her parents live by the good graces of her uncle on his farm, having lost their own (communal) farm to flooding. They find the uncle demanding and judgmental, but there will be nothing for Dorothea's brother Jonathan to inherit if they don't suffer in silence.

This is all packaged within the history of escaping slaves and the Underground Railway, and there are some excellent scenes in this regard. There is also a burgeoning love story (for which readers of the series will already know the ending, and which, by dint of it being a copy (so other reviewers tell me) of [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg|3060926] is extremely predictable) within a nice bit of character development for Dorothea.

I enjoyed this as much or more than the other Elm Creek Quilts books. This one is set in the past, and tells the life of Dorothea who was good friends with Sylvia's Great Aunt. It goes into detail about how quilts were used to help runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. Historically there are disagreements as to whether or not this really happened, but the novel is honestly believable. From a historical aspect, it was fascinating. Chiaverini has a great way of capturing emotions and feelings well.

Overall, a good, easy read.