The Beginner's Quilt

A prequel to The Half Stitched Quilting Club book by Wanda. A story about how she prepared for an Amish woman’s way of life. She loved quilting. She found romance. An easy read and a page turner!

Many fans of Wanda E. Brunstetter are familiar with Emma Yoder Miller and her impressive quilting skills, but we now get to learn how young Emma was introduced to this wonderful tradition. Emma Bontrager's lack of interest in cooking and quilting prompted her mother to send Emma to spend the summer with her grandparents. Hopefully, Emma would learn the skills she would need as a young Amish wife. What followed was Emma's introduction to cooking, quilting, and a special young man in Arthur, Illinois. What a summer 1967 turned out to be! I loved this prequel to Brunstetter's Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club, and two other books featuring Emma Bontrager Yoder Miller. Emma and Ivan Yoder exemplify all of the special qualities we expect of people raised in the Amish faith, and I was especially impressed by Ivan's commitment to doing what was right at the risk of losing something he dreamed of and longed for. The Beginner's Quilt has wonderful characters, an intriguing complication that I didn't see coming, and a reminder that we must take responsibility for our actions. This lovely page-turner left me wanting to read the other books featuring Emma! I received a copy of this book from the author and Barbour Books. There was no obligation for a positive review.

I was so glad to find out this is a prequel to a series I had previously read as you find out Emma’s backstory and how she came to be a quilter. This can be read as a stand-alone. It was very interesting to see an Amish woman that isn’t interested in cooking and sewing like most other women instead she prefers the outdoors and doesn’t plan to pursue marriage so she doesn’t see the necessity to learn these skills. When she is sent to her grandparents to be under her grandmothers tutelage she discovers abilities she did not know she possessed and her heart becomes tender to love but with a big twist to the storyline you are guessing how anything will be right in her world again. I found these characters very likable and kept turning pages to get to know them better. I loved the beautiful cover and the thoughtful look on Emma’s face and it made me want to look inside to see what her hearts desire was. I was fully invested until I finished and saw the rocker and quilt on the back that summed up the satisfying conclusion. I am always blessed when I finish a book by this author as it is stitched together with faith. I received a complimentary copy from Barbour Publishing. The honest review and opinions are my own and were not required.

One of Wanda Brunstetter’s favorite series, The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club now has a wonderful prequel in Mrs. Brunstetter’s The Beginner’s Quilt. Thanks to Wanda, we now know Emma’s story, and it a story worth reading. The Beginning Quilt is extremely powerful story of young love. Part of the reason this is such a good book is that Wanda Brunstetter can take such unremarkable people and situations and make them remarkable. Emma Bontrager is just that person. Her mother sends her to her grandmother’s in order to learn how to cook and sew in order to become a good Amish wife. There she met Ivan Yoder, a fine young man who had many of the same interests as Emma. The character development is well done and the interesting storyline could not be better. The unimaginable happens, and Emma returns home heartbroken. Join Emma and Ivan on their journey together in Wanda Brunstetter ‘s latest novel. It is 5stars all the way. Thank you Barbour Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. All opinions are mine and I was not required to give a positive review.