In this cookbook disguised as a novel, Anna's new position as head chef at a quilting retreat gives her access to the group's recipe trove.

As her only child readies for college, fabric shop owner Linda Davis is torn between excitement for Molly and heartache for herself. Mother and daughter decide to share one last adventure -- a cross-country road trip to move Molly into her dorm. As they make their way through the heart of the nation, Linda pieces together the scraps that make up Molly's young life. And in stitching each bit of fabric, she discovers that the memories can come together...

Facing radical changes in their roles and outlooks when the men in their lives join the Union forces, the women of Elm Creek Valley's quilting bee begin an agonizing period of waiting that is shaped by their husbands' military duties and their respectivecircumstances.

After a tornado rips through her town, salon owner Abigail comes across a piece of fabric from a wedding dress in the rubble. As she struggles to reconcile her right to happiness in light of the destruction, Abigail helps piece together a patchwork quilt from the salvaged fabric in the hope that it will bring some peace.

As the nation grapples with Prohibition, Rosa Barclay lives on a Southern California rye farm with her volatile husband, who has found a source of income outside the federal purview. Mother of eight, Rosa mourns four who succumbed to a disease that now afflicts young Ana and Miguel. Only two daughters born to another father are healthy. And when an act of violence shatters Rosa's resolve, she flees with the children and her precious heirloom quilts...

A common thread : Susie Glick returns from a shopping trip laden with beautiful fabric for her quilting group. On the bus ride, Alex Miller--her crush from three years ago--sits next to her. Alex left Middlefield to explore the country, and now he's back and ready to join the church. Susie was just a kid when he left, but now she's a woman--and she definitely has his interest. The women in her quilting circle aren't as excited about Alex's return,...