The Cherished Quilt by Amy Clipston

     The Cherished Quilt is the third and newest book in Amy Clipston's The Amish Heirloom Series.    Set in Bird-in-Hand, Lancaster County,Pennsylvania, which is about 50 miles from my home, this warm story is sure to please.  

    It did not matter that I had not read the first two books in the series.  Ms. Clipston immediately introduces the reader to  Christopher Hochstetler, the main character in this book.  Chris is a young man from Ohio struggling with grief and guilt after an accident kills his younger brother.  He travels to Pennsylvania to work in his uncle's leather shop, hoping the change in his surroundings and distance from his father, who has always expected him to take over the family horse farm, will help him deal with his brother's sudden death and, perhaps, find his place in the world.  Chris doesn't have the same affinity for training horses as his older brother, who is a successful horse farmer himself, a fact that causes constant friction between father and son.  

   As Chris is reacquainted with his Aunt and Uncle and meets Leroy, his uncle's partner, and his family, the reader meets them also.  As Chris gets to know them and they get to know him, the reader does too.  And when Chris and Emily, Leroy's youngest daughter, embark on a friendship neither had expected, the reader smiles.  

I found this book well written and the characters well developed.  The story moves along nicely with a few unexpected twists and turns.  You might find yourself learning a bit of Pennsylvania  Dutch, with several frequently used words popping up in the dialog.  Many of the words I recognized, coming from the area I do, but there is a handy glossary in the book for the reader who may occasionally need a translation.  

As this story of Christopher Hochstetler comes to a close, the discovery of a hidden document in the family hope chest sets up the premise for the 4th book in the series, The Beloved Hope Chest, which is scheduled for release in May 2017.

Thank you, Amy Clipston, for a wunderbaar book that even an Englisher will enjoy.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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The title, The Cherished Quilt, refers to a log cabin design quilt being made in the story.    The design is supposed to represent life; the center is the heart of the home; the surrounding strips are the logs of the cabin; one side is light for the sunny or happy times in life;  the other side is dark for those unhappy and hard times.

I love making cards using quilt designs.  

So today I have a log cabin quilt card to share with you.

 The center square should really be red, but I took some license and used the pretty sea glass color that matches this Sugar Rush paper from CTMH and added a heart embellishment in the middle.

The vintage label die cut was a freebie from Our Daily Bread Designs, the sentiment is a digi from Beccy's Place and the embossing folder I used to make the quilt part look like a quilt is from Stampin' Up.

Challenges:

The Crafty Addicts Challenge #33 - Anything Goes 

Frilly and Funky Challenge - Be My Valentine 
Word Art Wednesday Week 268-269 -  Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Color of Love
Crafting by Designs February Challenge -  Anything Goes