The Quiltmakers Gift

Teen Daughter and I went to the library recently to search for a quilt book that would help her finish her Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt and we found a real treasure. We found More Quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift.

The Quiltmaker's Gift is a lovely picture book that I picked up for the girls last Christmas. It's the fable of an old woman who makes the most beautiful quilts in all the kingdom. Many people come to her seeking to purchase her handiwork, but she tells them that her quilts are only for the poor and the homeless. They are not for sale.

When the greedy king hears of her beautiful quilts, he decides that he absolutely must have one. He has all the treasures of the world but is still unhappy. Perhaps this one last treasure will finally make him happy. But the quiltmaker refuses him. He tries all kinds of schemes to get her to relent, but he fails each time.

Finally, the quiltmaker agrees to make a quilt for the king, on one condition. He must give away all his posessions to the poor. Consumed with desire for the quilt, he agrees. He's so rich that it takes years for him to give away everything. When he finally returns to the old woman to claim his quilt, he's already found the happiness that eluded him for so long. He found it not in the quilt but in giving to others. It's a great story.

Throughout the picture book are all sorts of lovely quilts in the illustrations. This inspired the book, Quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift (which I have not seen) and the sequel More Quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift. It's not only a gorgeous book, but very useful. It has all the instructions that you need to make 19 quilts, plus the history behind them.

One of these days I'd like to write a unit study on quilts. Wouldn't that be cool. But then, it may already be written. I'll have to Google it.

PS I'm at my wits end with Blogger. I uploaded graphics of the book covers and then they disapeared. If you want to see the books, and read reviews, click on the links on the titles.