When Christmas Eve comes to Elm Creek Manor, the tenor holiday is far from certain. Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, the Master Quilter, has her own reasons for preferring a quiet, even subdued, Christmas. Her young friend Sarah McClure, however, takes the opposite view and decides to deck the halls brightly. As she explores the trunks packed with Bergstrom family decorations that haven't been touched in more than fifty years. Sarah discovers a curious Christmas quilt. Begun in seasonal fabrics and patterns, the quilt remains unfinished. Sylvia reveals that the handiwork spans several generations and a quartet of Bergstrom quilters-her great aunt, her mother, her sister, and herself. As she examines the array of quilt blocks each family member contributed but never completed, memories of Christmas past emerge. At Elm Creek Manor, Christmas began as a celebration of simple virtues-joy and hope buoyed by the spirits of giving. As each successive generation of Bergstrom lived through its unique trails-the antebellum era, the Great Depression, World War 2-tadition offered sustenance even during the most difficult times. For Sylvia, who is coping with the modern problem of family dispersed, estranged, or even forgotten, reconciliation with her personal history may prove as elusive as piecing the Christmas Quilt. Elm Creek Manor is full of secrets, from a Christmas tree with unusual properties to the sublime Bergstrom strudel recipe. Sylvia's tales at the first seem to inform her family legacy but ultimately illuminate far more, from the importance of women's art to its place in commemorating our shared experiences, at Christmastime and in every season. --[Book Jacket].