Beatrice has more than presents to unwrap this Christmas. In the charming mountain town of Dappled Hills, Christmas is a time of twinkling lights, cozy quilts, and enchantment. This holiday season, the tight-knit community is buzzing with excitement as they prepare for the most extravagant event of the year—local socialite Arabella's legendary Christmas soirée. As the snowflakes gently fall, Arabella opens the doors of her lavish mansion. Guests arrive in their finest attire, ready to enjoy the celebration. But amidst the cheer and glittering decorations, a sudden hush descends when tragedy strikes. A mysterious death rocks the event, casting a dark shadow over the season's merriment. As Beatrice pieces together cluses and discovers secrets against the backdrop of Christmas craft fairs and festive carolers, old grudges resurface, and trust is put to the test. She must uncover the truth to bring peace and closure to Dappled Hills in time for Christmas.

Food for thought: seasoning with these berries results in a dash of murder. It's been a quiet autumn so far in the small town of Bradley, North Carolina. Or, as Myrtle would put it, a boring one. The slow pace and lingering post-summer heat are making life in Bradley very slow-paced, indeed. That all changes when a local resident is poisoned by what looks like a scrumptious pie. The victim is a boorish man who has plenty of enemies in Bradley. Despite this, suspicion falls heavily on Myrtle and Miles's friend—a botanist who grows the deadly nightshade the man was poisoned with. Can Myrtle and Miles solve the case and help their friend before the killer strikes again?

Retired folk art curator Beatrice Coleman knows everything there is to know about quilts, except how to make them. But with her recent move to Dapple Hills, North Carolina, she’s learning all sorts of new things—including how to solve a murder… As the newest member of the Village Quilters Guild, Beatrice has a lot of gossip to catch up on—especially with the Patchwork Cottage quilt shop about to close. It seems that Judith, the landlord everyone loves to hate, wants to raise the rent, despite being a quilter herself… But when Judith is found dead, the harmless gossip becomes an intricate patchwork of mischievous motives. And it’s up to Beatrice’s expert eye to decipher the pattern and catch the killer, before her life gets sewn up for good. Includes quilting tips!

As a quilter, retired folk art curator Beatrice Coleman likes to have all the seams stitched together—but her plans keep getting tangled up in unexpected ways… Beatrice has never crashed a party but now her fellow quilt guild member, Meadow Downey, is driving them to a Victorian mansion in the mountains beyond Dappled Hills, North Carolina. Muriel Starnes, an elderly eccentric, has organized a meeting of quilters to pick someone to administer a quilting scholarship. The fact that the Village Quilters weren’t invited isn’t enough to keep Meadow from speaking her piece. But once the quilters arrive at the mansion, it seems they may never leave. An ice storm sends an old tree crashing across the driveway, leaving them stranded for the night. And by the next morning, they are one fewer—for Muriel has been sent to meet her maker. With everyone in the house a suspect, it’s up to Beatrice and the Village Quilters to figure out who has a guilty conscience before someone else gets tied up in knots. Includes Quilting Tips!

Small towns + gossip = friction No one in the town of Whitby, North Carolina was excited when Jonas Merchant returned to town. Jonas was an effective muckraker; an expert at uncovering secrets, rumors, and undercurrents. Even worse, he’d fallen on hard times and was desperate for easy cash. It was a decidedly dangerous combination. It was perhaps not the biggest surprise when Jonas was discovered dead one day. More shocking, at least to local librarian Ann Beckett, was the fact that her straight-arrow director Wilson was one of the suspects in Jonas’s death. Will Ann be able to track down the killer and clear Wilson’s name before he strikes again?

As each holiday season approaches, some revel in welcoming the New Year ahead; others quietly mourn the passing of time gone by. "We can't hold on to the past," says Master Quilter Sylvia Compson, "but we can keep the best part of 'Auld Lang Syne' in our hearts and in our memories, and we can look forward to the future with hope and resolve." As Sylvia, a late-in-life newlywed, has discovered, love can enter our lives at any age. Yet before she can truly delight in her present happiness, she must face the sorrow hidden in her past -- her own role in the tragic circumstances that left her estranged from her sister, Claudia, until it was too late to make amends. Vowing not to repeat the mistake with her new daughter-in-law, Amy, who opposed Sylvia's marriage to her father, Andrew, Sylvia must convince Amy that family is more precious than pride. As Sylvia takes up a quilt for the season, begun and abandoned over six years, she recalls the New Year's Eve festivities of her youth at Elm Creek Manor as a member of the Bergstrom family. She titles the quilt "New Year's Reflections," after her belief that year-end reflections precede resolutions. The quilt blocks she chooses commemorate the wisdom that no one can ever be truly alone if she keeps the memory of those she loved and those who loved her alive in her heart. The New Year's Quilt is a novel to enjoy today and to treasure anew each holiday season.

The Elm Creek Quilters come together the day after Thanksgiving to work on quilt blocks and projects that represent their thankfulness and gratitude and share stories of love, family, and friends.

In Rudolph, New York, it’s Christmastime all year long. But this December, while the snow-lined streets seem merry and bright, a murder is about to ruin everyone’s holiday cheer in the first Year-Round Christmas mystery. As the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, Merry Wilkinson knows how to decorate homes for the holidays. That’s why she thinks her float in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade is a shoe-in for best in show. But when the tractor pulling Merry’s float is sabotaged, she has to face facts: there’s a Scrooge in Christmas Town. Merry isn’t ready to point fingers, especially with a journalist in town writing a puff piece about Rudolph’s Christmas spirit. But when she stumbles upon the reporter’s body on a late night dog walk—and police suspect he was poisoned by a gingerbread cookie crafted by her best friend, Vicky—Merry will have to put down the jingle bells and figure out who’s really been grinching about town, before Vicky ends up on Santa’s naughty list…

Come join the fun as Pat Sloan takes you on a joyful journey through a year's worth of celebrations. You'll find easy patchwork and fusible-appliqué; projects for Valentine's Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Stitch welcoming lap quilts and table toppers, plump and pretty pillows, trick-or-treat totes, cozy Christmas stockings, and more. Keep your home decor looking fresh and cheery as the seasons change, and always have the perfect pattern on hand for a housewarming or holiday gift. With inspiring photos, easy-to-follow instructions, and 17 terrific designs at your fingertips, you're on your way to a great year!

Just as a home's hearth warms the family, this collection of quilts, pillows, table runners, and other delightful objects from designer Sherri McConnell will warm the hearts of your family and friends. Brimming with 14 pretty and practical projects, this book is a must-have addition to every quilter's library. McConnell, perhaps best known for her fan-favorite blog, AQuiltingLife.com, also shares helpful advice for featuring quilts and smaller projects to create the home you love.