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Aurora
An American Experience in Quilt, Community and Craft

by Jane Kirkpatrick

     

First and foremost, Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community, and Craft provides the reader with a lush visual journey through time and history. The pictures are vivid and detailed and create in the reader the desire to uncover the story behind the Aurora community. Those who live near the Willamette Valley in, Oregon, or those who have had a chance to visit the colony's site will certainly enjoy reliving the experience and gaining further insight into the lives of those who settled there.

However, a few things surprised me about the book. Not being familiar with the name Aurora as a community, my intention was to read a book about the history of quilts. Aside from a few minor details about who might have made certain quilts, there was not much information about quilting itself. The history in Aurora is primarily the history of the religious community and the men whose lives and beliefs it was founded upon. Some of those things were quite fascinating, but ultimately I was left wishing for the kind of information that might be included in women's diaries or personal records or even oral history. In a sense, the biographical information of the community was given far more importance than craftsmanship.

With that said, I am certain there are many who would enjoy Aurora. Fans of Jane Kirkpatrick as a fiction writer will surely enjoy seeing the types of artifacts and settings that inspire her stories. Others are sure to enjoy creating their own historical quilts using the several patterns in the back of the book. Still others can gain a greater insight into religious options in the mid-1800s and how we can benefit from understanding their way of life today.

The Book

WaterBrook Press
December 16, 2008
Hardcover
978-1-4000-7428-0
Nonfiction / social history / crafts
More at Amazon.com
Excerpt
NOTE:

The Reviewer

Donna Ross
Reviewed 2009
NOTE: Reviewer Donna Satterlee Ross is the co-editor of That's Life with Autism: Tales And Tips for Families With Autism and is currently working on a new book about autism and humor.
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