A Fun Amish Story -- The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club

If you want to read a fun Amish story that's a little off from the norm, give Wanda Brunstetter's The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club a try.

To provide for herself financially so she is not a burden to her family Amish widow Emma Yoder decides to give quilting classes in her home.  She is not sure this is a good idea, not sure she will do a good job, but she advertises the class and waits for some kind of response.  When the day comes for the first class, Emma finds herself with a group of students unlike anything she ever imagined, each with a unique reason for joining the class!

• Paul Ramirez -- a young father hoping to find someone who can finish a quilt his late wife started for their young daughter
• Pam and Stuart Johnson -- a couple looking for some kind of common interest to help hold together their failing marriage
• Ruby Lee Williams -- a preacher's wife who needs a diversion from struggles in her church
• Jan Sweet -- a rough biker who needs a creative outlet while he finishes out a probation from legal problems
• Star Stephens -- a young woman looking for love and understanding

As the weekly classes progress, everyone in the group, including Emma, learns lessons they never expected -- most of which have nothing at all to do with quilting.

As I said, this is not your typical Amish story.  In fact, most of the main characters are not Amish at all.  But Wanda intertwines the lives of these characters into the Plain setting very beautifully.  Watching their stories unfold is both touching and entertaining, as you anxiously look forward to seeing how the "Club" members find themselves stitched together at the end.  It was a very enjoyable and fairly quick read.