When the creative residents of Elm Creek gather the week after Thanksgiving to work on quilts for Project Linus, they respond to Sylvia's provocative questions to alleviate respective personal challenges and learn helpful lessons about the strength of human connections.

Master quilter Sylvia Compson investigates her ancestry and discovers unexpected connections to a runaway slave and quilter who traveled the Underground Railroad to Elm Creek Farm before she was captured and returned to Virginia.

The arrival of newcomers into the circle of quilters heralds unexpected journeys down pathways near and far as well as capturing the spirit of friendship at the moment of its transformation.

Meditating on the weddings she has attended in Elm Creek Manor throughout the years on the morning of her daughter's wedding day, Sarah McClure evaluates the symbolic features on a wedding quilt designed to display the signatures of beloved guests.

While decorating Elm Creek Manor on Christmas Eve, Sarah McClure discovers an incomplete Christmas quilt and sets out to uncover its history with the help of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, who reveals why the quilt had never been finished.

Sylvia Bergstrom Compson and her fiance Andrew embark on a difficult journey to find her mother's missing heirloom quilts, all the while discovering secrets regarding her mother's life and untimely death.