THE FARMER'S WIFE SAMPLER QUILT
Letters from 1920s Farm Wives and the 111 Blocks They Inspired
BE INSPIRED BY THE STORIES
In 1922, The Farmer's Wife magazine posed this question to their readers: "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, have her marry a farmer?" The magazine at that time had 750,000 subscribers, and received over 7,000 letters. The best answers to this question are included in this book, along with the traditional quilt blocks they inspired.
- 111 six-inch quilt blocks, with assembly diagrams for piecing the blocks and template cutting directions
- Complete instructions for making a sampler quilt in any traditional size: lap, twin, queen, or king
- CD with easy-to-print, full-sized templates from all 111 blocks, and printable quilt construction diagrams
- 55 letters from the 1922 "Do You Want Your Daughter to Marry a Farmer? contest to give you a priceless glimpse into our country's past.
Design your own version of The Farmer's Wife Quilt using your EQ 5, 6, or 7 Electric Quilt program. You can color blocks with fabrics and print template and foundation patterns. The design possibilities are endless.
EXCERPT--
I was born and raised on a farm but grew up knowing absolutely nothing about it. My parents, educated, cultured Virginians of the old school, were not disposed to let me go over the place. If I even so much as put foot in the barn lot, my father said: "Now, little daughter, run to the house with your mother." There were few good roads, no cars, not many telephones, so the farm was jail to me--I hated it. By the time I was grown I would willingly have given my interest in the home place to anybody that would accept. The beautiful meadows, the orchard, the cool, deep woods--none of it for me. But then came a change. My mother died, Father was an invalid and my own health bad. He and I spent a winter in the city and there the scales fell from my eyes. I saw his longing for the old home, and I felt my longing, so back we came. His joy was indescribable, and mine was almost equal. Life was a revelation to me. How near I had come to losing the very best opportunites ever offered to me!
