The Farmer's Wife Quilt Along is based on a book written by Laurie Aaron Hird. It includes letters entered in a contest from farmers wives in the 1920's that were asked "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you want her to marry a farmer?" The letters are charming and full of conviction for their way of life. I found myself longing for their lifestyle. A simpler, slower pace, a community having shared family values and beliefs. As I grow older, that is the kind of community I would love to live in. Each letter is represented by two 6 inch quilt blocks.
I really wavered about joining the quilt along because in general I am not fond of sampler quilts (a quilt where every block is different), but I LOVE small blocks with all those tiny pieces. I love the precision and the challenge. The pace for this quilt along is 2 blocks per week, since there are 111 blocks, it will take a good year to complete. I think I'll start with some of my favorite blocks and stop when I have enough, perhaps about 80.
I am about 4 weeks behind, but that's OK, here are my first four blocks
Strawberry Basket # 91
Farmer's Daughter # 32
Contrary Wife #21
Bouquet # 8
and here are all four blocks playing together
The red and white looks out of place now, but will blend in when more blocks join in. I originally didn't want any white or cream etc, but I didn't have enough other colors in my stash that I felt would work as background for all the blocks, so I will be adding in white here and there.
If you would to see the blocks from some of the other wives or find yourself wanting to be a Farmer's Wife, check out the Farmer's Wife Quilt A Long flickr group
So far, I'm a pretty happy Farmer's Wife : )
