Block 81 - Snowball

Marry a good farmer - they must learn many lessons by sad experience. There are highs and lows of farm life. Prosperity and all good come to those who work industriosly and have within their souls the love of their work.

Block 40 - Friendship block

The name of this block speaks for itself

Block 39 - Friendship

The letters express the importance of a husband and wife who desire each other as a worker, for their brains and for friendshi to privide full and useful lives.

Block 2 - Autumn Tints

From the section 'Searching for the happiest life in the world', Autumn tints reflects on the joys of the Autumn harvest and the hard work that it brings but which is the essence of life.

Block 1 - Attic Windows

I did actually start at the beginning with Block 1 and this set the scene for my colour theme.

This block is based on the letters under the category - The best of all good things. The desire is that the farmer's wife will see, feel and hear the beauty of the world.

The book

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book by Laurie Aaron Hird contains letters from 1920's farm wives and the 111 blocks they inspired.

In 1922 the American magazine 'The Farmer's Wife' asked its readers 'If you had a daughter of marriagable age would you, in light of you, in light of your own experience, want them to marry a farmer?'. The letters are in the book are a selection of the 7000 receieved as entries to the contest and when the opinions were tallied, it was found that 94% that they would want their daughters to marry a farmer.

This blog is an insight into how the blocks were inspired and my progress in working my way through the 111 blocks (not in order as I have picked the easiest first).