The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: Letters from 1920s Farm Wives and the 111 Blocks They Inspired

by Laurie Aaron Hird

Be Inspired by the Stories

The 1922, The Farmer's Wife magazine posed this question to their "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, have her marry a farmer?" The magazine at the 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.

Laurie Aaron Hird provides everything you need to be inspired and create your own sampler

   • 111 six-inch quilt blocks, with assembly diagrams for piecing the blocks and template cutting directions
   • Complete instruction for making a sampler quilt in any traditional lap, twin, queen or king
   • Download access to easy-to-print, full-sized templates for all 111 blocks, and printable quilt construction diagrams
   • 42 letters from the 1922 Farmer's Wife contest to give you a priceless glimpse into our country's past

Genres: Quilting, Nonfiction, History, Crafts, Sewing

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[JayeL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like all block dictionaries. I like them because I can always find a new block and each new block starts me on a fun creative spiral. The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt: 55 Letters and the 111 Blocks they Inspired is no exception and it includes letters! I love letters even reading other people's letters!

The introduction is called The Changing American Culture of the 1920s and discusses "a time of political and technological changes." It is an interesting and tantalizing way to begin a quilt book, especially for someone who enjoys quilt history. This page mentions the Farmer's Wife magazine, a source of some of the quilt block patterns mentioned in Jinny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. I commend Krause Publications for allowing Laurie Aaron Hird to include it.

The Changing American Culture of the 1920s is followed by a page call 1922 Farmer's Wife Contest. I have read quite a bit on quilt history, but don't remember this contest mentioned, probably because it was not a quilt contest, but a contest asking for people's opinions about being a farmer's wife. The interesting part is that the organizers asked women to "talk it over with your husband, your children and your friends. Consider not only financial side of the question, but the moral and physical viewpoint and the things that make for real happiness." The way I read this is that organizers, and I am not looking at the complete list of directions and rules, assume that their readership is smart and their opinions worth knowing. I love that!

The responses are summarized VERY briefly on page 12 and then the author launches into "How to Use this Book" and then the quilt blocks and letters.

The first few sections are short, interesting and well worth taking a few minutes to read. The response letters are concentrated in the middle section of the book followed by some minimal piecing directions in the back.

This book includes a CD, but I don't know what is included as mine is broken so I can't look at it. In the introduction the author says she includes "larger versions of the quilt assembly instructions" and "...you can print templates from the CD-ROM that accompanies" the book. (pg.13)

The author describes the respondents to the contest as "articulate, optimistic and visionary..." (pg.12). After reading a few of the letters, I have to agree, even though I know they were putting their best foot forward in order to win the not insubstantial prize money.

I do have a few beefs with this book. The idea is that you make these blocks with templates. the author made her quilt by hand piecing all the blocks. I really have no problem with templates or hand piecing. You all know this from my adventures with the Flowering Snowball. The crazy way I have heard of people using templates for this project (which has taken hold in the Modern Quilt community) is frightening. People make templates and then rotary cut around a thin piece of paper with a bit of template plastic. This sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

The problem I have is that there are no rotary cutting instructions (though you can buy an EQ6 or EQ7 CD with all the patterns on it). I understand the need to slow down, quilt more slowly, take your time. However, in this day and age, I think it is important to include rotary cutting instructions. Quiltmakers just do not use scissors to cut out pieces very often anymore.

There are also no line drawings of the blocks. I think this is a problem, especially for beginners. People need to be able to see the pieces without the colors the author chooses. Yes, the reader could look up the line drawings in Jinny Beyer's book, but why not just have a small line drawing available with the color pictures of the blocks? Cost probably.

I am not that fond of the fabrics used and would love to see an alternate color way included in the book, but it can be done in EQ7 (with the add-on CD) pretty easily.

I like the idea of this book and think it is an easy way to dip your toe into quilt history. I would like to make this quilt, but with more Jaye-like colors - lots of pinks and turquoise, I think. ;-)

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned about this book by the quilt-alongs that it has inspired online and in various quilt guilds across the country, and finally picked it up a few weeks ago. The book consists of letters from farm wives answering the question "Would you have your daughter marry a farmer?" for a contest held by The Farmer's Wife magazine in 1922. The letters are a window onto the past, with many common themes resonating throughout the overwhelming consensus that yes, most farmer's wives would indeed hope for their daughters to also marry farmers. I really enjoyed reading the letters, in addition to seeing all of the beautiful quilt block patterns, and the last third of the book (plus an included CD) is taken up with well done templates and instructions for each of the blocks. It's well worth a read if the subject matter interests you, and likely well worth the purchase if you are interested in older quilt block patterns to add into your work.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The quilt blocks weren't too hard for an advanced beginner, but there were no directions for the handles for the two basket blocks and I had to turn to YouTube to learn how to do those. I would have liked cutting directions for half-square triangles so I could cut multiples quickly, but I figured out the dimensions and jotted them down in the book since I anticipate using these squares in other projects.

I liked the letters which gave me some insights into the social history. It would have been nice to have the quilt blocks that appeared with the letters be in the same order as the patterns so I could read a letter and then make the two blocks associated with it. There was no obvious reason to have it all mixed up.

And instead of having one pattern piece per page, it would have been nice to have a bunch of them on a page. Again, I ended up doing that myself.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in a charity shop for the letters, no interest in the quilt. The letters are a bit repetitive and if they were all there was to the book it would be a two star. However the quilt looks pretty and the instructions seem clear so moving it to three stars for that. The letters could really have done with having the original article asking the question printed. Some of the letters are so similar in subject you feel they must be answering specific points asked and it would be nice to see if that is the case.

[Lilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely and very interesting book about daily life in a farm in 1920.

In 1922, The Farmer's Wife magazine asked 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 received over 7,000 letters. The best answers to this question are included in this book

Then the book illustrated each letter with a quilt block and the instructions to make it. In total, there are 111 blocks in this book and I am making them all in order to get a quiltet blanket!!!

[Loni · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book primarily for the quilt square samples and instructions, but I found myself intrigued with the book's other contents. Letters written during the 1920's from farmer wives are featured alongside the quilt block photos. The letters are a brilliant gateway into the past and talk of what was present to the women and their families. It was a fun read to take along and read at leisure.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a quilter, but I enjoyed the quilt squares. For me, the letters from farmers' wives to their daughters in 1922 are the reason to get this book. I thought the letters were fascinating, with many common themes and insights into how the world was. Hard work, independence and service were mentioned throughout as how to live a happy life.

[Paula Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

The many blocks are great to see, but the letters make the book special.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great blocks, but you totally need the CD to make them.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book in 2014 and found it very interesting in both the quilt blocks and the letters.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made my first quilt with this book

[Marilyn]

The book has a CD for the quilt patterns and letters to the editor from the newspapers around the country in the 1920s and 1930s about farm life. Fascinating!

[Jec · Rating 1 out of 5]

although there was a nice variety of blocks, i gave this only 1 star because of the lack of directions or at least cutting measurements. that was a real disservice to quilters buying this book. i would think twice before purchase and get it from the library instead to enjoy it.

[Asuka0278 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've scored this book higher here than I did on amazon. Mainly because my original review on amazon got a response from the author. Here is the exchange in its entirety:

"Measurements for templates PLEASE?!?!, March 14, 2012
By asuka0278

I was really really excited about making this quilt. Then I realized I had to use templates. I decided to give it a go anyway because I really want to do this quilt. I hate the templates. I don't like using them at all. I don't understand what is so hard about saying "cut a 2" x 2" square" My advice to the author is this: Next time include measurements for those of us who despise templates, it would be really nice. I still plan on doing the quilt because I love the patterns. However, I'm going to have to sit down and measure all the templates and then go ahead and cut them the way I know how. Good Luck if you don't like templates!"



Initial post: Mar 15, 2012 10:46:37 AM PDT
Laurie Aaron Hird says:


Your criticism is well-founded, and I agree totally. The measurements should have been included, and I have kicked myself more times than I can count because I didn't do it. It was ignorance on my part that they were left out, and I can't blame anyone else but myself. Since I couldn't change The Farmer's Wife, I took all the feedback that I received and greatly improved and expanded the CD for my second book, The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt. Thanks for your comments--you were right.



Your post, in reply to an earlier post on Mar 16, 2012 9:38:45 AM PDT
asuka0278 says:
Oh my Ms. Hird! I never expected a response from the author. I do love your quilt and found a quilting group on line where some one figured out all the rotary cutting instructions so that has helped immensely. :) There are still a few of the blocks that call for using the templates and that's OK. The quilt is lovely and the few blocks I've done I'm so pleased with. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my comment. :)"

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book contains letters written to The Farmer's Wife magazine in 1922 saying why or why not they would want their daughters to marry a farmer. The reasons were interesting and still relevant today. There were only a few letters that had the slang of those days that reminded me of the times in which the letters were written. A lot of the women also had experience living in both the city and the farm life and though the city women look down on them, the women pity the city women for not having the equal treatment in marriage or the community that they have, as well as the freedom of the pocketbook. Morality of farm life was brought up often and compared to the "entertainment" in the city.
The book does include a CD of templates for quilt blocks.

[Kimberly Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this was fun to read, and I loved the stories famers' wives had to share in the 30's, this quilt was way outside of my range. There were no measurements or cutting templates or anything. I found a website with some cutting instructions for these blocks, but it just isn't worth it. Way too complicated. I'll be looking for another sampler to work on.

One sad thing about the stories: the top three entries from the essay contest weren't included in this book!! What a disappointment!! I want to see what the winners had to say...

[Tkjtwmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although not a "page turner", this was an interesting book. The wives made very compelling arguments for having their daughters' marry farmers. Real embrace of technology here. I would think, that for the most part, these were well-educated and fairly prosperous farmer's wives. The articulation of the letters was amazing. It was fun to see which quilt blocks were assigned to each wife. I am going to mark a few of my favourites and hopefully use my scraps to make some up into a lap quilt.

[Shani Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading this book, mainly because I love history and this book scratches that itch. If you're looking for easy piercing techniques,b it's not here. These blocks are pieces by template. I appreciate the historical nature of the book and CD, but I would like modern quilting measurements and cutting. If you hand piece, pick this book up. The templates are accurate and helpful. You'll have a block together in no time.

[Miz Mockingbird · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a quilter, so both block patterns and illustrative CD mean little to me. The letters themselves, written by country women in the throes of the 1930s Great Depression, are always interesting and often inspiring. They provide a thumping depression-check for any country girl feeling oppressed by poverty and the times.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

So the quilt is nice enough; a sampler of traditional blocks. I wasn't really inspired to make it. But the letters are fantastic, and by far the best reason to read this book -- well written, and a fascinating glimpse into the lives of farm wives in the 1920s.

[Joan54 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading about the farmers wife's who lived in the 1920's and why they wished their daughters to marry farmers like they did.
And there are plenty of 6" block patterns to choose from if you enjoy traditional sampler quilts.

[Angela Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book with letters from these women - any of them could have been my great grandmothers! I loved the stories and also it comes with a CD and templates for making a beautiful quilt in any size!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming. Comes with a CD with templates for all the blocks and assembly diagrams for four different quilt sizes.

[Heidi Schaap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Not only beautiful quilt blocks, but very interesting to read the entries from a Farm journal essay contest, circa 1920. Inspiring read, inspiring quilt!

[Autumn Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am currently working on this quilt- the blocks are gorgeous, and the stories that go along with the blocks are wonderful, as well.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2013 Christmas present from Nathan and Courtney.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My latest obsession!!! This is absolutely beautiful - 26 blocks done, 75 to go!! Love, love, love it.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first, I thought this was just another quilt pattern book. There are patterns in the book but also wonderful vignettes from Farmer's Wives testifying to their desire for their daughters to marry farmers.

There was a contest in 1922 that encouraged women to say why or why not they wanted their daughter to marry a farmer. The author compiled the responses she seemed best.

I was impressed with the thoughtful, modern answers these women gave. They felt that a wife was a partner with her husband in the Enterprise of farming. Women could be equal to their husbands.

Highly recommend it.

[Tara]

Need to reborrow from the library. It was a fun glimpse into a different era.