Farmer's Wife Friday--I Love the Farm

This week's letter, our sixth, written by a farmer's wife from Missouri wishes for her daughter to marry a farmer that is perhaps college or university trained.  One who regards "Agriculture as man's divinest vocation, worthy of the the thoughtful best effort of the highest intelligence."

What a forward thinking attitude, it seems to me!

The Peace and Plenty block speaks to the author's wish, "I want my daughter to bear hardships more bravely, not be relieved of them; 

to meet difficulties more sturdily..."

"I want her to help build a home in which children may grow, who will some day carry on the ideals and continue the service that I shall have to leave unfinished."

Peace and Plenty was pretty easily constructed with half square triangles trimmed to exact size. The other block for this week, Jackknife, took a bit more thinking on my part to avoid cutting templates. It's a great looking block....

The challenge was to come up with an easy way to create the corner units. I began by cutting the triangles and attaching them to strips that were a bit longer than the finished size.

 I then sewed the coordinating strips together ...

 and trimmed off the extra fabric

 to create the needed units! 

The author finishes up her hopes for her daughter this way: 

"To give her an 'easier time', should I deny my child?

Let her know the tingle of nerves and brain and body stretched to the utmost

in her fight for better ways upon the farm! 

Let her learn the joy of real work well done!

Let her be a Farmer's Wife."

The theme of 'real work well done' has echoed throughout all of the letters so far.

The blocks are beginning to look like they belong together.

Have you seen Cindy's blocks sewn up in all solids? They are delightful!

Go take a look!