Farmer's Wife Friday--Enjoy Life to the Fullest

If I were to live the life of a farm wife as did my mother and grandmothers and great grandmothers, I think that today's writer, Mrs. C.K.T. of Newton County, Indiana,  might just live on the exact farm that I would choose!

 She lives on a large farm, "The Old Home Place", where generations of Mr. Farmer's family grew up. "It is a choice location, six miles from town. There is a beautiful lawn and drive, with fine old shade trees; a small park with a miniature lake; and a fine large orchard. The house is colonial in style and has every modern convenience. Each year improvements are added in farm buildings."

 She goes on to describe an idyllic life that most would love to enjoy, while acknowledging that "the farmer's wife of the past endured great hardships". Unlike letters of the past, no mention of hardship is penned in this letter.

 Calico Puzzle--Block #16

"In our home we have the best music, a piano, a phonograph, a bookcase filled with good books, our library table covered with many of the best magazines and papers." She also mentions the fact that in the past "the country woman almost always wore an ugly calico 'wrapper' and her one 'Sunday dress' was worn for years." I bet Mrs. Farmer and her daughters wore the latest fashions, don't you!

 The fairy tale life ends this way: "The farmer's wife of today enjoys life to the fullest. Her opportunities are limited only by time and strength."

 Ozark Maple Leaf--Block #63

 "Yes, I hope that my daughter marries the man of her dreams -- the farmer of tomorrow -- and 'lives happily ever after' in the home of my dream -- the country home of the future."

Sigh.

    

Only three more letters are left in the book. I can hardly believe it! Be sure to catch Cindy's blog today and find out if she wants to move to the country too! I can't wait to see her pretty blocks.


In other news: Mr. Lollyquiltz pulled #30 out of the hat (well, really, a bowl) for the Bleachers pattern give away today. The winner is Cindy of Rose Room Quilts. Congratulations! Send me an email with your address so that I can get those patterns in the mail. Thanks, everyone for reading my blog and  for your lovely comments. You really make my day!  It was interesting to learn that the word 'bleachers' is not universal and was a new vocabulary word for some in Australia and England, especially! 

Softball Bleachers and a Give Away

Summer and sports go together like popcorn and peanuts....don't you just love it!

If you are finding yourself sitting in the bleachers for hours at a time, then maybe a Bleachers Quilt is just what you need to pad those hard seats or to wrap up in when the temperature suddenly drops.

 With Father's Day being only a few days away, it is probably too late to get it made for your hubby by then, but this pattern is definitely masculine in design. (You could always wrap up the pattern and fabric with an IOU!)

 I've briefly shown you this quilt before, but want to feature it today before I send it off on a fun journey to Sister's, Oregon and the annual quilt show there. Isn't the quilting, by designer, Angela Walters, fabulous?

Angela designed Bleachers; Shea Henderson, of Empty Bobbin Designs, wrote the instructions and published the pattern. I picked these Kona fabrics, tested the pattern and pieced the quilt. Angela then worked her magic to make it come alive with her creative machine quilting.

Sometimes, I admit to getting bored when I make a quilt using only a few fabrics, but not this time. I really, really loved putting this together. Shea's instructions are genius and clever to say the least. I'm hoping to make another in more feminine colors sometime.

 There are even instructions for creating a pieced back. This lap size quilt is very generous and the perfect size for the man in your life.

 Angela's second book, In the Studio, is coming out in the fall.  Her picture in the lower corner of the cover shows her quilting on my quilt.....isn't that fun!

 I might be a bit biased, but I really think that Empty Bobbin patterns are some of the best around! The photography on the cover of each is professionally done by Sarah Sorrell.

 The booklet form instructions are well laid out and easy to follow with lots of colored diagrams.

 Each pattern is tested four or five times by several different people (not just me) and you can be certain that every detail is gone over meticulously before publishing. There are three sizes to choose from and photos of the quilt in various color choices created by the different testers.  (I love the pink, yellow and orange one made by Mary Anne, don't you!)

 Shea has given my an extra copy of Bleachers to give away on my blog.  I'm also including a copy of one of her earlier patterns called Seeing Squares. If you would like to win both of these patterns, just leave me a comment telling me your favorite Bleacher sport. I'll pick a winner at random on Friday, at noon CST. (Be sure that I have access to your email address for a valid entry.)

Hope you are enjoying this summer weather as much as I am!

Batter Up!

Second Sunday in June

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, 

"He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust."

Psalm 91: 1, 2 

Farmer's Wife Friday--Emphatically, Yes!

Franklin County, Ohio, is the home of this weeks' farm wife. Her letter is well written and contains compelling reasons for wanting her daughter to marry a farmer: "I want her to lead the life her father and mother have led, plus the added capacity for living which her superior education has given her." 

 I had to smile at this sentence: "...labor-savors reduce our work, not to the standard of a crocheting, gossiping, and shopping routine, thank God! but to the place where with work systematized and each child assigned tasks proportionate to his size, we have time for recreation and the enjoyment of other families."  I'm a big proponent of giving children appropriate tasks, teaching them a healthy work ethic. But, I do wonder what she would think of spending time quilting, if in fact, her regard for crocheting was apparently low! (Have you noticed the lack of any mention of quilting in our letters so far?!)

 Old Windmill-Block #62

Incidentally, when I created the above block, I took the liberty to flip the triangles along the upper and lower rows. As I studied the diagram in the book, I felt that there would not be a repeat pattern if I were to make an entire quilt using the pattern as shown. I kind of think that the author attached the rows backwards accidentally, but that's just me.

 Windows-Block #109

Using good business sense was important to this farm wife: "The farmer of today, to be successful, must be educated, alert, and scientific in his methods."Apparently it was a dark time for agriculture, but she was certain that the future was bright.

 Streak of Lightening-Block #92

She goes on to say, "But even times of depression can not materially affect the farmer's living as they do the city man's, for he has his food from his own soil, vegetables, fruits, grains, milk and meats; so financially, I would say his is the most independent of occupations."

 Whirlpool-Block #102

Mrs. Farmer, as we have been told by so many before her, is certain that the farm life will bring true happiness to a married couple. "No other conditions could be more suited toward fostering the mental and moral development of our future generation."

 One of the first sentences written by this wife is: "The farmer's wife today has plenty of work but, rightly managed, there is no drudgery." The reason for this, is the use of electricity to power labor-saving devices, including a washing machine. If you've wondered about the item that I used as a background for today's blocks, here is a full view as it hangs on the wall above my washer.

The washboard is the same one used by my own farmer's wife grandmother, probably even in the 1920's, the same as our farmer's wife author. It is a reminder to me of both my heritage and the harder life experienced by those who came before me. I should never have anything to complain about! Be sure to stop by Cindy's blog to see her blocks this week. She always has great thoughts about the letter too.

Another Vegetable Soup Flimsy

This little 9-patch design has been a great one for using when making

 one of my Free Quilts.

 I have decided to make wheel chair quilts at 36 inches square to send to Nepal with my son, Drew, on his next visit. He reported that the people liked the three that I sent with him last week,

 but wanted to hang them on the wall instead of use them in their laps! 

Maybe a little larger will fill the bill next time!

  I just finished up this small Vegetable Soup quilt using pale pink Kona as the solid along with aqua, red, grey and chartreuse 2.5 inch squares from my scrap box.

 I think maybe that I will call this one Fruit Salad!

 I almost have enough blocks made to make another top using aqua for the sashing. It will be the third leader/ender project that I've made so far with this pattern.

 You can see the first one here. 

It is gracing the bed of a child in Rwandan orphanage right now!

Always thinking ahead to the next Free Quilt, I think that I will try this new pattern called Mazed, by Kristy Daum. I won the pattern at the Modern Quilt Meet Up during Quilt Market in Kansas City a couple of weeks ago. The pattern looks like a lot of fun. (Sorry about the flash reflecting on the plastic in the photo.) Mazed is sitting on top of a favorite vintage book that I often read to my grand daughters when they visit. It's called The Children Who Lived in a Shoe and, as you might imagine, is an expanded version of the famed nursery rhyme.

 The artwork and words are so adorable!

I bet the quilt will be cute, as well.

First Sunday in June

"Open my eyes that I may see

wonderful things in your law."

Psalm 119:18

Farmer's Wife Friday--An Ever Changing Delight

"No two days' work are ever alike. And the view from her window is an ever-changing delight of cloud and sky, tree and field", says our Wisconsin farm wife writer today.

The blocks accompanying today's letter represent the good and the bad, as far as I am concerned, of creating these 6.5 inch little blocks. One was a delight....the other a devil!
Can you guess which is which?

If you guess this pretty block, called Swallow, as the delight, you know me well! I love birds as well as simple blocks. I was especially excited to make a block using a part large enough to showcase this rose fabric so well. 

Swallow might even join these lucky "Top Ten" blocks qualifying as Lollyquiltz Favorites...I might have to make it an even dozen before I'm finished!

Our second block today, is not so lucky. While looking sweet enough during the photo shoot, I want to warn you that "Wood Lily" is not for the faint of heart. I'll just say that the sun was shining brightly when I began making this devil and the sky was dark when I finished! The colors, even though a little washed out, are pretty enough and the block turned out to be nice and square, fortunately.

But as Cindy, my partner in this endeavor, has said so eloquently, "You couldn't pay me to make that block again!" Here are my "Top Ten" in that category....I'll have to make an even dozen in that group too!

Oops... a bit sidetracked; I'm supposed to be telling you about the farmer's wife....
She doled out a bit of wisdom that I find may be as true today as it was in the 1920's. She writes, "I think the woman who is a failure on the farm would be a failure in town. But there is no doubt that some find a satisfying happiness on a farm that others could not."

I"m finding some satisfying happiness in looking at this pile of finished blocks! 
I wonder what Cindy has to say....be sure to go check it out for yourself!