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The Farmers Wife – Book Review and Quilt Patterns

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We wrote about this Farmers Wife Quilt book back in 2012 – you can see the Quilt along to the Farmers Wife Quilt article here. 

Since that article, we can share some more Farmers Wife Quilt links with you, including these free Farmers Wife Quilt patterns and templates.

free printable template 

Farmer’s Wife 1930’s Sampler Quilt Block Tutorials – GnomeAngel

Free templates & Patterns

Farmer’s Wife Quilt 1930s Part 1 – A Scrappy Foundation Paper Pieced Version!

Hand Made Karma: Farmer’s Wife Quilt-along Block Index

Farmer’s Wife – sampler quilt

The Farmers Wife Sew Along Tips Video 1

Farmer’s Wife Quilt 1930s Sampler Quilt – Modern Scrappy Version – Scrap Fabric Love

Easiest blocks – Farmer’s wife sampler quilt – Sewn Up 

But this post is all about the book itself and my 2024 review.

As I delved into “The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt” by Laurie Aaron Hird, I found myself transported back to the 1920s, a time when the rural American landscape was painted with the honest toil of farmers and the quiet strength of their wives. Through the lens of letters from The Farmer’s Wife magazine’s 1922 contest, Hird stitches together a narrative that intertwines the practical wisdom of farm wives with the timeless artistry of quilting.

The heart of this book lies in the responses to a simple yet profound question posed by the magazine: “If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, have her marry a farmer?” Within these pages, I found not only insightful reflections but also glimpses into the very essence of rural life during that era. The letters, penned by women from diverse backgrounds, resonate with authenticity, offering a poignant mosaic of joys, challenges, and enduring love for the land.

Accompanying these heartfelt missives are 111 quilt blocks, each meticulously designed to reflect the essence of rural life. From simple geometric patterns to intricate designs, these blocks serve not only as a visual representation of the era but also as a testament to the creativity and resourcefulness of the women who crafted them. With detailed instructions and template cutting directions, Hird equips readers with the tools to recreate these blocks and embark on their own quilting journey.

“The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt” is more than just a quilting book; it’s a tribute to the enduring spirit of farm women and a celebration of their timeless artistry. Whether you’re a seasoned quilter or a novice enthusiast, this book invites you to embark on a journey through time, stitching together the stories of the past while creating something beautiful for the future.

This book also has a few spinoffs, including “The Farmers Wife coloring book“. 

 

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Sun Activities for Kids

With summer coming soon in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s a fun time to incorporate activities and crafts with a sunny theme. Take some time to learn about the sun (this post from National Geographic Kids is a good one) and then do some sun activities.

Sun prints are a classic summer activity, and there are lots of ways to do them, from placing objects on construction paper (like in this craft from MomBrite) or by using sun print paper (aka cyanotype paper).

Practice threading, counting, color sorting and other skills with this easy sun threading activity from Taming Little Monsters.

Lessons 4 Little Ones has a great blog post full of ideas for science experiments using the sun, such as melting crayons, looking at shadows, making a sun dial and trying a solar oven. Printables to go with the lessons are available for purchase or you can just talk through the students’ hypotheses about what will happen and draw or otherwise record the results.

This updraft tower from Almost Unschoolers is a cool way to illustrate that the heat of the sun causes an updraft, which makes the pinwheel spin. This is a good one to do inside near a sunny window so you don’t have wind spinning the pinwheel instead.

You’ll want to get out in the sun to try this experiment form Life with Moore Babies to see what kinds of things the sun can melt. Using different kinds of sweets you can see how the sun melts things by itself and how you can concentrate the power of the sun with a magnifying glass.

Playing with shadows is fun for kids of all ages, and you can track a shadow through the day with this experiment from Science Sparks. If you’re working with multiple kids they can each choose an object to shadow (ha!) and at the end of the day you can see how different their shadows looked. 

And of course you’ll want to make a sun themed suncatcher craft, right? This one from Fox Farm Home uses all the pretty flowers you collect on your nature walk and puts them in a sun-shaped frame.