The Farmer's Wife Homestead Medallion Quilt: Letters From a 1910's Pioneer Woman and the 121 Blocks That Tell Her Story

If you live anywhere in the Upper Midwest, particularly with our recent blizzard, you can understand the value of a handmade quilt. Quilting is the subject of a wonderful book, The Farmer’s Wife: Homestead Medallion Quilt, by Laurie Aaron Hird of Shullsburg, Wis. The book, one of a series, was inspired by Ada Melville Shaw, whose own story is both intriguing and inspiring. Shaw was virtually found on a doorstep Nov. 24, 1862, on Montreal, Canada. At age 18 she moved to Winona, Minn., where she taught school. She next journeyed to Chicago to find work as a journalist. She married in 1894 but her husband died eight years later, leaving no children. A widow the rest of her days, Ada later moved to Montana where she lived with her friend Margaret Sudduth in Yellowstone County before homesteading on her own near Nesterville, Mt., an unincorporated town in western Fremont County that fell in decline as homesteaders left the area around 1920. It was there that Ada compiled the journal that forms the narrative of The Farmer’s Wife. Through her own grit, gristle and the help of kindly neighbors, Ada was able to prove up her homestead over five years before permanently leaving in 1915 for a permanent position with The Farmer’s Wife magazine in St. Paul, Minn. Ada’s narrative tells of life on the High Plains, an unforgiving place where she experienced drought, blizzards and hail that destroyed her oat crop. Still, she hung on, despite the odds against a middle-aged widow in a raw, alien environment. Ada’s description of her homestead set amid the sprawling Montana landscape is absolutely breathtaking: “Or, feeling chilled to the bone, hours before dawn, to brew coffee and fry bacon and then with the dog, out of doors to watch the morning star lift the sun over the horizon while the mountain shoulders, draped in dusky velvet, ermine trimmed, glimmered against the purple night sky of the west.” Sadly, the same rugged landscape Ada found so inspiring led to her leaving: “ . . . that storm – which was but the fifth of the seven that terrified us that summer – brought me to the final decision to close the Plains chapter.” Hird includes an array of quilt patterns and instructions, all inspired by Ada’s narrative which alone is worth the price of the book.

Digitala mönster för alla blocks och för paper piecing.

It was interesting to follow this lady's story and see how she managed living alone in a remote area. Quilt designs portrayed as the story progresses.

Absolutely stunning quilt blocks. But not much useful for beginners except admire it.The download link doesn’t work! So instead of 4 stars, I would give 3

This book has nice blocks similar to the previous books. There is no CD included in the book, instead there is a link to download templates and cutting instructions online. the link to the download has the letter ‘h’ in it. Be sure not to miss it. Works perfect once I figured out my error.Download instructions are 137 pages in instructions. 350 pages in the second download to paper piece.I am excited to start working on these.