I just received my copy of "The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt" by Laurie Aaron Hird. It is a combination of 42 historical letters and 110 quilt blocks much like books published in recent years by Rosemary Youngs, "Civil War Diaries" and "Civil War Love Letters". The new book contains letters received by the editors of "The Farmer's Wife" magazine to a question they posed of their readers in 1922: "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in the light of your own experience, want her to marry a farmer?" They received over 7000 responses with 94% wanting their daughters to marry a farmer. The letters give insight into the women's lives at the time. The $27.99 book includes a CD of templates. The layout of the 8" by 8" square book first presents the letters with close-up photographs of individual blocks illustrating each letter. This part of the book can be enjoyed by non-quilters who experience or dream of the farm life. Next follows computer generated drawings of each block indicating which templates are needed to make that block. The CD is not tied to EQ as Rosemary Youngs did for the two Civil War books rather it is a collection of PDF drawings of the templates which print one per page. This means if you want to foundation piece any blocks you will have to redraft them in EQ or another quilt drafting program.
The quilt created by designer Laura Aaron Hird uses 1800's reproduction fabrics. The 110 six inch blocks are set on point with dark sashing and contrasting light cornerstones. It does not repeat the background fabric in the blocks as Rosemary Youngs did so the total effect is different. Considering the date of the letters I am surprised the quilt is not made from feed sack fabrics.
This is a lovely book. I plan to purchase one for my niece who was raised on a farm. She and her husband began farming their own land this summer. I do wish the publisher had consulted me before printing. I could have made several suggestions that would have improved the layout from a quilter's perspective. Among my suggestions would have been to add dimensions to the templates so you are certain your printer is providing exact sized pieces. Some printers need adjustment to print exact sizes. The book is useable but could have been so much better.
Susan Price