Friday, June 22, 2012

Farmer's Wife Friday: A Good and Useful Life

3-2-1. That's it! That's all that is left of Farmer's Wife Friday letters. I can hardly believe it! So  year ago I was off to a quilting retreat in Minnesota, and I made my very first Farmer's Wife blocks there. This year I will be at the quilting retreat again, and on July 6th, when I am in Minnesota, the very last letter will be reviewed here. Time flies!

The wife this week is from Sargent County, North Dakota. She gives a list of all the modern conveniences that are being installed on every farm. Do you take some of these things for granted? Things that wives in the 1920s were just beginning to experience: light, running water, furnaces, pressure cookers, fireless cookers? Can you even imagine cooking by first having to start a fire? I certainly can't.

I really liked the blocks this week:

#14, Butterfly at the Crossroads:
Up until now I have been mostly using Kaffe Fassett shot cottons. But a few months ago I started collecting shot cottons from Oakshott in Great Britain. Fabulous fabrics! I don't think it shows up very much on this photo, but to this point I didn't worry about the right or wrong side of the fabrics--they looked pretty much the same to me. However, I used Oakshott for the green in this block and there is a distinct difference. Not enough for me to redo the block, but definitely a difference in the way the fabric looks in some components of this block. That being said, I'm a huge fan of the Oakshott cottons. They are a little more pricey--but definitely worth it.

#108, Windmill:
I love the lookof this block--simple, yet complex at the same time I wonder what kind of secondary design would pop up if you made several of these blocks.
I'll be back next Friday with four blocks, and then the following week with the final block.

There is a new edition of the Name Game on Monday, a couple of fun giveaways, and a pattern review. I hope you will come back for all of them. And be sure to check out Lollyquiltz to see what fun fabrics Carla chose for this week's blocks.

13 comments:

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MB in MI said... #

Lovely! Really do like that Windmill block :-)

Deborah said... #

I'm going to miss your Farmer's Wife posts!!

Needled Mom said... #

OMGosh....you are so close now. How fun! Today's blocks look fabulous.

Carla said... #

Congratulations. Imagine what the finished product will look like! You make a farmer proud!

Carla said... #

How fun that you will be on retreat for the end of the letters/blocks. Are we gonna miss it? I sure want to get my hands on some of that Oakshot cotton! Great blocks, Cindy...so fun that we both liked them this week.....there's that sister thing again!

Mrs Flying Blind... said... #

I hope you have saved a great block for the last x

Michelle said... #

I did not realize you first started your FW blocks in MN. What a wonderful journey this must have been for you...and one I have thoroughly enjoyed!! I speak often of how much I love seeing your blocks and so greatly admire the precision and accuracy of each one!

Katy Cameron said... #

Great blocks, and I do love a good bit of Oakshott :o)

Terriaw said... #

Another set of fun blocks! I can't believe that's it. Already. But it doesn't feel like it's been a year!

When my sister lived in China, and we visited, we couldn't use their running water for anything but showering and laundry. Even when brushing your teeth, you had to have bottled water to rinse. Even when rinsing produce, you had to use bottled water. It taught me to appreciate our modern conveniences and sanitary conditions. Always a good reminder!

Susan said... #

Another lovely set- the Oakshott looks like fabulous fabric! Are you going to miss this project? You may need to find another year long project to make up for it!!!

CitricSugar said... #

That windmill!! Has it really been a year already? Wow... I can't wait to see the finished quilt.

The Luedtke Family said... #

Can you slow down production, just a bit? I love checking in with Farmer's Wife Friday! What will your Friday bits bring me in 3-2-1 and done? I hope we see the construction process of putting all these lovely blocks together.

Mama Pea said... #

I really like these blocks a lot, too!