My name is Laurie Aaron Hird, and I am the author of The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. I am self-publishing a new book next year that I wanted to tell the group about. Please visit my blog if you are interested in history, children, ponies, vintage photographs and/or quilting. I have two posts, one about the letters and the most recent one is about the quilt. (Please notice the photos on the left. My favorite is Wilford and "Larry.") LOL
http://www.thefarmerswifequilt.blogspot.com
Below is a portion of my first blog posting. Thank you so much!
I am so excited about my new Farmer's Wife Quilt book, but before I post letter excerpts, I would like to give you a little background.
In the very early 1900s, a publisher by the name of Edward Webb bought the magazine called The Farmer's Wife. A few years later, he began a contest to increase the magazine's circulation. The plan was to hire children (from about 5-12 years of age) to sell subscriptions door-to-door, and in exchange the Webb Publishing Company would give the children prizes. Among the prizes were diamond rings, rifles, and cameras, but the much sought after grand prize was a Shetland pony. In the course of their long running contest, the Webb Publishing Company gave away hundreds of ponies to grateful boys and girls all across the United States. The Farmer's Wife Pony Club Sampler Quilt will contain a letter and one or two photographs of each Lucky Pony Winner, and complete instructions for making a 90-block queen-size sampler quilt.
The following excerpt is from Joey Edwards and she tells of her dream to own a pony someday. Her quilt block is Summer's Dream.
Last spring out to sunny Kansas from his home away up North in the cold country, came my darling little pony, "Sunny Jim." His eyes were just like little tiny suns and everyone who sees him, their eyes shine too and mamma says he is a regular little ball of sunshine out in Sunny Kansas for a little sunny girl and his name is "Sunny Jim."
When I was a little tiny girl my grandpa said, "Some day I'll buy you a nice little Shetland pony." Once when I was sick and the doctor's medicine was very bitter he said, "Just take it, dearie, and go to sleep and some day when you wake up the Shetland pony will be here." I always dreamed of little Shetlands all black and spotted but they always ran away when I woke up. Now my grandpa is a real nice baldheaded grandpa and when I was a baby they called me a boy's name just because his name was Joe. So I thought if all my life I had to be called a boy's name he ought to buy me a pony. But my auntie said when she was a little girl grandpa told her the very same thing and now she is too big to ride and would never know what good times she had missed. So I just knew my grandpa was having dreams too, when he promised to buy me one. But one day my dream came true and I'm going to tell you how...