We have nearly reached the end of the journey with Laura and the Little House Sampler Quilt. The writing of book The First Four Years is in a very different style - in the third person. It was an unfinished piece found amongst other papers and documents in the late 1940s. After Laura's death in 1957 it sat hidden away until after Rose's passing when it found its way to Harper & Row.
The scene from prologue tells of how the night was sweet with the strong, dewy fragrance of the wild prairie roses that grew in masses.
Laura was familiar with the prairie and the flowers as well as the hard work required to be a farmer and homesteader after watching her parents work so hard and struggle so many years. She asked Manly to consider a different life.
Almanzo was convinced that the success of a farm only depended on what a man was willing to do. The willingness to work hard meant that he could make more money than the men in town and all the time be his own boss.
Laura was still hesitant... Manly asked for just 3 years. Laura consented to this.
It is in their first year that they welcome their first child, Rose. Laura and Almanzo experience the joy of new beginnings, despite the hard work and financial strain of starting a farm from scratch.
In the rest of the book, we see the young couple face diphtheria which left Almanzo with a paralyzed leg, they lose of their wheat crop to a hailstorm. They celebrated as they welcomed a baby boy but then mourn as he dies at just a few weeks old. They continue to struggle financially because of more crop and livestock failures and even lose their home to a devastating fire.
Laura and Almanzo realized then that they must abandon the farm and find a new path forward. The book closes with uncertainty—but also a glimmer of the resolve that carried them through these trials.
Block #9 is Prairie Rose, a block that was part of the Santa Fe Trail Sew Along. I chose it to represent the birth of their daughter, Rose.
The original block was a 12" block, and I could have done the math to reduce it but wanted to use just 1/4 of the block. Therefore, I opted to use the grid method to determine the sizes of the units needed for this block.
The finished block is to be 6" square so... each square of this block needs to be 2" finished.
Add your 1/2" for seam allowances.
You'll be cutting 2-1/2" squares to make this block.
The vertical portion of the rose (rectangular section) needs to be 2" x 4" finished... add your 1/2 seam allowances. Cut one 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" rectangle.
Grab the Prairie Rose pattern in my payhip store and gather your fabrics... This block will be pieced before you know it! Add your Log Cabin frame and you'll be ready to join all of the blocks together. The final instructions for the borders will be released soon! Keep the fabrics that you have used for all of these blocks close at hand... the border and binding are scrappy and a perfect opportunity to utilize them.
If you missed any of the patterns from this sew along, they are free for just a short time longer.
But before you go...
Did you know there is a continuing series that tells of their life in Missouri?
The series, "The Rocky Ridge Years", is written by Roger Lea MacBride and there are 6 books. :) There is also a series called "The Rose Years." Someday... I would love to visit the various sites of LIW's life. They are all on my bucket list! Have you made it to any of them?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you.
Keep Piecing,
Melva
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I may have told you this before, but while my dh and I traveled in our RV, we visited her Rocky Ridge home in Mansfield, Missouri. We even stayed at the Laura Ingalls Wilder RV park ;-) It was really interesting as I didn't know about much of her life after the Little House series. Thank you for the sharing the quilt - I have been saving the PDFs as I haven't had a chance to start it yet but I really want to! Blessings!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to making this! Can't believe it is the last one. Will you have layout ideas, or did I miss that post?
ReplyDeleteI have not visited any LH sites. Mom grew up in Hartville, MO, and that is where Granny lived from the late 1800s until she came to live with us in the 1960s. Mansfield, where Laura lived, was 15 miles south of Hartville. Mom and Granny frequently mentioned Mansfield and also Mountain Grove, which is east of Mansfield. I'd love to go back to visit Granny's grave in Hartville then go see the Ingalls home and museum in Mansfield.