The April A to Z Challenge is in its tenth year, I’ve now participated for 6 of those years, and this year will be my 3rd quilt theme. It’s my first quilt using only patterns from the Kansas City Star newspaper archives. Welcome to my blog!

Did You Know?

In 1935, the Great Depression as well as the event known as the Dust Bowl were in full swing and we weren’t aware we’d made the halfway point here in the MidWest. You don’t hear a lot about my native Missouri and the Dust Bowl, but according to some old-timers I’ve known, we felt the repercussions plenty. Just to give you a little idea of the land value for typical Missouri acreage, I’ve looked at the University of Missouri’s stats and here is how the following years compared:

• 1920 — An acre valued at $88.
• 1935 — Same acre valued at $33

The Farmer’s Daughter quilt block is one of the blocks featured in the 1935 Kansas City Star and I’m pretty sure farming was the hottest topic in the MidWest at that time with the future of this vocation in severe dire straits. Kudos to all the quilters of that time trying to keep their chins up by staying creative with their needles and thread.

This quilt is about as good as it gets for me personally. Cut, sewn, pressed and it even measured the correct 12-ish inches (You have to allow for those seam allowances as well as squaring up the blocks.) Here’s a little gallery of pics on a portion of the block construction.

Not hard, great for using up scraps and versatile. Can’t ask for more.

Come back here tomorrow for another quilt block for the A to Z Challenge! Also be sure to visit the home of the A to Z here and see other entrants challenge posts. There are excellent writers participating every year with topics in whatever you’re interested in.