Wednesday 30 September 2015

Farmers Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt #16 Bonnie

The second block yesterday was #16 Bonnie.
I chose to use one fabric from each colourway of #12 Becky in my blocks.


I am happy with the way these turned out.
The total of six blocks made so far.
I like the way the book portrays the oral histories of women in the late 1920's / 30's. It is interesting how today one can still relate to these letters.

My thoughts on #16 Bonnie letter: Rain for the Soul 
by Lovingkindness, 1934
The title 'Rain for the Soul' implies something that we all need. Lovingkindness compares ourselves to houses and talks about how we have needs over time. 
 She starts with drought and how drought affects buildings.
Queensland today is in the grip of one of our worst droughts. Farmers on the land are doing it tough and it is hard for city folk to imagine what hardships the farmers and their families are facing today. But they do face it. 

No one knows what is going to happen tomorrow, houses are worn over time by the effects of weather, and human intervention. Just as we are worn over time by the effects of our emotions, just trying to live a well balanced life. We are in control of our lives and sometimes hard decisions need to be made.
A well balanced life would have different meanings to different people and getting the balance right can be a lot of trial and error over time. We can only live one day at a time and, like the house, many elements are out of our control. However, learning or re-visiting our values in life, and how important our values are to having a well balanced life can help weather any storm. Personal values of honesty, loyality, enjoyment, health, creativity, integrity, kindness, etc. are important and we should be standing up for what is right. One needs to develop a sense of what is important in ones life -
what we value and want to live and work by!

Determine your life values - do they fit with your work values?
We want everything - happiness, health, money, travel, - we need to prioritise, and, as I said, sometimes hard decisions need to be made. We have options and we have choices.
Sometimes we just need to walk away, take a breath and remind our selves of our values and what is important to us.

 Lovingkindness has values. Her message in her letter is to be kind and loving in order to have a content and peaceful life, and don't we all aspire to have a content and peaceful life? She must have been a loving spiritual woman. 

Happy sewing
Allison

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