Prairie Flower: A Year on the Plains

I always enjoy Barbara Brackman’s books. I love reading the history of the quilts and being inspired to make quilts of my own.

Barbara Brackman has a well-deserved reputation for writing compelling histories of women and quilting. One of her earlier works is out of print and if you can find it, sells for many times its original price. This book is well written, the patterns are clearly drawn, and the text is enjoyable. But . . . I feel mildly disappointed. Of the 12 patterns given, I will actually produce one, maybe two, of them. Is that a flaw of the book? Probably not. The patterns appear to be of a more primitive style, so that if you are looking for finer applique, you may want to examine this book more thoroughly before buying it. I think I can adapt the patterns I like by reducing the thickness of the stems and adding more detail to the flowers, maybe even some embroidery. Yes, I'll keep it, but it won't be on the shelf with my favorite quilting books.

I like the history about our early settlers and the clear, concise directions for embroidery.

The book starts out with the story of women on the prairie, which I found very interesting. The actual block are good sized and have fairly large pieces, which is great for someone new to the applique world. Some of the blocks do have smaller pieces, but I may get adventuresome after doing a large block or two and try one of these. If you are an applique lover, I think you will like this book.

Can't wait to read this!

Lovely applique book with full page patterns and a glimpse of what life was like on the prairie!

This is an awesome book. I've purchased at least three copies over the years. I keep loaning them out and they don't come back.

Lovely book with some great ideas. Thank.s

J'ai acheté ce livre pour la beauté des fleurs et des couleurs. Je ne suis pas déçue car il est magnifique. Les modèles avec les gabarits sont très bien expliqués. Le patchwork sur un fond foncé avec des fleurs multicolores est sublime et je vais m'en inspirer.Enfin l'histoire de ces femmes pionnières et quilteuses est magnifique.