The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl [Hardcover]

Jennifer Worick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2007

Frontier fun meets a home-spun touch in this heart-warming mixture of pioneer projects and wistful nostalgia. Jennifer Worick teaches readers how to sew a quilt, master the art of bread-and-butter pickles, speak old-time slang, and much much more. This is for the legions of Laura Ingalls Wilder fans who have dreamed of what a pioneer life out on the prairie would be like. Combining step-by-step how-to on crafts, with tongue-in-cheek instructions on prairie slang, winning a spelling bee, and singing a lullaby, The "Prairie Girl's Guide to Life" allows fans to finally act out their childhood dreams or to simply enjoy the vicarious thrill of reading about it one more time. This is a book that will pull at the heart strings of every childhood Laura and also teach us a few prairie-time crafts along the way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you're looking for a fun read, pick up a copy of The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life for a nostalgic look at prairie life and how to re-create assorted home-spun projects." -- Nancy Soriano,  Country Living

About the Author

Jennifer Worick is the author of more than 15 books, including the New York Times bestselling The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex. She writes for Allure and Men’s Health, among other magazines. As a native of rural Michigan, Jennifer’s mastered such prairie-time handicrafts as knitting, chopping wood, roasting a turkey, concocting lip balm in a double boiler, and laying a fire. She currently lives in Seattle, WA.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561589861
• ISBN-13: 978-1561589869
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Worick is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller, The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Dating & Sex and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: College. In addition, she has co-authored or written more than 20 hilarious and helpful books, including Simple Gifts, Beyond the Family Tree, The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life, Backcountry Betty, The Action Heroine's Handbook, and Nancy Drew's Guide to Life. In addition, she writes a humor blog (thingsiwanttopunchintheface.blogspot.com), assists companies and individuals with social media strategy, and is an all-around crafty gal.

An accomplished public speaker, Jennifer delivers Worst-Case Scenario: Dating, S@# & College lectures/slide shows to college students nationwide and teaches publishing workshops with fellow author Kerry Colburn. Find out more about these workshops at The Business of Books (bizofbooks.wordpress.com).

Jennifer has appeared on such television shows as The Today Show, Montel, and ABC's World News Now, and regularly is interviewed on NPR. She lives in Seattle.

www.jenniferworick.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure Chest of Vanishing Know-How, October 16, 2007

By 

J. Black (Dresher, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl (Hardcover)

The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl

This book is a real treasure chest of rapidly disappearing folk knowledge and skills. It captures a nostalgic segment of the cultural heritage of the U.S. and our pioneering ancestors. Where else would one go for information on how to make a garlic-mustard poultice, rock candy, or learn to play jacks, let alone make your own furniture polish?

Even if you are not searching for Grandmother's recipe for peppermint soap, this book is delightful to read. It's charming, funny, quaint, and totally engaging. The book construction is reminiscent of early bookbinding techniques, with an easy-to-read layout and wonderful illustrations.

This book would make a perfect gift for daughters and grand-daughters, siblings, friends who like handcrafts, and friends who are seeking the simpler life of earlier times.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Know You Wanted to Be Laura, April 1, 2008

By 

Holly M. C. Bishop "Holly Knitting Bee" (Kalamazoo, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl (Hardcover)

Old fashion skills that fit wonderfully into modern life. The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life is great! It's filled with useful skills that can be applied and used now.

You know you've always wanted a rag rug, but couldn't quite figure out the logistics. Candle making, check. Spin yarn! Now you can give it a whirl too!

Best part, it's separated into Kitchen, Bathroom, Bathroom, Bedroom, Parlor, and Barn and Beyond sections. Added bonus...Prairie Lingo, so you can feel all big bugs with your mad skills.

You'll be like Laura Prairie Girl...but with indoor plumbing.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sassy Worick does it again, October 16, 2007

By 

Rhubarb Rhett (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt & 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl (Hardcover)

Jennifer Worick has written another zesty, tidy, and oh so fantastic tome, this time on crafts from the great mid-west and "pioneer times". As with her previous books (which I recommend highly--especially "How to Live with a Man and Love it!") she injects her sardonic sense of humor into even the most basic of craft projects. As a pie maker, I thoroughly enjoyed the recipe for the Rubarb pie, and intend on getting one in the over this fall. For anyone who wants a quirky, vintage (yet simultaneously avant garde), and feel good read that allows you to escape from the modern world of email, texting, and teleconferences, this book is for you.