Thimble of Soil: A Womans Quest for Land (Book 2 in the Trail of Thread book series) (Trail of Thread Series) [Paperback]

Linda K. Hubalek (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1996 | Series: Trail of Thread Series

Experience the terror of the fighting and the determination to endure as you stake a claim alongside the women caught in the bloody conflicts of Kansas in the 1850s.
Follow the widowed Margaret Ralston Kennedy (a relative of the author) in this second book of the Trail of Thread series, as she travels with eight of her thirteen children from Ohio to the Territory of Kansas in 1855. Thousands of American headed west in the decade before the Civil War, but those who settled in Kansas suffered through the frequent clashes between proslavery and free-state fractions that gripped the territory.
Margaret was dedicated to the cause of the North, and while the male members of her family were away fighting for a free state, she valiantly defended t heir homestead and held their families together through the savage years of Bleeding Kansas.
Told through her letters, Thimble of Soil describes the prevalent hardships and infrequent joys experienced by the hardy pioneer women of Kansas, who struggled to protect their families from terrorist raids while building new homes and new lives on the vast unbroken prairie.
Watch for the twelve quilt patterns mentioned in the letters.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In sixth grade we had to write a paper on what we wanted to do when we grew up. My mom had kept it and I found this paper while cleaning through my closet during my college days. According to my dreams back then, I wanted to be a farmer, but my last line was -but alas, girls can't be farmers. Well, I got my Bachelors Degree in Agriculture/Horticulture from Kansas State University, did agronomy research for years before starting a wholesale horticulture business. My company, Prairie Flower Creations, grew and dried flowers, ornamental corn, and mini pumpkins for the florist trade. In 1990 I was featured in Country Woman Magazine, but at the same time, my husband's job was transferred to California. I sold my business and tried to cope, growing flowers and pumpkins in five-gallon buckets on our cement lawn. I started writing about the family and farmland I was homesick for and started a new career, writing about women ancestors who had moved to the new state of Kansas and farmed its land. We eventually moved back to Kansas, bought land next to my family, raised buffalo, and I have a garden again. So not only have I fulfilled my dream to be a farmer, I've written about past and present women that have also tilled the prairie land of Kansas. Please read and enjoy my book series which are about the family that homestead our family farm, and my ancestors that homesteaded in Kansas in the 1800s. Considered historical fiction, these quality paperback books are age appropriate for everyone from age 9 to 99. Book, quilt, and Scandinavian gift shops sell them (or ask your local store to stock them for you) and schools use them in class studies to portray early pioneer and Kansas history. My writing time most days is spent on the computer with marketing my businesses, and working on the next book series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Butterfield Books (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886652074
• ISBN-13: 978-1886652071
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Hubalek majored in agriculture in college, and featured in Country Woman Magazine about her wildflower business when her husband's job transferred them to California. She then started writing about the Kanas prairie she was homesick for and started her writing career.

Linda's first book, BUTTER IN THE WELL, written as diary entries, is about the Swedish immigrant that homesteaded her family farm. Readers wanted to know what happened to the family, so she continued the story with PRÄRIEBLOMMAN, EGG GRAVY (a pioneer cookbook), and LOOKING BACK.

Her next historical fiction series features pioneer women as they experience the Civil War firsthand. TRAIL OF THREAD, THIMBLE OF SOIL, and STITCH OF COURAGE, written in the form of letters, has a quilt theme because of a quilt handed down in Linda Hubalek's family.

PLANTING DREAMS, CULTIVATING HOPE, and HARVESTING FAITH tells her ancestor's story that changed their family history forever when they homesteaded on the unforgiving Kansas prairie.

Linda Hubalek and her husband eventually moved back home to Kansas, and she continues to research and write about pioneer women that made Kansas their home. The KANSAS QUILTER will be her next book series.
www.LindaHubalek.com
www.Facebook.com/lindahubalekbooks

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thimble of Soil A woman's quest for land, April 16, 2000

By 

Jill Rimes (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thimble of Soil: A Womans Quest for Land (Book 2 in the Trail of Thread book series) (Trail of Thread Series) (Paperback)

What an inspiring book. The facts and history of our country are extraordinary. I could have never lived as Margaret lived, what a strong woman. She was also a quilter, which I find important, since I am also! It was inspiring to read in a diary format. It seemed so real.