If you live anywhere in the Upper Midwest, particularly with our recent blizzard, you can understand the value of a handmade quilt.

Quilting is the subject of a wonderful book, “The Farmer’s Wife: Homestead Medallion Quilt,” by Laurie Aaron Hird of Shullsburg, Wisconsin. The book, one of a series, was inspired by Ada Melville Shaw, whose own story is both intriguing and inspiring.