Polly won the spelling match. And you might not believe it—but it was all because of the new dress Grandmother made out of the patchwork quilt from the attic. 

It was a very experienced dress, of course. There was the yellow patch, bright as a buttercup, that Great Aunt Mehitabel had worn the time she danced with General Lafayette, and never missed a step. The small white patch with tiny forget-me-nots and moss rosebuds was the prettiest of all. That had belonged to Cousin Mariana Gay who lived in the South and "used to sit on her balcony, watching the boats go up and down the Mississippi River and play and sing 'Listen to the Mocking Bird.'"

Polly Patchwork is a refreshing, homey little story told with the elfin understanding of everyday things that is peculiarly Rachel Field's.

From the dust jacket