A Day In 1862...

Victoria's unmentionables.

2012-02-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

1 hour of sunshine in this dark, dreary, extremely wet day provided me with an opportunity to take some photos. Ominous clouds quickly pinched out the glorious sun, and now we have (as we call it here in Texas) a gully-washer. Or, as my dad would say, a "frog strangler". :) Don't ask.

{ corded stay }

{ drawers }

{ petticoat }

{ drawers, as they will attach to the stay when buttons and holes are complete }

{ the whole shebang - petticoat buttoned on over the drawers }

slow progress...

2012-02-17T22:41:00.000-08:00

...but progress nonetheless. I've almost finished the little pair of drawers, petticoat, and corded stay for Victoria. I just have the bazillion buttons and buttonholes to put in. Fun stuff. If I can manage to catch her, I'll try to snap a photo of her in them. At any rate, I'll post pictures of the undies as soon as I can get a day with sunshine. Hopefully tomorrow.

In other news, I'm searching out a polka dot fabric to make this dress for her, but have had no luck as yet. A few options at the local Hobby Lobby, but none in a color that would suit her -- she needs blue, purple or green. I did find a grey polka dot, but I'm already planning a grey wool coat for her and that feels like enough for me. I still need more white cotton for a new petticoat for moi, and some new fabric for a nice, but serviceable dress. Then I need to figure out what to line my brown straw bonnet with. ?? Lawn? Netting? I'm not very good at lining straw bonnets...

At the rate of my progression, I might have to beg some friends to help me finish some of this!

In the meantime, I'm doodling with a pair of shoes for Victoria. I had planned on making her some gaiters to match mine. I learned how to make gaiters for myself at a workshop last year, but I'm going to re-do them with different fabric and with toe foxing that goes up higher on my foot. (My toes are weird, so I have to really make an effort to encase them in the foxing so that the shoe doesn't look funny on my feet.) To that end, I acquired a hide of 2-3oz glazed brown leather, and it's pretty. It's gotten me rather excited about Victoria's new shoes. Or boots rather. (Boots! Tee hee!)

So...I've made the canvas mock-up above using the sole pattern from Every Lady Her Own Shoemaker, and altered the upper considerably to create the boot. I think I'm going to make the heel foxing a litlte taller, too. I'm going to making these with laces, rather than a button closure, simply because it's easier for me right now, plus the little girl in the polka dot dress has laced-up shoes, and I have a bizarre obsession with reproducing clothes from photographs.

Anyone know what kind of shoelaces they had back then, or what I can use for these? I haven't a clue.

I've fitted this mock-up on her -- they seem slightly large, but I think I'm going to take the plunge and make them up in the leather anyway. Leather will stretch, and she'll be able to grow into them (hopefully). It'll take me a while, but I'll use the machine for a lot of it (Cody Mobley would probably be shocked). I sure hate to waste too much time on them considering the amount of clothes I have to finish by April 27th, but she can't wear her other shoes, so hers are sort of a priority. After all, I can get away with wearing my boots if I have to.

If I can make my gaiters, I'm going to be making them in a brown linen/cotton stripe, heavily lined with duck for stability. Here's a photo of the linen/cotton fabric with the glazed brown leather for the foxing:

Exciting stuff! I'll get back to it now.

Amy xoxoxo

another dress idea

2012-01-13T22:37:00.000-08:00

I found another dress idea for Victoria. I want to make her two dresses, so this one would be simple and cute. I love how it has directional pleats on the bodice instead of regular gathers. I think I'd even want to do polka dots too, with the little dark trim. Seems like it'd be cute...right? :)

Now if I could just pull off making those little shoes, too...

Back to the grind!

2012-01-08T10:39:00.000-08:00

In April, I'm doing my first semi-immersion living history event. I've been doing the "normal" reenacting every since I got into this hobby, but this event is already proving to be a challenge (a fun one) to be as authentic as possible. My sewing list is growing abnormally large, and I can already tell I won't be able to do it all. But that hasn't stopped me from musing over Victoria's new clothes. :) She's much bigger now and will be nearly three at the time of the event. I have all of 3 and a half months to prepare them...(and that's not including my own clothes!)

Here is some of my inspiration...

1) Bonnet, child's, off-white cotton, small checked weave, 1856-1863, 2) Child's wrapper, 3) Girls blue cotton sateen gaiters, 4) Coat, child's, pale yellow wool gabardine, yellow soutache trim, 1860-1869, 5) Dress, girl's, orange and white cotton, small dot and line print, 1860-1869, 6) Dress, child's, dark pink cotton calico, lace-up shoulder seams, c. 1858

New blog...

2011-11-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Craving a departure from historical clothing and a place to talk about non-reenacting, day to day, modern crafty stuff, I've decided to start a new blog. I'm certainly not abandoning "A Day In 1862" because I'll still be making 1860s stuff and all that, but I am glad for the freshness of my new little space. I'm still working on adding links and such to it.

I hope you come for a visit and stay a while!

Love,
Amy

Purging the closet.

2011-10-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm doing it. I'm selling off some of my old Civil War stuff. I simply can't fit in them anymore. Luckily for the recipient, most of my clothes are nearly brand new, as I rarely got to wear them. This time I'm selling my brown changeable silk dress. If you or anyone else is interested, it's up on Ebay

I hope everyone is doing well. I've been dabbling in lots of other crafty things lately -- I don't know what's come over me, except I'm looking at a pile of fabric I'm probably not going to make an outfit out of, but that also don't work for a quilt...so I'm making little things. And crocheting. That's my new thing.

xoxo Amy

Quiet Friday

2011-09-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of. I'm still on the clock, but my mind is already wandering to this weekend when the family and I go out to my dad's farm to help him pull down an old storage building. I'll mainly be on childcare duty (naturally), but it'll be fun to get Victoria out in the wilderness. We got to enjoy the farm recently at our friend Gerald's house, and she loved seeing the goats! Here are some snaps of the visit:

My little cowgirl and handsome cowboy.

Slicing cucumber for the cucumber salad I'm going to tote out to the farm. Yum.

Trying my hand at crochet again; it's been years. I've had very little time to sew lately, but crochet has been one of those activities that can be started and stopped at a moment's notice. To make it easy on myself, I'm making a baby blanket from this Japanese sewing book. (Look at the third image in the listing - the one-color blanket.) It says "One Week Baby Crochet". A week?? Pfft. Whatever.

Now if I can just get Victoria to leave my skeins alone. She's as bad as a cat. :)

I ain't dead.

2011-08-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been since April or so that I've posted. And here now it's August. But things are ok; just dealing with some stuff. I hope everyone is well. I hope to start posting again soon -- I still need to finish the little coat for Victoria.

Anniversary

2011-04-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, dear Husband! So much has happened in three years. Thanks for doing all you do for us. I do love you so very much; and I thank God for bringing you into my life.

And happy Passover! We are celebrating Passover this year (because we don't celebrate Easter) by spending today and the next 10 days remembering the sacrifice that Christ made for us, and celebrating His resurrection from the grave. We don't have a particular meal, or celebrate it in the traditional way, but we are attempting to avoid leavening for the 10 days as a symbol of "cleaning out" sin from our lives. And I love bread, so it's a huge sacrifice for me. :) (Especially since Keith and I are going out to eat for our anniversary tonight and we won't get to eat any hot rolls!) I know that we humans sin constantly, but I hope these 10 days serve to make me more aware of my sin by reminding me of God's Great Sacrifice. I could never imagine letting my sweet child hang on a cross to die for others. It's painful and humbling, convicting. Yet, so beautiful! Despite the pain in the world, we have a wonderful reason for joy.

Mrs. G has a great post over at her blog about the origins of Easter -- worth the read!

Many blessings and love to you all.

-Amy

Child's Paletot: Third Mockup

2011-04-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

I mocked up the sleeve and collar. Wahoo! The next fun thing is mocking up the sleeve cuff and then transfer the pattern to my gridline interfacing to make an official pattern.

I wasn't going to put the collar on because I love the idea of having bands of contrasting fabric to go across the chest as a trimming, which a collar would just get in the way of. However, since some of the original engravings I've seen have collars on paletots for young girls, I gave it a try. You can see a selection of period engravings in my post here.

Now that the collar is on, I rather like it, especially with the pretty dip in the back. There is a 1/2" seam allowance still on the edge of the collar, so it'll be slightly less wide when complete.

What do you think?

I still need to fix the hemline. I followed the original pattern for the hem and it's really wonky on a real person. I'm going to even it out some, but will probably end up making it an 1" longer than what you see here. She's already taking after me with regards to height.

Take care all. Sorry for the new blog theme change. I can't decide on a new look for the blog. Ha!

-Amy

I asked for strength...

2011-04-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

I asked for strength and
God gave me difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for wisdom and

God gave me problems to solve.

I asked for prosperity and

God gave me brawn and brains to work.

I asked for courage and

God gave me dangers to overcome.

I asked for patience and

God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.

I asked for love and

God gave me troubled people to help.

I asked for favors and

God gave me opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted

I received everything I needed.

My prayers have all been answered."

Author Unknown

- - - - -

This lovely poem was posted on Plain Pam's blog.
It was very timely for me, and I hope you find blessing in it as well.

-Amy

Child's Paletot: Second Mockup & Trim Ideas

2011-04-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the next mockup I did, after mild alterations. Not too shabby, I thought. I'm not too thrilled by the floppy folds, but I bet when it's made up in wool and lining and interlining, it'll probably be stiffer. Maybe the wool will lay in graceful folds. Maybe?

I mainly had to increase the neck size a bit, make the torso an inch and a half longer, move the front armscye in a little, and lowered the hem for my long-legged gal. There are 2 extra inches around the waist to make up for bulk and it's roomy while still being fitted, but I think I might actually add another inch for growth. I also need to round up the back a little -- it's a little too pointed, which you really can't see in these photos.

Question: Does anyone know if paletot's were supposed to close all the way down the front, or just to the waist? I closed it just to the waist in her mockup. All the engravings I've seen show it where it looks closed all the way down, but something always gets a little wonky when you try to close a straight-front coat over a skirt -- even a mildly voluminous one.

Took some pictures of the wool I have that I might use on Victoria's paletot. As you can see, it's not light blue, exactly. Medium blue, I guess. It looks great on Victoria. I guess I'm so used to black or brown for coats that I'm having trouble really visualizing a coat this color, although it's probably period-correct.

Black velvet would still look very nice as trim on this, in bands around the skirt, sleeves, and collar. Black velvet goes with almost anything. I thought about a braiding pattern. Very period; lots of designs to choose from. I dug through my stash and found swatches of some red gimp thread and white soutache braid to hold up to the wool and see how they looked. What do you think?

The red does have a nice contrast -- but very militaristic in my opinion. Not my favorite.

The white soutache is from that navy blue dress I started (but didn't finish), in which I did a lovely braiding pattern from Godey's around the skirt. It's one of the coolest sewing things I ever did, because it looked so striking -- and it ruined me (almost) entirely of other trim ideas. :) But it takes so long to do. This dress, by the way, looks a little too boyish for Victoria. Plus, the bodice I made for it is already too small for her. I got the idea from an original boy's dress anyway. I'll probably end up selling it so it can be worn by some sweet little boy; I'd hate for it to never get used after all that work putting the braid on. Anyway.

So there are some ideas. When I started out the paletot, I really was leaning towards a solid band trim of some kind (velvet or whatever). I like the "tailored" look of it. Besides, the front of the paletot will close edge-to-edge, rather than overlapping and buttoning-down. (Did that eve make sense?) That design might lend itself more to frogs or bands of fabric with buttons. I suppose I might end up doing soutache, but I need to think more on it.

Hope you're all having a great day!

- Amy

Child's Paletot: 1860-1861

2011-04-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Well, now I've gotten it into my head that I want to make Victoria a paletot. I suppose after the Madisonville reenactment being so cold and me not being prepared to keep her warmer, I was guilted into figuring out a decent coat for her to wear at reenactments. As you all know, I've already made the infant sacque for her, but as my little baby has become a little girl (sob!), by next winter, she will definitely be ready for a different style.

Thus I began researching paletots (or sacques) for little children. I've found a few diagrams, but they were too early. The latest diagram I could find was in the 1859 Petersons (at left). But I found several illustrations of sacques and paletot's for children which were dated later (1860-1861) and they all seem to be similar in basic style as the one in Peterson's, so I decided to give it a go. I'm excited about using an antique pattern and sizing it up as my foremothers might have done. I don't know about anyone else, but that kind of thing always makes me feel a little more connected to history. Maybe I'm just weird that way. :) Here are some of the other illustrations I've found:

The first thing I did was take the original diagram and import it into Illustrator, which is how I create most of my patterns. Then I sized it up using the center back-to-waist measurement onto the grid within Illustrator. That usually gives me a general baseline pattern to start with. Then I transfer it onto a 1" grid fabric (in the interfacing section at your fabric store), add the seam allowances and cut it out.

At this writing, I've transferred my pattern and cut it out, and sewed up the initial muslin. I can already tell that I'm going to need to alter the neckline a little as well as the armscyes. Since this coat needs to be worn over clothes, I need to make absolutely sure that I allow some extra room. Plus, I'm going to be have a light interlining for warmth quilted (maybe?) with the lining. I needs to be big enough to allow for that extra bulk and of course I would like her to make it at least through the next two winters. Although that might be wishful thinking.

After altering the neckline, I'll fit this first muslin to Victoria and see how it works out. Once I get a correctly fitted muslin for her, I'll get to the exiting part -- fabrics and trims! Personally, I like the trim style in the top right in the above image (the "Child's Garibaldi" from 1860), although I doubt I'd make it out of velvet. I suppose I could use black or brown velveteen and trim it in a bright colored silk. That might be fun.

I don't want to spend too much money; ideally, I want to use what I have available to me. I do have a nice light blue wool that would be perfect for a coat for Victoria -- and she would look lovely in blue. I just don't know how I'd trim it. If I could find velvet or velveteen to exactly match the color (because I love tone-on-tone), I'd LOVE it...but I don't have that at my disposal. Hm. So many decisions!

Anyway, that's a little about what's been going on around here. I hope you are all doing fantastic today! It's a gorgeous afternoon here in Texas, and we've been given a few vegetable plants that I'm excited to get into the ground. It's not much, but it's okay; I don't have a great deal of time for a large garden.

Many blessings, dear readers!

-Amy

I'm a kid in a candy store!

2011-03-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Detail of an Edwardian bodice from the collection at Abiti Antichi.

Just take a look at this site and you'll understand what I mean: Abiti Antichi. Yeah. :)

Hair.

2011-03-28T12:43:00.001-07:00

I don't know what's up with your hair, kiddo, but I love it.

Playing around + 100 Followers

2011-03-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I'm playing around with the Template Designer on here. Fun stuff!

Oh, and I just saw I have 100 followers! I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to care about what little ol' me is up to. I do hope to add some new content before too long and show off some new projects I have up my sleeve.

Have a good night all!

Amy

Spaces.

2011-03-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

I am in the throes of "spring cleaning". Or, more accurately, "preparation for Passover cleaning". The Bible speaks of purging the home of leaven and leavened products, but I'm taking it a step further and using it as an opportunity to do a full cleaning of the house. It needed it. :) I don't think I even realized how much it needed a good scouring until I began to see results. So, it's been incredibly busy these days -- it's nearly 11:30 as I write this! -- but the resulting tidiness of all my little spaces (like the one shown above*) makes it a good kind of busy. Ceilings to baseboards. Whew! What a job!

The Sabbath is to-morrow. Good night, my friends, and Blessings!

~ Amy ~

*I just realized that this photo was rather blurry. Sorry! :)

What We've Been Doing...

2011-03-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

{ Well, it was bound to happen at some point. }

{ New toy box made by her Pop! It's full already. I think toys secretly multiply at night. }

{ You didn't know they had period-correct Frito's did you? }

Getting ready for a new work week around here. I wish the weekend had been a little longer. I got a lot done, but still don't feel like I was very productive. But...at least now...I have fresh bread rising in the oven! There's something. I had a wonderful time at the baby shower for Brad and Stephanie yesterday (whose baby decided to make her entrance...10 weeks early)! Hopefully their little Sadie will be coming home within a couple of weeks, since she's doing incredibly well. God is so very Good.

Take care all!

Love, Amy

Happy Birthday Husband!

2011-03-10T09:38:00.000-08:00

Today is my husband's birthday, and I'm making him a cake this afternoon for when he comes home from work. (Actually, it'll be in the form of cupcakes.) I hope he likes it! It's a strawberry cake with strawberry icing -- his favorite. Happy birthday, Keith! Here's to many more years of driving each other crazy. :P I love you!

Victoria has new shoes. 1860's style.

2011-03-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

I'm a do-it-yourselfer junkie, apparently.

Victoria's new brown kid leather shoes with heavy leather soles and cotton lining.

I don't have fabric insoles -- just some cotton batting in preparation to lay fabric in, but I couldn't get that part done. The glue just soaks through the fabric and because I didn't put insoles on before turning the shoe, well...now it's next to impossible. Cotton batting alone won't hurt, though. At least she has something soft against her foot.

I would like to add a little trim on the top, but may not have time for that.

My inspiration: a number of period photos and a pattern for a lady's slipper in the 1860 Peterson's Magazine, which looked far too much like the miniature versions that young children wore:

I hope you are all doing well tonight.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...Part 2!

2011-02-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

Ok so Stephanie finally got her giftie in the mail and opened it so I can show you what I made now! :) I've hyped it up and it'll probably be something of a let-down because it's really rather simple. But it was fun to make and brought back lots of great memories of having a newborn. Yes, in case you're wondering, I've got "baby fever". It's not my fault though. If there just weren't so many people I know who were expecting right now...

So, anyway, here is what I made for Stephanie and Brad's wee one that's comin'. It sure was a joy to make; many blessings on you little baby!

(And let me add a special Thank You to Sarah Jane at Romantic History for sending her pattern for a baby dress! It's a wonderfully simple pattern and turns out nicely.)

Green Shake.

2011-02-12T19:49:00.000-08:00

Spinach, banana and yogurt shake. Tastes great!

Victoria won't touch it.

Sigh.

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

2011-01-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love making things for new babies?

I can't wait to show you what I've made for my friend Stephanie's first baby, a little girl, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Stephanie might be reading this! :)

One King Held The Hope Of The World

2010-12-20T11:38:00.000-08:00

I'm usually a "hymn" gal. I much prefer old fashioned hymns rather than contemporary Christian music (although CCM doesn't usually make me want to stab bamboo skewers under my fingernails ::giggle::) Give me a hymn, though, especially at Christmas and I am one happy mama. Despite that, though, I've discovered the new Point Of Grace Christmas album and they have a lovely new song on there. It's called One King. (Their version of Carol of the Bells is fantastic too!)

Kings of earth on a course unknown
Bearing gifts from afar
Hoping praying
Following yonder star

Silhouette of a caravan
Painted against the sky
Wise men searching
For the Holy Child

One king held the frankincense
One king held the myrrh
One king held the purest gold
One King held the hope of the world

It's only a week until Christmas! (Ok well, a little less than a week for those of you who are counting down.) I'll be spending it with my parents and sister. We don't do a conventional "Christmas" at our house, but I'm looking forward to seeing Victoria open some presents and having a stretch of days to spend with friends and family up in the metroplex.

Thanks to all who commented on my toddler underwear post. If you use the pattern, I hope it works out for you. I do enjoy making those little patterns. In a way, it's a paper memory of how little my Pumpkin Head was once. She's getting so big now. A lady at the fabric store the other day called her a Copper Penny. She is definitely a coppery red-head. I love it! :)

Many blessings for a lovely Christmas Tide to you all.

Amy

1860s Toddler Underwear + Pattern

2010-12-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks! Wow, I can't believe it's been a month (2 days shy) since I last posted. I guess things have been busier around here than I thought. I keep thinking of great things to post, but never seem to get around to doing it.

Here is one thing that has been keeping my nose to the grindstone lately. Victoria has long grown out of her infant underthings, and since she is well on the way to the 2-year mark where she will be transitioning to a longer stay and button-on underwear (we'll see how that goes), I needed to make a new set of underthings for her. Even new petticoats, too. I doing broderie anglaise on a petticoat for her -- which I've started -- but I'm not getting very far. :) The funnest part of making these was the embroidery on the inside, which is inspired by Queen Victoria's underwear. Fun stuff.

So here are the underwear and the chemises. I'll work on the stay next. Oh, and I'm providing a pattern for the underwear at the bottom for your delectation and delight.

Above: Embroidery on the underwear a la Queen Victoria. Her underwear bore a similar mark, except it said "VR", included a crown and a number for the laundress, rather than "24" (which for me, indicates the size - 24 months in this case).

One pair of finished underwear (ok, well, except for the buttonholes).

Detail of the hand-stitched tucks.

The chemises (18 mo and 24 mo), based on my original pattern. I made her 24 month one slightly longer, since my darling gal is growing somewhat tall...like her mama, no doubt.

Detail on the chemises.

Monogram on the back hem of her chemise.

- - - - -

Here is the pattern for the drawers, files 1-4 (left to right). They're in order like a square grid: Top row 1, 2; bottom row 3, 4. Pretty self explanatory once you get the pages printed out. My "regular" disclaimer stands: I'm not a professional pattern maker -- I draft these to fit my daughter, but I try to keep to original standards in shape and styling wherever I can. If you find something doesn't work out, let me know.

Cheddar & Potato Soup

2010-11-19T20:53:00.000-08:00

I made this soup tonight and, by golly, I think it was the best potato soup I've ever had! It had a spicy side, too, which was great for this cold I'm trying to kick. This yummy recipe came right out of the pages of December's Mary Jane's Farm magazine, and although I had to steal the photograph from the magazine because my soup wasn't nearly so pretty, it still tasted absolutely fabulous. If you don't get the magazine, you should.

Here's the recipe:

Saute 1 diced onion in 4 T butter. Add 1/4 cup flour, 1 t dry mustard, and 1/2 t cayenne pepper; stir for 3 minutes. Ad 4 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cups dice carrots, and 1/2 cups diced potatoes; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Ad 2 cups half-and-half and 3 cups grated cheddar cheese; cook for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serves 6. Yum!

Croup.

2010-11-15T06:22:00.000-08:00

Oh, evil croup. Why couldn't you just have been a regular ol' cold? Those familiar sniffles would be more appreciated than your menacing "bark" of a cough. Especially when it's coming out of a little tiny body.

I didn't know Victoria had croup until the cough started last night. Then, it was unmistakable! Anyone out there have a good remedy for croup? Maybe there's nothing I can do except wait it out and continuing to do what I've been doing for her. Here's what I've given her:

Our "concoction", baby style (once daily):
1) bit of OJ
2) bit of Vit C powder
3) a squirt of Ecinacea
4) tiny bit of colloidal silver

And to this, I've also been giving her a "cough tea" all throughout the day which is made of:
1) Red clover tops
2) Licorice root
3) Ginger root

And then once a day, I also give her a squirt of elderberry tincture. I've made sure she was in a cool room last night while sleeping, and today I'm going to get a cold-air humidifier. Should I keep giving her Motrin for pain? I can't really tell if her throat hurts or not. She's acting mostly normal now, except for the hoarse voice. No fever.

Our only local health store is limited on what they have, so I doubt I'd be have time to get anything new online this late in the game, but since croup can be common among babies, I'd like to be prepared next time.

Any thoughts from my dear readers out there?

Amy

Sniffle sniffle. Sneeze.

2010-11-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

For all our family members out there (and kind readers who like to hear an update on our little family), Victoria has gotten our first cold. Poor girl. She's miserably congested and runny, but we're keeping her on a steady routine of herbals to ease the discomfort. She has a bit of a fever -- ~~101.4~~ 102.6 (!!!) has been the highest so far (and, the highest fever I've ever seen her with). Please keep her in your prayers. Colds are just never fun. Especially when you don't know enough words to tell mama how you feel.

- - - - - - -

So the other day, I ordered these two books. (Click here and here if you want to see their link on Amazon.com) I'm absolutely dying for them to come in. I don't often buy books, but it always seems to happen that when I'm ready to buy a book, there's two or three or four more in related material that I end up getting. I guess buying 3-4 books once or twice a year is a lot better than buying 3-4 books every other week. Yes, I'm a recovering bookaholic.

I also bought some skeins of broderie anglaise cotton, with which to embroider a little petticoat for Victoria. It'll (hopefully) be made so that she can grow into it pretty easily. I'll make it very wide at the hem so as her waist grows, I can just unpick the waistband and reattach a new one. And, of course, lots of tucks in order to allow the skirt to be lengthened. I really hope I can manage to finish it. For me, finishing something as detailed as embroideries is not an easy task. I can easily get behind and let it fall by the wayside. Hopefully, knowing I need to finish it for Victoria (before she grows too much!) will be a good way to stay on task.

Well, I suppose I must run.

-Amy

Gone Fishin'

2010-10-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, well went fishin', since it was last week.

Or, to be more accurate, Keith went fishin'...and me and Victoria stayed around camp. It was fun! We had a blast watching wildlife and playing in the river and oohing and aahing over the deer that came right into our camp to say hi. We had the place (mostly) to ourselves until Friday, when everyone else decided to converge on Colorado Bend. So it was nice.

Victoria checking Daddy's work putting up the tent.

Our makeshift "play area" -- thanks to Gerald! If you ever go camping with a toddler, one of these is a must.

The deer that came to dinner. Keith and Gerald were probably wishing the deer was for dinner.

It's blurry, but that's Daddy and Victoria in the middle of the river.

A happy Punkin Head.

The view from our campsite.

- - - - -

All was pretty good...until we got home to our clean, sweet-smelling, indoor-plumbing house to find that it was pretty well rank with the scent of death. The death of our deep freezer, that is, along with 300+ lbs of meat....mostly from a calf a friend butchered a few months back. We were just about to dig in to the "good" meat (ie: we were finishing up some older meat from Sams and the grocery store) when all this happened. It was awful. Awful. (So is the smell.) And humbling. Goes to show how easily a bounty can be taken from you with zero notice.

So we are cleaning like furies to get the funk out of our house. We don't have a garage, so the freezer was in our laundry room. Kind of nice that we come home from camping for a week, with loads of laundry to do, and the nastiest smell ever is in the room where I have to do all the laundry. Ick. Ugh. Nasty.

Such is life, though, right?

We've moved the freezer to the porch out back to clean it up even more, and I've mopped and bleached the laundry room. The smell is better at least.

Now we have to figure out how to restock. I wonder if our friend is going to be butchering another calf anytime soon...... :) Organic, grass-fed beef. Now that's what should be for dinner.

Ok, back to work.

Cheers, y'all!

Amy

15 Months +

2010-10-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

I declare, every time I sit down to write about Victoria, her milestones and her getting older, I immediately think of how humbling it is that 1) I actually have a child, 2) that it's been only a breath of time since the day I first laid eyes on her, and 3) that she has grown as much as she has in such a short duration. That a tiny wee babe can learn to crawl, walk, talk, gesture intelligently, feed herself, and help with an array of little tasks (like putting her clothes on, wiping her face) in but a twelvemonth is, I think, quite a miracle.

15 Months Old!

My wee babe has entered her fifteenth month, on the 26th of September. She is now wearing "big girl" shoes (after a summer of going pretty much barefoot all the time), is nearly grown out of 18 month clothes, and attempting to repeat everything she hears. Fun stuff.

For us, our most exciting development is the fact that we discovered that her little "Your Baby Can Read" video and flash cards are actually working. Yes, indeed, our baby is reading! Sort of. :) Haha! I won't flatter myself that she is truly reading -- not phonetically at least -- but she is memorizing words at a good rate, it seems. I know it sounds like I'm bragging...I don't mean to, really. I just got rather excited when I held up the flash card for "kick" and "cow" and "arms up" and "clap" and "wave" -- and she finally read them back to me instead of just staring blankly at them. Sometimes, she would add the action to the word and would clap, wave or moo... It was kind of a thrill! It's proof, I suppose, that she really is picking up on early learning.


Red hair!

We bought the "Your Baby Can Read" system mainly because it allowed her to watch something truly educational while I cooked dinner or did other chores that were difficult to do with her underfoot. We still read to her regularly, and did even before we bought the system. The kit also had flash cards and game cards, which I thought could only be beneficial during playtime. We figured a lot of early learning is memorization anyway, so it wouldn't hurt. We didn't really expect Victoria to pick up the words so easily. At any rate, it's a head start to when we begin working on reading phonetically.

- - - - -

So the weather has now begun to turn a little chilly here in central Texas. (That would probably translate to "unseasonably warm" for my readers up in the northern states.) :) I've been attempting to finish that navy polka dot dress with the white braid trim for the December reenactment at the historic Ft. Washita in Oklahoma...but unfortunately (much to our great sadness) our beloved Ft. Washita burned down a couple of weeks ago. For our reenacting unit, Ft. Washita was the place we had our annual private reenactment at Christmastime. It was always so lovely. Plus, it was one of my very first reenactments. There is a support group forming on Facebook for Ft. Watshita in hopes of gathering funds for a rebuild. I hope they can achieve it, although I know these days funds are better utilized in taking care of the family. At least we have the memories.

- - - - -

In other news, we're planning a camping trip in a few weeks! This will be the first time ever that I've camped out (modern style) with Keith, so that'll be fun. The boys will be going fishing so we'll have a catfish fry several times, I'm sure. Even funner is the chance to have the baby along and look at sticks and leaves and bugs. :) Sticks and leaves and bugs, to my toddler, are apparently the coolest thing since they put the pocket in the pita. And I love it!

Well, I suppose I should pack it in for the night. Blessings to you all.

Amy

Simplicity.

2010-09-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

Its a gift to be simple, Its a gift to be free,
Its the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed,
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right

Its a gift to be simple, Its a gift to be free,
Its a gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
Will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed,
To turn, turn, will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right
Till by turning, turning we come round right

Simple Gifts by Joseph Brackett, 1797-1882

- - - - -

I recently bought Jewel's "Lullabies" CD and it had this song on it. Quite appropriate since I've recently fallen into a study on simplicity and simple living. Not only is the whole CD a beautiful set of songs for both adults and children (relaxing!), her "Simple Gifts" recording really gave me a much-needed moment of focus as I rocked my little darling to sleep.

Fun on a rainy day.

2010-09-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Make an ocean in a bottle! I remember our class in elementary school having one of these. It was so fascinating to me to watch the "waves" I made by rocking the bottle. Just take an empty bottle, fill it half way with water, add food coloring of your choice, and then fill the rest of the way up with oil. If I'd had a clear oil on hand, I would have used that, but I only had cooking oil, which has a yellow tint. After that, glue on the lid (the glue is a safety precaution) and you have an instant ocean! Fun stuff! Victoria loved playing with it.

Although she is still far too small to understand anything about it, when she's older, the Ocean In A Bottle is a fun science experiment about the properties of oil and water. Besides, it's fun to play with. And kind of relaxing. Enjoy!

Something Smells Rotten.

2010-09-01T15:08:00.000-07:00

On the radio this morning, I heard a brief interview with a leader of a religious event calling for a couple of days of fasting and praying of parents and children at an upcoming place and time. As I listened to him answer questions to promote his event, a few things really creeped me out. In fact, these are the things that I find creepy about most mainstream churches today. It’s sad; but it’s true.

William Holman Hunt - "Morning Prayer"

It didn't bode well that, at the beginning of the interview, he was asked how the event got started and he said he prayed that God would help him change the world. After catching himself, he said “I know I can’t do it...but we can all do it together.” Where, I ask, is God’s glory, Mr. Preacher Man? If you think that switching out your pronouns will make you look less glory-hungry, think again.

Then he went on to say that some lady not only paid his salary but also gave him $100,000 to put on this big event (because she believed he would change the lives of young people). You know, I work in marketing and I do graphic design for advertising, so I have a pretty clear understanding as to how much time and money it takes to reach even one customer. But preachers and organizations like this would put God on the same level as an advertisement for Camel Lights. God’s love, grace, and mercy are not products to be sold. God does not need money to reach His sheep. They will hear His voice. (No matter how much social media you throw at it!) After all, they heard His voice long before Facebook and Twitter. Jesus didn't have a website and marketing budget in preparation to feed the five thousand...yet they still came. Imagine that.

Just the idea of a huge event with thousands of people fasting and praying sent chills up my spine. There was a time when I would applaud anyone getting a big worship service together, but this morning, something seemed very rotten in the state of Christendom. Is it just me, or does anyone else hear the word “Pharisee” when they hear about that sort of stuff? Does not the Bible say pretty clearly:

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matt 6:5-6, emphasis added)

Now, don’t get me wrong. I pray ardently that our country and it’s people will turn back to God. I desire that more than anything. I just think it’ll take a whole lot more personal conviction – and a changing of the heart and lifestyle – and a whole lot less of these huge ~~concerts~~ worship services to "reach the lost for God". Singing and fellowship can do wonders to lift the mood and certainly has it's place in worship, but I think the modern church today has taken it too far.

Be still, and know that I am God. That says it all for me.

Toddler Meals: Potato, Zucchini and Cheese Fritters

2010-07-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to get my finicky daughter to eat more vegetables, I made up some fritters with zucchini and potatoes. She loved them! It's really yummy. I ate 'em for lunch. This was a great way to use the zucchini from our garden, and with the eggs it makes a really tasty breakfast, too.

Potato, Zucchini and Cheese Fritters

2 med potatoes, peeled
2 med zucchini, trimmed
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste
2 T vegetable oil
2 T margarine

Coarsely grate the potatoes and zucchini then get rid of as much of their liquid as possible by squeezing them between two plates. Put the vegetables in a bowl and add the grated cheese, eggs and seasonings. Heat the oil and margarine in a pan. Form the vegetable mixture into round, flat cakes and cook over medium heat, turning frequently to brown both sides. Makes about 8 four-inch rounds.

Be well, y'all. God bless!

- Amy

First Watermelon.

2010-07-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

{ I love this girl. }

Quotables.

2010-07-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

Found this in my daily planner for today:

"To be thrown upon one's resources is to be cast into the very lap of fortune, for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previously insusceptible."
- Benjamin Franklin

Ain't that the truth? Thanks Ben.

I love pedicures.

2010-07-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

Actually, it was my first pedicure, and I was extremely thankful to share it with my gal pal, Paula, during our "Girl's Weekend" this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Paula and I usually have what we call a "Sewing Weekend" in which we bring our latest sewing projects -- usually Civil War related -- and sew furiously and with abandon in order to meet whatever reenactment is coming up. This weekend, the first "Girl's Weekend" we ever had, was deliciously lacking in sewing or any other such chore, and consisted almost entirely of watching romantic comedies, getting pedicures, manicures, hair cuts, sleeping in and eating greasy pepperoni rolls. Oh, and Olive Garden. (And Jamey is still not getting his $12.50 back.)

I was in desperation of some much needed R&R. Things have been...well...not very relaxing around here. So, the baby stayed with Granny and Pa and she had a wonderful time. She was even as well-rested as I was. We came home, met up with Daddy again, and unpacked. Late last night, we caught glimpse of some home-town fireworks (ie: store-bought things that some of the kids set off in the school parking lot across the street) and Keith and I sat on the front porch and watched them. I wish I could say we sat on a swing and drank ice teas, but alas...no.

No other real news to report. Oh, I invented (not really) some quick baby food in case anyone out there needs some ideas on homemade baby stuff:

BASIC INSTANT OATMEAL

1 c. rolled oats
2 Tbsp brown sugar or other sweetener (adjust according to taste)
1 Tbsp dry milk
1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Put in food processor and blend until the rolled oats are chopped up (easier for little mouths to handle). To make up for an average-sized feeding, boil 2 oz (1/4 c) water, reduce heat to low, then add 2 Tbsp of oatmeal mix. Cook for about 1 minute, or until thickened. I usually take mine off the fire when it's still a bit soupy because I have to let it cool for about 10 minutes (for babies tender mouths) and as it cools, it thickens further. For larger servings, simply add 1 oz of water for each Tbsp of oatmeal.

It's tasty and perfect companion to fruit in the morning.

FRUIT PUREE YOGURT

This is a no-brainer, but I made it easy for me to have quick fresh fruit yogurt on hand without getting the expensive stuff or without anything going bad too soon. For babies who can't really chew up fresh fruit or berries, I made no-sugar-added purees each of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. I ran each of them through a sieve to get rid of any solids and seeds, and then poured each puree into an ice tray. I froze it in my deep freeze until solid, then put the puree blocks into a freezer bag.

When I want fresh fruit yogurt, I simply take out whichever puree I want, put it into a bowl with about 1/3 c yogurt (I use organic vanilla from Stonyfield Farm) and let it defrost for 15 mins before dinner. Victoria loves it, especially the raspberry one, and it always tastes nice and fresh.

Now that I've found my yogurt machine, I'm definitely going to to make some homemade yogurt to go with the purees.

Ta ta for now. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend.

Happy Birthday Victoria

2010-07-01T08:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Victoria,

You turned one year old last Saturday. At 1:03pm, to be exact. I can't believe it's been a whole year; you've grown and changed so much. We didn't expect you for two more weeks, so when the doctor told me we had to get you out of my tummy, I had to call Daddy away from work and he rushed over to Waco to see your little face as you came into the world.

You were a little jaundiced, so Daddy laid you on his chest under the sunny window.

You were so beautiful. The midwife told me your little feet came out first because you were sitting in my tummy like a little Buddha. Then you cried. And I cried. You took our breath away when we saw your little red curls and darling face. A nice, plump little girl at 6 pounds and 9 ounces.

Soon, you had the run of the household, sleeping anywhere and everywhere. Daddy still served as an effective pillow. But he didn't mind.

We took so many pictures of you. This one is when you were only a week old.

And this one is when you were about three weeks old, and still sleeping on Daddy. I should have known you'd be a Daddy's girl. But I know you loved me too, so I was ok with that. I couldn't help loving you; you were such a happy little baby.

Well, sometimes you were sad.

And sometimes you just felt blah.

I loved it when you would let me dress you up.

And stage photo sessions.

Soon, you were already trying to stand up on your own. At 6 months, you could hold on to our ottoman and stand up for a while. We just knew you'd be walking soon. Your Daddy started walking at 10 months old. You loved to stand up holding on to things. Forget about sitting in the floor. And you didn't crawl until about 9 months old.

At seven months, we put together your big crib. You loved it from day one. I was glad for that.

And by then, you had really become a ham for the camera. Your mama can't resist your smile and your little giggle.

We had a particularly cold winter for Texas, and you got to see snow for the first time! I was hoping you'd be able to see snow in your first winter. We put on your little snowsuit and bonnet and went out to play. You didn't quite know what to think of it.

Your Aunt Goosey visited a few times, and once she brought a ball! Your first little bouncy ball. You really enjoyed that. And now you can bounce it back to us! You're such a smart girl.

You still sleep really well, although you've decided a new position works better for you.

And you're still a ham for the camera.

Dear Victoria, you are truly the light of our lives. We love you so much and we thank God for giving us the chance to raise you. We will undoubtedly make mistakes, and we hope, in years to come, that you will forgive us our failings. Always remember to love the Lord, serve Him, and be the best little girl you can be.

Happy First Birthday!

Love,
Your Mama and Daddy

2010-06-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Somehow, in the course of my busy days, I managed to make some strawberry preserves and wild plum jam. I didn't have any pectin on hand, so I made it using a vintage recipe where you basically just cook it in sugar for 20 minutes or so, let it set up and cool, then process it in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. I haven't opened one of them yet. I should though. I really have no idea if it turned out well or not. They just look so pretty on my pantry shelf!

I also put up some Italian giardiniera - a condiment with jalapenos, bell peppers, carrot, celery, onion and other spices and stuff that is mixed with equal parts olive oil and vinegar. I couldn't process these, though, because they have oil in them. Next time, I'll leave the oil out when I can them, and then later just mix in the appropriate amount of oil when I open the jar.

If you like hot stuff, this is yummy. Even if you don't like hot stuff, you could always make it without the jalapenos. It is a perfect way to utilize some produce from the garden, plus it's excellent on sandwiches (especially Italian ones), in salads, in pastas, and even pizzas. Some people just eat it as a side dish. Here's the recipe for you. I got a little over 4 pints of it.

Hot Italian Giardiniera

2 green bell pepeprs, diced
2 red bell peppers, diced
8 fresh jalapeno peppers, sliced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 c fresh cauliflower florets
1/2 c water to cover
2 cloves garlic
1 T dried oregano
1 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t black pepper
1 five-oz jar of pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped
1 c white vinegar
1 c olive oil

Place into a bowl the green and red peppers, jalapenos, celery, carrots, onion, and cauliflower. Stir in salt and fill with enough water to cover. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, drain salty water and rinse vegetables.

In a bowl, mix together garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper and olives. Pour in vinegar and olive oil and mix well. Combine with vegetable mixture. Cover and refrigerate for two days before using.

In other news, Victoria has begun trying to feed herself with utensils. We delayed solids pretty long, so she's a little behind *most* babies when it comes to feeding herself from a spoon. Still, she cracked me up with her cuteness, especially when she's covered in yogurt. :)

I just can't believe she's going to be one in eight days.

Dress Designer Giveaway

2010-06-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

I'm so in love with this little dress designer series that Atlanta has produced. It looks perfect for the little girls (future seamstresses?) in your family. I can't wait for Victoria to be old enough to play with it.

Go check it out and enter to win!

Fruits.

2010-06-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Howdy y'all.

First, it's going to be my sister's birthday in a little over 3 hours. Happy birthday Cathy. I know I made you a little crazy when we were younger, but...I didn't think it would stick! Haha! (That was what was in the card I sent her! It still gives me a chuckle thinking about it.) Very glad to have you as a sister, Cathy. God has blessed me with you!!

Here are some of our first fruits of the garden. Those of you with bigger gardens might laugh at my small yield, but for a city-girl-turned-country-girl who has had naught but containers to "garden" in most of her life, these little jalapenos and tomatoes and lone squash are the highlight of her day. She simply cannot wait to go out into the little patch of earth each morning to visit the produce. :)

I planted the tomatoes too close (although I was told that in the hot Texas summers, it's good to plant them fairly close so that they get shade and are less likely to split. But the plants are getting HUGE and crowded and I'm not sure what to do about it.

The summer squash are definitely way too close. I was told my little squash "mound" was just fine when I planted it, but I had no idea they would get SO BIG. I've never grown squash. I think the roots are probably too deep to do anything about it now, but I bet I won't get the yield I would have if I'd spaced them out by 4'. Boo.

In other news, a little possibility has sprung up that might afford us the opportunity to move out to my dad's family property sooner rather than later. It would mean living in the old double-wide home out there, which will need a bit of work to be comfortable to live in, but it's certainly LOTS better than it was a few years ago when my dad started work on the place. Definitely not ideal (I'd much rather have a house built first) -- and quite honestly, it would be a drastic change in our standard of living (not that we live "high on the hog" currently anyway in this dinky small town). It would require an abundance of patience, fortitude and perseverance. It would also require lots of work, not just to prepare the house for living in which is do-able, but work to start cultivating the land for long-term usage.

It would also, however, provide an opportunity to prepare for the harder times that are coming that we wouldn't otherwise be able to do if we had to wait to have a house built. Not that we won't build our house, because we still plan on that. Economic circumstances may delay the process, but we still intend to settle permanently out there sometime.

So, friends, I ask that you remember us in your prayers. It's one thing to move from one place to another, but it's something else entirely to down-grade your standard of living on purpose and find joy in that. It's scary. But if God wants us out there, I believe whole-heartedly that He will make the way for us -- even if it means finding a different job for Keith. Or putting that patience, fortitude and perseverance in my heart.

I thank you, as always.

Love,
Amy

Impromptu Piano Duet

2010-05-31T20:42:00.000-07:00

An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic for a checkup and spotted a piano. They've been married for 62 years and he'll be 90 this year. Check out this impromptu performance...

I hope I have that much kick at 90. You betcha, baby.

Around the house.

2010-05-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It's been forever since I posted (it seems), and although I don't have anything important to post, I thought I'd drop by and say hello. :)

Things have been extremely busy around here, just with life I guess. It's good to be busy, but some of us (like my husband) is busier than he really ought to be. He's getting many overtime hours due to a lack of a co-worker who recently retired, and the paycheck is an extreme blessing, but he's wearing out with all the double-shifts -- often evening and midnights. I'm worried about him, to be honest. I hope his schedule can regulate soon so I can get my husband back.

Please keep him in your prayers, for health and well-being.

My garden is doing well. I've harvested my first two tomatoes the other day. Two little cherry tomatoes. :) But the plants are really getting huge and are growing all sorts of young tomatoes. I also have precisely 3 jalapenos, 1 bell pepper, and two new little veggies I just found:

{ and if you look closely, there's a second zucchini to the left of the bigger one, which is, by itself, only about 2" long. }

I also acquired a new set of dishes! Refrigerator dishes to be exact. I never knew what "refrigerator dishes" were until Atlanta posted about them on her blog. Well, actually, I knew what they were, just not by that name. My grandmother had some. My mom had some. And I don't know if they had the Amish Butterprint pattern, but something about it seemed familiar, so I picked them up. Maybe my grandmother had this pattern and I'm channeling her. :) Anyway, I love them. I dig turquoise and white. I'm getting a matching butterdish and a few other smaller dishes next.

Well, that is all for now! Y'all be good. Serve Our Lord. Buy gold. ;) Hard times are coming. I'm not going to rant about it, but I fear it could be worse than anyone is imagining at the moment. Lord willing, it won't be; but it's always better to be prepared.

Blissful sleep.

2010-05-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

I just discovered my husband and baby, curled up together in bed for a nap. How cute. He worked a midnight shift last night, so he was ready to get some sleep and I guess Punkin Head was ready for a nap too. I went in there a second ago and heard both of them snoring away. The weather out there is cool (for Texas - 63 degrees), it's a quiet, calm day.

I really love my life sometimes.

Now I'm off to try out Mrs. G's "Canned Dry Beans" recipe for the pantry.

My Life - May 1-7

2010-05-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Just another little "My Life In Pictures". I'm obviously not good at documenting each week, but the pictures I do have are a great snapshot of a week in our lives.

{ Victoria thoroughly enjoying the mirror at our B&B last weekend }

{ My friend Paula. }

{ A visitor to our butterfly sanctuary -- oops, I mean the tree that's blossoming out back. }

{ Tomato, tomato. Oh how I love thee. Ripen soon, so that I may eat thee. }

{ Our first garden. It ain't much; but it's ours. And I love it. We have lots of gifted tomato plants, bell pepper, various hot peppers, squash, zucchini, and I recently got four okra plants, because no Texas garden should ever be without okra. }

{ Working mom. }

{ My little cherub. You are the light of my life! }

Finally Catching My Breath.

2010-04-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

Wel, after a month or so of throat viruses, ear infections, strep throat, nursing strikes/early weaning (which is still going on, by the way, although we're at least nursing during the night), I just had a serious reality-check about a reenactment that is coming up at the end of April which has put me full-force into the throes of sewing. Because I have a little girl who is now pulling up and cruising around and 24" long infant gowns are not going to do the trick for her independent little self. That, and it'll be warm at the reenactment I bet.

Thus, I've shortened my girl.

A bittersweet thing, isn't it? But it's hard to feel tragic for long, because she's so sweet in her new shorter petticoat and soft stays that I could just eat her up! I shortened her skirts to 14.5" -- they come to just above her ankle. Not so great for crawling, because they still get in the way, but she'll find so much more freedom to toddle, grab, and chew on her little "feetsies"...whichever suits her fancy at the time.

I got inspiration for her new yellow and green dress from this:

Shortened the sleeves, of course, and made it to fit a baby (because the original looks to me more like a young girl, rather than an infant. Here is a pic of her wearing it today. I hope to get more at the reenactment.

And one of her petti and soft stays:

And one of her being silly while sitting with daddy in the rocker:

I've also been busy with a navy blue with white polka dot dress that has white soutache trim all around the hem. For Victoria, of course. I mean, who could possibly have the time to do that around the hem of a ladies' dress?? It took me 2.5 weeks just to get 86" done. But it looks stunning...if I say so myself. I don't have pictures yet -- sorry! -- because the dress isn't done yet. It's still very much in pieces.

And I've also completed a pair of drawers for my darling man. He's been needing a new pair.

Well, I'm off to visit 1862. Y'all be good.

Anniversary The Second.

2010-04-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful pavilion.

It was filled with friends.

And beautiful music.

And tables laden with delicious foods. (Ain't it gorgeous??)

It was there we exchanged our vows.

Then we went on a fabulous honeymoon.

And lived happily ever after.

. . . . . . .

A lot has changed since, of course.

But we're still living happily, blissfully ever after.

Here's to you, my dear beloved husband.

And many more years together.

My Life - April 10-16

2010-04-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, I decided to do my own version of "Project Life" this week. My life in pictures.

Sad.

2010-04-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hey, do y'all mind if I cry on your blog shoulders for a minute? I've been crying on friends' email shoulders too, but I'm just so despondent about this. I need to talk it out. Maybe someone out there has been through this before.

Victoria has stopped nursing. (Sob!!) Sunday morning, at 5am, she nursed her last and has refused me ever since. She's been rejecting me here and there for the last week as my milk supply has been lower (although, incidentally, today saw a slight increase in my supply, thanks to Fenugreek and crazy amounts of pumping), but Sunday morning was the end for her apparently. And she's not just placidly turning away from me. No, no. She's biting. Biting without even latching on first. I offer her the opportunity to nurse; she responds by biting down on me and pulling away (OUCH!) and then crying hysterically as if I'm trying to feed her arsenic.

Now, maybe everyone reading my blog who has had babies were glad to wean whenever the babies felt like it, but I really wanted to keep nursing at least until a year, and hopefully beyond that (even if it was mostly for comfort). And until the last week, we have enjoyed a rather good nursing relationship. I've nursed her until (as of last week) she began to just refuse the breast because [I presume] I wasn't producing as much. (My "monthlies" returned several weeks back, maybe that had something to do with it.) Thursday, for example, the baby was at Keith's folks house all day long, so I had to pump. In 5 pumping sessions I got a grand total of 8 oz. Eight. Measly. Ounces.

Now I was never a champion milk producer, but I could definitely produce enough for her to eat plus a little more. Every growth spurt so far we've weathered through famously. She has seemed to enjoy nursing. Until she started biting a month ago or so. She'd bite so hard that I'd end up yelping and pulling her off. Literally, it was that bad. Teeth marks. I know I scared her a few times, but we did end up resuming a somewhat normal nursing relationship, although trust was a little guarded. For the most part, she nursed ok, because when she was actively nursing, she couldn't really bite me.

I knew she was probably teething, so I had patience with her. She has 8 teeth already; I figured molars were next and I knew they were doozies. But recently, her bites are no longer just "ow, my teeth hurt and I want to chew on something" kind of bites. She's biting on purpose. And she's not playing either, which is what she used to do when her teeth first came in. She's biting me purposefully, then getting angry that I'm not giving her something else to eat.

As of about Tuesday last week, most times I'd try to nurse her, she'd bite me a few times, then settle into nursing. Most of Friday, most of Saturday, and all of Sunday (except the 5 a.m. nursing session), she would bite me and pull off and cry. I was getting to be in some serious pain over it. I've tried just putting the "girls" away and saying "no biting" and then trying again, but that didn't work. I tried thumping her lightly on the cheek, tapping her mouth, saying "no biting" in a firm voice and calm voice. But instead of doing what most said she would do (which was realize that she won't get to nurse if she bites, and thus stop biting), she seemed to say "Oh, ok, no problem. I don't need you anyway."

I thought perhaps I'd inadvertently got her hooked on the bottle.

But until my milk supply began to decrease recently, I rarely gave her a bottle. Even when she had that ear infection a month ago, she refused both bottles and breast -- so it's not like she got used to a bottle during that time. She even gave up the pacifier cold turkey. She did, however, have to be given water for a little while as she was on the verge of dehydration...which we gave her in a sippy cup, and she has had a bottle of water from time to time, although she doesn't drink much from it. Could that have caused her to give up on nursing?

Then I thought maybe she's just going through a huge growth spurt. She seems obviously hungry these days. Saturday night, for example, she had an 7 oz bottle of half breastmilk and half formula before falling asleep around 9pm. By 2am, she wanted another 4 ounces, which I had to give her in formula because she wouldn't nurse and was crying too hysterically for me to pump first. At 5 am, she was awake again and nursed for the last time. (Sob!) Some have suggested that she needs rice cereal in her bottle at night because she needs more sustenance. Does she? Who knows.

Some others have suggested that she might be self-weaning (but I hear that's a rarity among babies under a year). If so, my heart might break. I'm not really ready to give up nursing. What I do know, however, is that she is often reaching for my plate at dinner and seems to constantly want to be fed. I've tried keeping "solids" simple -- bits of avocado, carrots, peas. But nothing that you could even call a meal.

So I've attempted to do all the things to renew her enthusiasm in nursing. I've tried nursing her when she's sleepy, half-asleep, and even sound asleep. I've tried co-sleeping, skin-to-skin, nursing while bathing, nursing while in motion. Every single time, she either cries because she knows I'm trying to encourage nursing, or she just bites me violently and then cries. She's even bitten me through my shirt and bra! Have I inadvertently caused my baby to be violent? Do I not spend enough time talking to her, rocking her, playing with her, bathing her, feeding her, and otherwise showering love upon her?

Should I keep trying to nurse her, even though she bites me? I'm afraid I've been hurt so bad by it that I'm going to have a hard time nursing her without being tense. That might be contributing to the problem though, and I'm willing to do whatever I need to.

I wish babies came with an instruction manual.

Sigh. This is really very hard for me. I feel like my heart's going to break. Maybe it seems silly to most people, but for someone who doesn't know if she'll have another child, I've been cherishing every little moment. I don't want to miss anything. And I don't want our times cut short. She, on the other hand, seems happy as a lark. I'd never want her to stay a baby, but still...I thought I could enjoy at least some comfort nursing for many months to come.

Anyone have any ideas? Tips? Hope? Prayer?

Update on Victoria.

2010-03-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for your comments and prayers from my previous post! After another frustrating (though not so bad as Saturday) night, we went to see the doc this morning and she has an ear infection -- apparently pretty bad. The doctor was surprised considering she had such a short, low-grade fever. She gave me antibiotics...ugh. Although I'm against antibiotics generally, I'm thinking we should still take them because the infection is so strong. I always hate that decision. I don't want her to suffer or get a secondary infection. Agh.

She also had a throat virus -- although I completely forgot to ask specifically which one -- and she does have small blister like things at the back of her palate. Nothing to be done for that except fluids and Tylenol.

Anyway...so there's the update. Thanks again for everyone's wisdom and insight. You're more valuable than you know to those of us who are venturing for the first time into parenthood.

Now I'm heading to the oral surgeon to get some wisdom teeth pulled. Ick.

Amy

Baby's First Fever - And I'm Losing My Mind.

2010-03-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

What I wouldn't give to have the wisdom of an experienced mom on some disk somewhere, that could be downloaded directly into my brain. It would have been so helpful, especially last night. And this morning. And this afternoon. And right now.

My poor Victoria had her first fever last night -- topping at 101.4 somewhere around 3am. Oh, and the crying, my poor dear. Such awful, pitiful cries. She wouldn't nurse because she couldn't breathe, so I suctioned her nose. We got fitful sleep -- every couple of hours, she'd awaken, I'd take her temp and offer liquid. She nursed a couple of times, thank goodness. We limped through the night. She slept with me -- usually against my chest while I sat up in bed. That seemed to work the best.

At 10am, the drooling started and the fever broke. Such drooling I've never seen in my life. She still wouldn't nurse, and seemed to have pain swallowing and yawning. (That always hurts me when I have sinus drainage, so I wondered if that could be it.) Had a few alarms that made me think I might have to go to the ER, but then, suddenly, she started nursing, went to sleep for 30 mins or so, and woke up in a fairly good mood. That lasted a couple of hours, and we repeated the process. Luckily the fever hasn't returned.

As of 8pm, we've had over 40 minutes of near-constant crying -- that tired, whimpery cry that makes probably every mother's heart break. Fever is gone. Difficulty/pain (?) swallowing and yawning doesn't seem to be as bad. Drooling is heavy. She chokes on the saliva and is making unusual snarky noises, like she has a stuffy nose (although she doesn't). She might have some congestion though, but if she does, I don't know what to do about it except Vicks or Eucalyptus oil of some kind.

She already has 8 teeth. Could it be teething? Molars?

I'm assuming (hate to do that, though) that if she really were sick with an illness, she would have fever or coughing or lethargy -- some other symptoms. I hope that's the case. I thought about going to the ER, but I sure would feel silly going to the ER when all she has is a bad case of teething.

Ugh.

I'm so tired. Say a prayer for us if you would. Thanks my friends!

Domestic Routine.

2010-03-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

"Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday"

Remember that from Laura Ingalls' LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS?

I can't say I'm the neatest person in the world; but I've always admired a neat house. Maybe it was due to reading the Little House books at an early age and being impressed with their housekeeping. I remember, as a little tyke, trying to do things the way it was described in the books, and found it fun to pretend I was Laura, carefully putting away all my toys and making the bed, and then gleaming with satisfaction at the fruit of my labors. I guess, in a way, I felt like I was "keeping house", even though my "house" consisted of my bed, dresser, and toy box. (Too bad I forwent that habit a few years later -- my teens were not much to brag about, neatness-wise.) Now that I'm grown with a home of my own to keep, I marvel at the fine-tuned housekeeping routine of our fore-mothers.

If love is the heartbeat of the home, then the domestic routine is the heartbeat of the house. The rhythm of housekeeping chores, neatly spaced throughout the days of the week is perfectly designed to keep all the gears running smoothly, without the fatigue and frustration that can heap up on us when we try to do too much all in one day. But before Franklin-Covey became an icon of time-management, our fore-mothers had been putting it into practice for generations. Whether you were the mistress of an upper and lower staff in an English country mansion, or a poor farmer's wife sweeping a dirt floor of a ramshackle cabin on an unsettled prairie, you always had your routine for keeping the house neat and clean; you had your domestic calendar.

"Give our maid Sallie Anne the day of the week and the hour of the day and she knows what we are doing here at home...This week Sallie Anne washes the blankets and suns the heavy quilts and I clean, mend, and put by the winter clothing. In the fall, it will be a pleasure to take out clean whole things which have lain packed away neatly, in sweet-smelling lavender."
- Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping.

Don't you just love the idea of unpacking clean, lavender-scented blankets and linens and clothes in the fall? For me, that thought makes spring cleaning all the merrier, even those dreaded tasks. I don't know about you, dear readers, but spring hasn't quite sprung here so I can't throw open the windows and roll up my sleeves just yet. While I'm preparing for the great spring cleaning, though, I thought I'd share my "domestic calendar" that I've been attempting to employ for the last few months (albeit a little more updated than the original Victorian calendar I pulled it from). Maybe it'll be helpful to you!

DAILY CLEANING CHORES

Make beds.
Prepare meals and clean afterward.
Tidy up rooms and put everything back into its proper place.
Put soiled clothes in laundry and hang up other clothes.
Clean or put out tablecloth and kitchen towels.
Tidy the bathrooms and put out clean towels and necessary toiletries.
Clean floors in kitchen and dining rooms.
Take out the trash.
Complete day-of-the-week chore.

DAY OF THE WEEK CHORES

Washing on Monday
Ironing on Tuesday
Sewing on Wednesday
Marketing on Thursday
Cleaning on Friday
Baking on Saturday
Rest on Sunday

WEEKLY CLEANING CHORES

Wipe down all surfaces such as doorknobs and cabinet handles.
Dust all furniture and objects.
Clean bathrooms very thoroughly.
Clean kitchen, scrub counters, sinks, and floor.
Change the bed linens.
Clean garbage receptacle.
Wash combs and brushes.

MONTHLY CLEANING CHORES

Wash or air pillows.
Wash mirrors.
Wash windows inside.
Wax floors (if hardwood) -- I don't have wood floors currently.
Organize drawers.
Clean pantry.
Clean oven and stove.
Organize closets.
Wash or wax woodwork.

As Miriam Lukken says in her book: "Order is a mainspring in housework. Indeed, an example of habit and order is one of the nicest dowries a woman can give her daughters: one to prolong her life, to build up her home, and be always a source of comfort to herself and family." I do hope to give Victoria such a dowry.

Blessings to you this rainy, 50-degree Tuesday morning.

-Amy

Little Sprouts.

2010-03-04T18:52:00.000-08:00

:: tomato sprouts ::

:: sleeping sprout ::

The Drift Of Things.

2010-03-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

:: a view of the horizon on a frosty morning at the "farm" ::

Out through the fields and the woods

And over the walls I have wended;

I have climbed the hills of view

And looked at the world, and descended;

I have come by the highway home,

And lo, it is ended.

- Robert Frost

Had a lovely time out at my dad's farm, and although I was glad to see Victoria again and get home and comfortable, there's always a sense of reluctance when it's time to leave. Pop worked way too hard and made me worry about him, but he's happy and one day it's all going to pay off....when he can sit on his front porch, drinking iced tea, and not have to glue pipe, wire electricity, put in air conditioning, or crawl under the house.

Spring Blog Cleaning + 8 Months

2010-02-25T09:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, so you may have noticed that I changed up my blog design. The sun came out yesterday and I have my seedlings in pots waiting to sprout, so I guess I just felt all "springy" and wanted to take a departure from the "antique" look. I post more than just 1860s stuff on here anyway. I love the wide-width blog layouts, but there's a little part of me that is afraid people will have to scroll back and forth to see my site. Let me know if you have any problems with that.

Victoria is 8 months old tomorrow!

She had her first bath "alone" in the big tub last night and was tickled pink. :) In this photo (don't ask me what she's doing with her tongue), you can see yet another two teeth coming in -- these being on the bottom. That makes 8 choppers. Wow.

In other news, she's now sitting up on her own. I didn't even realize she was doing it until one day she was on her stomach, playing. I looked away for a minute, then looked back, and she was sitting up and reaching into her toy basket. No crawling yet, but if she happens to be standing against something she can hold on to (usually my shirt or the coffee table), she'll stand up all day long. Seems to have no interest in crawling, scooting, or creeping no matter how much we put her on her hands and knees or crawl around on the floor with her. She has found her lungs and loves to Yell Loudly. Or squeal. Or giggle. You should hear her giggle.

I love that kid.

Snowbaby.

2010-02-23T13:36:00.001-08:00

{ Victoria's first snowfall. A rarity way down here in sub-tropical, balmy Central Texas }

Separation Anxiety.

2010-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

My husband and I are heading out to "the farm" (perhaps I should say "cow pasture"?) this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and -- much to their immeasurable delight -- Victoria will be staying with Granny and Pa for the weekend. The farm is to the south-west. His parents house is to the north. We were thinking we should take her to their house on Friday morning before heading out to the farm, but it seems silly for us to drive all the way north, just to turn around and go south again, when we know for a fact that his parents are more than willing to come pick her up and bring her back.

The most logical thing to do is let Keith's folks come get her and take her back to their house.

But I'm having a bad case of separation anxiety. It's not like I have any worries about them keeping her -- they're so blessedly attentive, Victoria will have tons of fun stuff to do, new people to see, and places to go. His mother, in particular, has raised 4 children and is wonderfully good at comforting/rocking/loving little babies. But it's Monday...4 whole days before the event...and I'm already having pangs at the thought of not having her around me for 2.5 days. But I've let her stay over for 1.5 - 2 days before, and had the same sort of anxiety at the beginning too, so I know I'll get over that part.

Strangely, the thing I'm most worried about is -- if they come pick her up -- Victoria freaking out and crying for me as she is being driven away from her home by someone other than me or her dad. The thought of that kills me. But she knows her grandparents; she really enjoys them. She's just never left her home in any other car except ours. But maybe babies don't really care about such things, so long as she knows who she's with...?

Maybe what I'm actually worried about is me freaking out when they take her out of my house and away from me.

I just don't know what to do with myself when she's not nearby. There must be a point, though, at which your child needs to learn that she can feel safe with other trusted adults when mom or dad isn't around.

But what do I know? This baby thing is new to me. Do I need to just chill out? :/

Of Petticoats & Pasta.

2010-02-17T18:51:00.000-08:00

In my quest to actually complete a sewing project (my 1895 Skirt), I have -- alas -- finished all the long seams in all 9 gores. (Remind me again why I picked a skirt with gores as my assignment? Nine gores? On a hand-cranked 1895 sewing machine?) They were pieced and sewn together late last week, and the gores fitted together rather nicely for a custom drafted pattern. Was feeling rather impressed with myself.

Until I tried it on. I had a slight fitting issue (the fabric, where it's on the bias, stretched a little) but it's easily remedied. It was seeing me in a skirt usually worn with a corset on my flabby uncorseted form which gave me the biggest shock. My somewhat decent-looking, after-baby-but-still-breastfeeding body had apparently gone on an extended vacation without giving me any notice whatsoever.

Despondent, I put the whole project away and scrubbed the bathrooms and kitchen.

• • • • •

With kitchen and bathroom now sparkling, I decided to upload the pictures so those of you who are interested can see the progress. The little pleaty things in the front are where I'm going to have to take the skirt in. The panels are on the bias right there and the waistband just didn't fit. I kind of expected it with linen. It's strangely slippery, movable stuff.

The skirt definitely needs underpinnings (even though it's lined) -- and a ruffled petticoat is just the thing to lift my girly spirits. I mean what girl doesn't love ruffly underthings? C'mon.

So that's the skirt progress as it stands now.

Dieting is next on my list.

• • • • •

Speaking of dieting, my darling consort gave me KitchenAid's pasta attachment set for my birthday. I know! What a sweetheart. So guess what I made today? I'll give you a hint:

Took hardly any time at all, seriously. The dough is super-easy to make and the attachments made short work of producing lovely angel-hair pasta. Oh, and I tried out the ravioli attachment, too. Uhm. Let's just say I need more practice. Thankfully I didn't waste ALL of the dough on ravioli.

Ciao!

Progress.

2010-02-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

{ stitching on my ca. 1895 wilcox & gibbs }

Well, I got the lining all cut out (on Tuesday night) and got all the linen pieces cut out. I had to piece the side bottom portions of the back, but it still looks good - and authentic. They would have done it back in the auld days. I've decided to stitch this up using my wilcox & gibbs machine. I don't have a treadle for it, so I'm doing it by hand, but it's quieter (much!) and I can use it on the kitchen table, right next to the room where Victoria is sleeping so I can go comfort her several times per evening while she transitions to sleeping in her own bed.

Besides, who doesn't kinda dig the idea of sewing an 1895 pattern on an 1895 model machine?

Etiquette Between Husbands and Wives

2010-02-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Let the rebuke be preceded by a kiss.
Do not require a request to be repeated.
Never should both be angry at the same time.
Never neglect the other, for all the world beside.
Let each strive to always accommodate the other.
Let the angry word be answered only with a kiss.
Bestow your warmest sympathies in each other's trials.
Make your criticism seldom, and in the most loving manner possible.
Make no display of the sacrifices you make for each other.
Never make a remark calculated to bring ridicule upon the other.
Never deceive; confidence, once lost, can never be wholly regained.
Always use the most gentle and loving words when addressing each other.
Let each study what pleasure can be bestowed upon the other during the day.
Always leave home with a tender good-bye and loving words.

-Hill's Manual for Social and Business Forms, 1888

Just A Post.

2010-02-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Just decided to drop into blog-land for a moment so I can relax a little. I'm in the process of trying to help Victoria learn how to go to sleep by herself. Sigh.

She hasn't been a terrible sleeper; she's only been waking up occasionally -- at 8:15pm, 9:00, 9:30, 10:15, 11:30, 12:00am, 2:30, 4:00, and then of course we get up at 7:30 for the day. And she ain't crying to be fed, either. She's crying because she's always rocked to sleep and when she wakes up, she doesn't know how to relax and go back to sleep. She also cries because she expects us to pick her up whenever she cries in her crib -- Keith and I are both at fault here. It's automatic for us, has been since day 1. So she never has a chance to put herself back to sleep, and what do we do once we have her in our arms again? We rock her back to sleep. And I've come to realize that this is simply a habit that I've gotten her into because I LOVE to rock my baby and could spend all day just rocking and cuddling and singing to her. But it's important to me, at 8 months old, that Victoria learns that it's ok to fall asleep (and fall back asleep), while knowing we're still there, and haven't abandoned her.

So this is Night 1 of Victoria's "sleep training" (bleh). Yes, I had to let her cry. Some people may not like that idea. But to each his own. I say whatever works. Besides, I didn't just give her a bath and feed her and then dump her into the crib. I followed my normal bedtime routine (including rocking) and let her get to sleep. It was when she woke up that I made a point not to pick her up. But I didn't leave her alone to cry. I patted her and sang/talked to her while she cried. That. Was. Hard. Thank the Lord for earplugs. But then in 30 minutes, she had reduced to an agonizingly pitiful "sniffle sniffle cry" and then drifted between sleep and awake every minute or two. I felt like the worst mama on the planet.

Then magic happened. She opened her eyes, lifted her head and looked up at me, then after a few minutes of shifting to get comfortable, she dozed right on off by herself.

45 minutes of awfulness. And as of this moment, 50 minutes of quietness.

Infant Sacque Coat Pattern

2010-01-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

At long last.

Sorry, ladies, for keeping you waiting. You must forgive me, though. :)

One day, I'll get caught up. I'm glad, however, to be able to post little patterns I make for my sweet little one. It's almost like I'm chronicling bits of her life.

Have a lovely, blessed, quiet evening, my dear friends.

New Things.

2010-01-25T16:04:00.001-08:00

We got a new crib.

Actually, it's the crib we got for Victoria before she was born, but she's been content (and safe) in her cradle until now, so we finally brought it out of storage and put it together. Her cradle is hardwood, very sturdy and lovely and she's made it a full 7 months in her little cradle next to my bed.

But onto bigger (and better?) things, right?

I'm a little sad. Is that silly?

First, we had to organize and get things ready to move my grandmother's vanity table from it's place between the windows and put it next to our bed. The crib will take its original place. So I started with rotating the outgrown clothes and bringing in the now-fitting clothes. Victoria helped me, as you can see. In the process, we found a cute headband that I slipped on her pumpkin-noggin. I'm not overly fond of headbands on babies, but I couldn't help it. Even Keith thought she was too cute. ;)

Next, I moved the vanity, and then put the crib together. I think it turned out rather pretty. I liked this style because it also converts to a toddler bed, as well as a youth bed later on. The sheet, bumper, and blanket are all from my mother in law. Cute, huh?

I think she liked it ok. :)
(By the way, I didn't intentionally match her clothes to her crib.)

At this writing, she's napping in it. I hope she transfers from cradle to crib with not too much angst and despair and rending of garments.

Last Sunday, we had an impromptu Bible Study. Sort of. Keith was reading something Biblical to Victoria and I caught them from afar (ie: the other room) and snapped a few photos of him wrestling a wiggly baby while trying to impart wisdom of the Scriptures.

I hope this post finds you all well.

A quick note: A few of you have asked about that coat pattern. I really will get it to you soon. I promise. :)

Worn and wrinkled.

2010-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday evening. We've finished our trade show here in Dallas (it's a work thing) and I'm really, truly ready to get back home to my dear husband and our own creature comforts. Looks like some serious rain is coming our way, though -- I truly hope it's not raining when I head home. Victoria has been a good girl and was showered daily with much love and adoration by her Mamaw and Pop (my folks) until she is wholly spoilt and will likely be a Bad Girl when we get home. ;)

Ciao!
Time to make like a tree and leaf.
See you again when I get home.
-Amy

Happy 2010.

2010-01-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Seems weird to be in the 10's. But here we are! :) I hope everyone had a lovely, dreamy, wonderful, joyful, blessed holiday season and New Year. I'm kind of glad all the bustle is all over. There's something nice about starting a new year. It's kind of like getting new school supplies. Or a new day planner. I'm one of those people who love the nice, clean, empty pages, just waiting to be filled up with new projects, notes, scribbles, and doodles. For now, it's clean. It's fresh. After all, isn't it nice to know, as Anne Shirley said, that tomorrow is another day with no mistakes in it?

God has really been working on me in 2009 (with help from the prayers of a couple of dear friends -- thank you!!) and now that the year has come to a close, I look forward happily to a new year full of continued growth and new challenges. Moving away from the Big City was difficult in 2008, but eventually I got used to the small town. I still (and always will) miss having my friends and family so close by. Even in the Big City, they weren't all that close by, but they were definitely closer than 3+ hours. I sometimes truly ache for dinner with my sister, or tea with Kerri, or enjoying the holidays with my folks. But through God's grace, He helps me bear the ache. Imagine how the pioneers of old felt, leaving their families (sometimes never to see them again!) to move miles and miles and states away. I must be thankful for e-mail and unlimited cell phone plans and cars that go 70 miles per hour. :) Having a baby in 2009; now that was both exciting and terrifying. But we've found a nice rhythm together as a family -- although my many years of independence still gnaws at me when I'm doing dishes and cleaning house at 11pm when the baby has finally gotten to sleep. I don't think I've quite accepted fully the fact that I simply can't do everything I used to be able to do. Nevertheless, God has seen me through these two major life changes...not to mention many little battles that occur from 7am to midnight each day. 2010 will bring another life change (hopefully) -- the building of our home on my dad's ancestral property.

I'm not big on resolutions -- I always get in over my head when I do that and then feel like a failure. But I think if one sets realistic goals, it's much easier to build -- and hold onto -- the confidence to complete them. Here are my goals for 2010. I look forward to seeing what others have chosen to accomplish in the new year.

Eat better. I have a little person who is soon going to be very interested in tasting what's on my plate and in my cup. I eat far too much junk and drink far too many sodas and sugary stuff. I'm a soda addict, I think. ;) Seriously, though, if I'm not going to eat better for myself, I need to eat better for Victoria. And in the long run, she will end up helping me (and Keith) become healthier people. To give myself specific goals, I suppose I should at least start with eating a green vegetable at dinner, drinking tea instead of soda, and drinking a glass of water in the morning and in the afternoon. Then once I master that, I can up the quantity of water, lower the quantity of tea, and start looking at healthy substitutions.

Make more skirts. I love Sarah Jane's historical wardrobe and she's really inspired me to wear more skirts or dresses. Truth be told, even if I can't achieve a wardrobe that's fully historical, I want to at least wear more skirts -- vintage style or maybe 1900 or 1910 style. My first goal, however, is to carve out some sewing time so that I can draft and sew said skirts. I hope to find some cute blouse patterns to wear with them too.

Forego traditional jeans for vintage style. They're just more modest than modern jeans, which are too tight and too low-rise. Anna Allen has a beautiful pair she made some time ago (the image at right are them) from a 1940s vintage pattern. They're totally cute. I'm in love with the sailor style. Here's one of her wearing them. I do plan on wearing many more skirts in the new year -- however, one sometimes needs to do hardy work where there is convenience in wearing pants. I will still probably buy some heavier-duty work jeans to wear when we're out at the property digging in the dirt.

Go to bed earlier. We all need sleep and without it we run a much greater chance of getting sick. I have ended up staying awake until midnight or 1 a.m. since I got off maternity leave, and most days I just drag. (My bad diet has something to do with that.) I'm attempting to work, take care of a baby, keep house, and still try to get in some much-needed recreational sewing -- and it's just hard. By God's grace I'm able to do it. But I need to accept that not everything will get checked off the list every day and just pack it in earlier in the evening so I can get some beauty rest.

Learn how to keep a neater house so my previous goal is easier to attain. I'm not an organized person by nature. Strangely, I do love (as I said in the beginning of this post) organization and neatness and fresh, clean pages/rooms/stuff. It's like two people live inside my head: a neat-freak and a slob. They fight constantly. Keith has gently (ha!) pointed out that I have a tendency to do little things that turn into big things -- like not being more efficient when I cook and ending up with a pile of dishes; or pulling out all of Victoria's toys instead of just a few at a time; or getting out my magazines to get ideas about cake decorating (because I was in the mood) and just leaving the magazines there on the footstool. I know I do these things for a reason -- I'm not done with the magazines, so I leave them out for later. Later, though, I don't have time to look at them because something else has come up and captured my interest. It's the same kind of thing for all the stuff I end up leaving out. Then Clean Day has come and I have a pile of work on my shoulders. Then I get bitter. Then I blame Keith. Then we argue. Then I disdainfully do all the cleaning by myself. I'm not saying Keith doesn't add to the mess -- we both do -- but I know I'm at fault for not picking up the house as I go. So I really, really need to learn how to get into that habit.

Get on the cloth diaper bandwagon. I've ordered a few more cloth diaper styles/brands to test, but I'm pretty convinced at this point that I'm going to go with bamboo diapers with an ImseVimse wool cover. I've tried the non-wool ImseVimse cover and it's fabulous! And I've tried BumGenius all in ones, which were great, but I want to go with natural fabrics. So I've ordered BumGenius bamboo diapers so I'll see how those work out. I tried making my own, but I simply don't have the time.

So those are the goals I'm going to start with. Hopefully, in time, I will have achieved them and can set some new goals. Happy New Year!

-Amy

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T20:09:00.001-08:00

{ yum }

Have a very merry one y'all!

As The Year Draws To A Close...

2009-12-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

Seems crazy that a whole year has already gone by. Now we're in full swing of the Christmas holidays, and just yesterday it was June 26th and my first child was placed in my arms. The day before that, it was April 19th (2008) and I was making my marriage vows to my husband. Wow. How much has changed and in so short a span of time. It never ceases to amaze me, this quick marching of the days. But with it, so many joys, eh?

I went to our Ft. Washita reenactment last weekend, and boy we had fun! This week has been incredibly busy (work-wise) so I'm just now getting around to posting photos. Here are a few images from our trip. I didn't get to take near as many as I wanted, unfortunately.

My dear friend's husband, Mr. Hamilton, was caught unawares looking quite dashing on the stone porch of the fort. I'm tickled my camera took such a clear photo -- it was from quite a distance away. Hooray for telephoto. :) He was tricked out in his West Point uniform overcoat here -- and the dress uniform at the ball later that night. It was pretty cold (high 30s, I think) all day Friday and Saturday, so he needed all that warmth.

The next photo is Paula -- my silly, darling friend who I road-tripped up there with. We got decidedly un-period for a short time there while we got on a Geico Pothole commercial giggle-fit. It truly is a hilarious commercial. :) And when you're from Texas...well, it's even more hilarious. Then again -- maybe we're just weird.

At left, two of the ladies of the fort -- Kathy and her daughter Ginger. Ginger is my Civil War dress mecca. She makes the most beautiful clothes. Seriously. And she had so many! We teased her a little bit about her perfectly-sewn and expansive wardrobe, but we think she forgives us. (Hopefully.)

She regaled us all by the huge hearth with a reading of Treasure Island. Some of us listened and sewed. Some of us listened and rocked babies. And some of us just listened, watching the crackling fire as it warmed us all against the chilly gray outside the windows. Music, too, filled the rooms! We had fiddle and banjo and much singing! It was great. And Sunday morning dawned a beautiful, less-chilly day -- with the sounds of Christmas hymns at the church service.

Victoria was an exceedingly good baby. She played with Andrew, was held by many, and cried very little. I got a photo of her in her little coat and cap, and a photo of both Kerri and I with our babies. I was so distracted by the baby-watching that I completely forgot to get a full-length photo of my dress. I'm really a bad photo-journalist, aren't I? But I did get some compliments. It was my first time wearing a hoop or fitted dress in over a year -- so I'm glad it turned out pretty well.

This is Fort Washita -- one of two barracks; and the only one still standing.

* * * * *

We got back home Sunday night and Victoria sat on her own for about 10 minutes without falling. Tee hee! Isn't she cute sitting there by herself? Little cherub.

* * * * *

Sneak peek of my Christmas/New Years card photoshoot:

Aside: I was truly hoping to have a family shot, but Keith's working all the time and I'm sick with a cold, so nobody is photogenic (or available) except for Victoria. :)

A coat and cap for Andrew.

2009-12-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

It took me long enough, but I finally finished the last of three coats-and-caps for the three new babies in our reenacting unit. I'm especially blessed that the other two babies belong to two of my darling-est friends, because now I get to pretend I'm "Auntie Amy". :)

This last coat/cap combo is for Andrew. He's just turned 8 months. I fear it might have turned out a little too simple compared to the other two -- but I was trying out a different trim option. Nevertheless, I like how it turned out! I used a tan silk taffeta for the lining on this one and I think it'll suit little Andrew wonderfully. Plus it'll be super cozy!

I used my wool plaid bias as a trim. It just looked so good with the brown wool flannel -- hopefully Kerri will forgive me for looking "matchy-matchy" with her son! Haha! :)

That's all for tonight. We leave for the reenactment first thing Friday morning, so I will be spending tomorrow attaching my skirt to my bodice, adding hooks and eyes to close it, making a list, packing, and all that jazz. Have a lovely evening, my friends. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Fun with video

2009-12-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

I decided to play around with our camera and discovered the video-recording portion. :) This is my first video that I managed to figure out how to upload. I hope you all can see (and hear) it! :) It's my little Miss Sunshine as I caught her "talking" to her toys.

Christmas Meme

2009-12-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

What a fun idea to do a Christmas Meme! Here's mine:

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Absolutely hot chocolate, with a little nutmeg and cinnamon and very chocolatey.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We don't do Santa at our house. But when we give presents, we usually wrap them.

3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white? White lights. Can't resist a beautiful display of twinkling white lights. So pure.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Not in the house. But at our Christmas ball with our reenactment unit, someone usually climbs a nearby tree to pull a sprig down. It certainly can be fun. ;)

5. When do you put your Christmas decorations up? I used to put them up after Thanksgiving but the older I get, the smaller my decorations get. ;) Some years I'm afraid I end up running out of time to even bother. But I try to put them up as quickly after TG as possible.

6. Favorite holiday dish? My grandmother's cranberry sauce. Yum!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Being about 8 years old and waking up at 4 am to see if "Santa" had brought me a Barbie townhouse. He had. And I woke up my sister just to brag about it. :)

8. When did you learn the truth about Santa? At eight. I had seen my parents' silhouettes from the light from the den, as they put the aforementioned townhouse together, so this was also the moment I realized Santa wasn't real. Thinking back on it, I kinda think I already somehow knew that, though.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Not usually.

10. How do you decorate a tree? My husband doesn't believe in having a Christmas tree up, so we don't decorate a tree now.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Considering we rarely get snow -- I love it!! I don't even care if it's preceded by ice (which is awful), because I'll take it wherever I can.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, but it's been a while. Used to love to go.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My most favoritest was probably my Baby Soft Sounds doll -- my first doll that was just like a real baby (to me).

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Now that I'm a mother, it's very important to me that Victoria grows up enjoying the holiday without the commercialism that has sometimes nearly destroyed it. It's a warm, honest, charitable time -- and I want her to feel that way. I don't want her spending the month prior just thinking up all the stuff she wants; rather, I'd prefer her think more about others, than herself.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Apple pie! Or Apple Crisp. Or Cheesecake...oh, my...how can I decide that??

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Driving around on Christmas Eve to look at Christmas lights, and then coming back home to make hot chocolate, and sometimes smores.

17. What tops your tree? No tree. :(

18. Which do you prefer-Giving or Receiving? Oh, I love giving! As I've gotten older, I rarely think much about getting anything, and most often I try to deflect any inquiries regarding my "Christmas list". I just don't need "stuff" anymore. Life is about the memories you make -- not stuff.

19. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, hands down.

20. Candy Canes-Yuck or Yum? Not so much.

21. Favorite Christmas show? Muppet Christmas Carol.

22. Saddest Christmas song? Blue Christmas, I think.

I can't wait to see everyone else's meme!
-Amy

Checking off the list...

2009-12-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to show a few completed items from my {very long} to-do list for the upcoming reenactment. I finally put the ties on Mason's cap (which I've had done for 2 months now), and now the sweet little munchkin has a cute little coat and cap ensemble to brave the winter weather in. I made it to fit Victoria, because even though there is a 3-month difference in ages, they are the same size. :)

I'm currently working on Andrew's cap and coat now. He fit the jacket size, but the cap needs to be a little bigger as he's about 9 months old.

So this is the dress I just finished for Victoria. Took me a long time, because 1) I didn't have a pattern, 2) I wanted to make it a gathered-front bodice so had to do some creative drafting, and 3) I ran out of fabric and had to do a lot of piping in a contrast fabric to make the whole dress pull together. It isn't what I originally planned, but it's close. I think it'll look cute on her if I can ever catch her in a willing mood to put it on.

Scratch that -- she let me put it on her for a quick photoshoot!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

Wool Plaid Bodice

2009-11-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the comments on my bodice questions everyone! It really helped me mull this out.
I hope y'all had a bountiful Thanksgiving.

Well, I've been thinking and thinking while I've stitched my bodice together. (Thank goodness for a 4-day weekend!) I think I will use this collar for now on this dress, but add a bias band to it so I can just tack it on. Then, maybe I can make a fine cotton embroidered collar to wear with it more permanently and use the lacy one for either a silk (I have some plaid silk waiting to be made up) or my blue cotton lawn in the spring. But I'll use this one for now since I don't have time to make a collar for it before December 10th.

On the sleeves, I decided on a regular coat sleeve, but a little skinnier, cut on the bias with a ruched ribbon up the side seam. Lacking time to purchase any silk ribbon, I contented myself with using the un-period grosgrain ribbon from Hancocks. Can't have it all, I suppose. I would have waited and gone to the event plain, but the plaid really needed something for trim.

The armscyes seem slightly tight, but I'm able to do everything without being too constricted. I can pick up the baby and move around comfortably. Thank the Lord for small blessings. I loathe armscyes and especially having to re-do armscyes.

Well, I'm off to finish the skirt and attach it to the bodice, then on to baby clothes...

Blessings!

Opinions/Advice?

2009-11-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

Astonishingly horrid images, I know. I must've had the camera on manual focus. And, well, I didn't want to put all that corset, etc, back on to take more pictures. I have questions:

1) A friend gave me this sweet little collar, obviously designed for a v-neck. I've been dying to use it on something. Do you think it works for this dress, or will it work better on a silk? Also, the "v" is fine, isn't it? Doesn't need to be deeper?

2) Fitting. Ok, it's been a long time since I made a fitted dress and I've...erm...expanded somewhat since the baby -- most predominantly in the bust area. While I'm not terribly disappointed to have a bigger bustline, it did put me in a lurch when it came to fitting a pattern. I only had one bodice pattern, already cut to size. Tried and true it was -- but not with my new figure. So I enlarged and then pared it down bit by bit. So....do the armscyes look too tight in the back? (It doesn't feel tight because the fabric stretches ever so slightly.) Armscyes are my most dreaded fitting area. I'd hate to cut too much out or I'll have this huge sleeve top.

3) About the sleeve. I wanted to do this type of sleeve (top right of the Simplicity pattern, shown at left), but now I'm starting to wonder if all those pretty gathers would just get lost amidst the contrasty plaid. What do you think? I love the visual effect a lot of these 19th c. patterns have -- and I don't want to take away from it. Maybe it'd work better in a solid?

Hmmm....what to do...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy start to the holiday season. Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday -- even before Christmas! -- simply because it's when the year begins to wind down to a close. The days might technically be going by faster (since they're shorter), but life seems slower to me.

Perhaps that's because I refuse to take part in the hustle and bustle that the holidays usually generate. There was a time when Christians didn't celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving, but I like to think that Christians were (are) still always striving to be in a mindset of thanks-giving -- thanks to God for the great bounty He has given us.

So, in the midst of a commercial holiday season where the hustle and bustle is strong and stress can be high, remember the many blessings, large and small, you've been given this year -- not the least of which is the great blessing of opening your eyes to another morning free to worship our Lord God.

So from our family to yours -- Happy Thanksgiving!

Goings-On

2009-11-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

Are you hearing crickets at the "Day In 1862" blog yet? :)

I don't have anything of importance to say, so I'll just update you on the goings-on in our humble home. It has been busy. Tis the season -- in a number of ways. And not just holiday-wise. Apparently this is also the time of year where every franchisee in our company needs me to design an ad for them. Big ads. Not easy, little things. Victoria is teething pretty intensely now -- poor little bugger -- and that creates a frustrating environment for me. Keith has been working lots and lots of weird (and multiple) shifts, so he's been gone a lot. We're in the process of planning/deciding things about building a home. And I have sewing for Ft. Washita to do. I'll get to that in a minute.

To break the monotony (!!) one of the fun things I decided to do recently was enter into a design challenge for Valentine's Day cards at minted.com. Drop by my design studio at minted to look at what I submitted -- and vote when the contest opens for voting! It's a great way to encourage new talent out there, because the top 10 designs win a monetary prize, plus get a chance to have their design be sold on minted.com! Pretty awesome stuff. Plus, it's just all real good fun. I decided to start a blog for my graphic design, Two Leaf Studio, as a sister-site to my Two Leaf Press (a letterpress shop, which is not open yet). I'll be doing more design challenges as they come up in the future.

Here is a fun pic. Found it on the home page of istockphoto.com. I thought it was pretty ingenious, don't you think? Kind of reminds me of us reenactors, trying to be historically correct in a modern world.

Anyway, in other news, I've started work on a fitted wool dress -- thank the good Lord! -- that I can wear at our Ft. Washita event the 2nd week in December. Oh, I've had this plaid wool just sitting on the shelf for about 3 years now, just waiting to be made up into a dress. It's rather pretty (in my opinion), although it's not flowery or girly. It would make up into a wonderful tailored (more modern) dress, but I thought it would work well for a simple fitted dress. At a distance, it seems to look brownish grey. Perfect for the now-matriarchal me.

It's pretty clear from looking at that photo that I desperately need a petticoat for my hoop -- and it probably won't hurt to add a hoop to the bottom of my hoop, either. It shrunk once in the rain and it's had that large "drop off" on all my skirts ever since. I loathe this. And I can't wear my wedding hoop because it's covered (harder to maneuver, imho) and much bigger. I wanted something rather modest. So, I suppose it's a new petticoat for me (that was necessary anyway). Perhaps I'll make it with a nice flounce at the bottom to help hold out the hem. Or maybe I'll go flamboyant and make a flounced petticoat! Woohoo!

Well...that's all for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful (and tasty!) Thanksgiving holiday. God bless you all.

-Amy

Boy's Toddler Dress 1868

2009-11-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

Found this picture in my stash on a {really old} calendar of historic fashions. The caption says: "Boy's dress, 1868, USA, worn by Thomas J. Heck of Urbana, Ohio. Brown wool with wide neck, short sleeves, front and back tucks, and faux front button closure, trimmed with black velvet ribbon and glass buttons." There was a photo of Thomas Heck in 1868 wearing it (at 2 years old), but I didn't get that scanned. :(

I liked the geometric nature of it.

Help?

2009-11-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

Quick post here -- I'm in the midst of figuring out (ie: madly sewing) something to wear to our event the 2nd weekend in December and I need help with a coat sleeve. I want to make the coat sleeve that has the outside seam of the back sleeve somehow cut fuller so that it can be gathered into the front piece. But I don't have any time in my schedule to try and draft/mock-up something.

Does anyone out there have a pattern they could scan me (even if it's hand-drawn and scaled down) or email me (or snail-mail me)?

Cheers, y'all. ;)

-Amy

Battle For Myer's Landing

2009-11-09T19:34:00.001-08:00

At long last, we managed to get to a reenactment where it wasn't raining. I've been feeling a little low, missing out on reenactments while all my blog buddies have been jaunting about, enjoying their season. This weekend we went to McKinney, TX (sort of my old stomping grounds, as I grew up in the metroplex) to the "Battle For Myer's Landing". It had rained previously, so it was a little boggy in places, but we found a place to set up housekeeping near a little tributary (if you can call it that) that was mostly dry.

Didn't get many photos, unfortunately, except ones of Victoria, who has proven to be notoriously addictive, if I may say so myself. Mainly, though, I was too busy trying to get things together around our "house" while handling a babe-in-arms to take any photos outside my sphere. We did manage to watch all of minutes of the battle, though. It was nice, but the organizers wildly over-estimated the participant and spectator numbers, plus they laid down tons of rules for reenactors that really weren't realistic. How can you set up camp when they won't let you drive on the grass? And how can you break down and exit the park when there's only one 1-lane exit for all the participants??

It was a little crazy. Most of us, though, had to break the rules out of necessity. We simply couldn't haul several hundred pounds worth of gear 50 yards to where our "street" was. Especially not with a baby. And especially not over hilly, rocky and boggy terrain, which is what it was. Sigh.

But we still had a good time! Got to see my dear friends Kerri and Paul, and their little munchkins, Sarah and little Andrew. Sarah turned 6 on Saturday. Happy birthday kiddo! It was fun to sit under our fly with our babies on a quilt and just chit-chat. Everyone who walked by were just tickled with our little ones.

Anyway, it was Victoria's first reenactment. She seemed to take well to it -- thank the Good Lord! We had her in the little dress Sarah Jane made, but despite the cold nights and cool mornings, the afternoon got really warm and we had to strip her down. Apparently I didn't get any photos of her in it. What a shame -- she was adorable! That little bonnet is from Sarah, though. Here are some photos, though I'm sure you're sick to death of seeing baby pictures by now. I can't help it. I'm in love.

{squiggly}

{mama and child}

{proud papa}
Tell me she isn't the spitting image of her papa...???

{kicking back on Saturday afternoon}

{little andrew munching on his bonnet strings - 7 mos}
This baby is so pretty! Long dark eyelashes and blue eyes. A total flirt!

{eating new rattle Pop made her}

{daddy teaching her about horses}

1830s Child's dress

2009-11-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

This is for my blogger friends (Sarah Jane!) who are in love with the 1830s. Can you imagine dressing a daughter/niece/grandaughter in this? And it's an original, I believe. I found the photos while clicking through Googles regarding dollmaking. Click here for the blog with more photos and description of the dress. Its enough to make me enamored with the 1830s!

From the blog:

Emma is wearing a beautiful late 1830's dress of super thin tissue silk in a multi color blue stripe. The height of the huge full gigot sleeves was 1835-6, after this, they began to deflate, in the form of the fullness being tamed down in the form of pleats~ 1837 the pleats at the top of the arm, and gradually made their way down, 1838 sleeves banded down to the elbow, until just an awkward poof remained at the fore-arm, and by 1839-40, sleeves were tight as a second skin with the armscye seam waaaaay up under the armpit, usually making for a horizontal stress fold as seen in pictures of the era~ anyways, looking at unaltered sleeves are a good way of dating. This dress has matching lined pelerine as well.

Fashion show

2009-11-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

Here's some photos of Victoria in her new chemise, her corded stays (they still need straps), and her little booties. I love that first picture. :)

1867 Quilted Baby Shoes/Boots

2009-11-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

{ EDITED TO CORRECT PATTERN FILE }

Call me weird, but sometimes I just like the fun of trying to replicate an extant garment from the 1860s for our reenacting impressions. While I also find it exciting to create my own design (staying within period parameters of course), I've often found it to be a delightful challenge to recreate something as close to the original as possible. It's kind of like being able to enjoy wearing the original...even if you can't really own the original.

This pair of baby shoe s from the Wisconsin Historical Clothing Museum caught my interest while I was still pregnant. But, since it was 1867 -- past the War years -- I didn't think too much of them, although I always thought they would be fun to make.

Well this weekend was the weekend. I wanted something warm for Victoria at the next reenactment or two, so I decided it's not so far out of the War years to make it impossible that something like this wouldn't have been worn by my baby in the 1860s. Besides...they're also adorable! I mean, look at the tassel! How can you resist that? :)

So off I went. I made some changes: the boot doesn't come quite as high as the original, but because I didn't want them to go all the way to Victoria's knees, I lowered it slightly. I also had bigger buttons on hand than the tiny ones on the originals, so I used 3 buttons instead of 4. And it looks like I've forgotten the little button on the top above the tassel. Oh well.

I made mine out of ivory cotton sateen. Very soft and pretty. I believe these could easily be made out of something other than a quilted fabric -- maybe wool? The top is decorative, but could be altered for a different look. All in all, it tickled me. And they look super-cute on Victoria. Now if I can get her to keep still, I might be able to get a photograph of her in them.

For your sewing pleasure, I am posting the pattern for you. I don't have directions included (since it's pretty easy -- bind edges, sew front, sew back, sew sole in) but I hope it's somewhat self-explanatory. I can always add directions if I need to. Anyway...happy November! Enjoy!

Infant Chemise, Finito.

2009-10-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

Finished the chemise. If you're going to make this, one note: make sure you don't put too much bulk in the bias binding at the neck where you want the buttonhole. Trim off that edge before you bind it. :) That took me forever to finish.

Also, you could try making a loop, rather than a buttonhole. I wanted a buttonhole so the opening would overlap.

Of course, this could easily be done without an opening at all. The neck edge is large enough for the heads of most babies.

All in all, I'm pleased. :)

The many faces of Victoria

2009-10-30T09:10:00.001-07:00

We had fun yesterday evening. Too bad the lighting wasn't better so that the images didn't come out so blurry. I hate using flash. But I couldn't help posting these. What a little blessing she is.

Recipe for a Happy Home

2009-10-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

Half a cup of friendship, and a cup of thoughtfulness,
creamed together with a pinch of powdered tenderness,
very lightly beaten in a bowl of loyalty
with a cup of faith, one of hope, and one of charity.
Be sure to add a spoonful of gaiety that sings,
also the ability to laugh at little things.
Moisten with sudden tears of heartfelt sympathy,
bake in a good-natured oven and serve repeatedly.

* * * * *
from Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping
by Miriam Lukken

Infant Chemise Try-On

2009-10-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd do a fitting of the infant chemise to see how it works out.
This is the 6-month size on a 4-month old, 16lb baby.
The bottom photo shows how the neckline lays.

The homestead.

2009-10-25T14:57:00.000-07:00

On Friday afternoon, I went out to my dad's property just north of Austin to help him lay in some pipe for electric and water, and work on plumbing on the bathroom. The original homestead was about 200 acres when it was granted to my great-great grandfather in 1905. Since then, it's been split up -- some of it sold off -- but most of it is still "in the family". Daddy's portion is about 55 acres, and on it is his mom and dad's old double-wide (which is pretty run down now since it's been sitting unfinished for 15 years) which he's trying to fix up well enough to use it as a getaway cabin. He and mama live in Dallas, so he loves getting out to the property and enjoy the quiet countryside.

Keith and I are considering building a house out there and living full time. I've always wanted to live out in the country, have a big garden, maybe some livestock and enjoy the natural amenities the Good Lord provides. It would be quite a change, and quite a challenge, as Keith will continue to work here in town (an hour away) and that's one crazy commute. Please be praying for us that if it's God's will that we live out there, then the plans will fall into place.

I got to play with my new camera while I was there.
Here is a pictorial of my experience there this weekend:

{new front porch in early morning}

{sunrise from the front porch}
How about that for a wake-up call? That's God saying "Hiya!"

{Strange looking fruit on a tree outside the back door.}
I have no idea what fruit this is. Anybody have any idea? It's about 2" in diameter, almost entirely round (not like pears) and all of them were green with a little fuzz on them. I didn't think to open one, though, to see what the seeds were.

{View on the walk down to the stock tank.}

{A very full stock tank -- thanks to much rain recently.}

{My dad.}

{Pretty view of a lane near the tank.}

{A testament to my grandfather's sense of humor.}

{Work shirts.}

{Fence.}

{Old nail.}
Was playing with depth of field on my new camera.

{Cedar.}

{The backyard.}

Infant Chemise Pattern (1850-59)

2009-10-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Thanks for the encouragement in my last post. I'm going to go ahead and make that chemise up and see how it turns out. I love the simplicity of it.

While I was at it, I went ahead and sized up the pattern for Victoria, and then decided to size it up for the other infant/toddler sizes and pass it along to you. I really don't know how it'll work for kids of various ages, but if you'd like to try it for your kiddo and let me know how it works and what changes might need to be made, I'd appreciate it. I've never really sized up for the different ages, so I went by a "standard body measurement" chart for infants, added some wiggle room, and then sized up the pattern from there.

There are five sizes: 3mo, 6 mo, 12 mo, 18mo, and 24mo. Based on what I've read, babies grow really fast the first 6 months, but then slow down...hence the lack of a 9mo size. The other thing I thought about is perhaps the chemise should be longer for the older ages -- not sure. I know kids tend to get longer before they get wider. But then, lengthening and shortening should be an easy fix for the home-sewer.

I've put directions right on the pattern. Please pass along your thoughts/suggestions if you care to.

Here are the images:

Baby Slip (Chemise?) or Child's Undershirt?

2009-10-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, all you period-correct experts out there...

I LOVE this little thing I found on the Wisconsin Historical Society Children's Collection. It looks very much (in style) like some of the baby chemises of the 1850s-60s, except it has a longer skirt and no buttons on the shoulders. The neckline appears to be boat-neck once it's on the baby/child because the sleeves will be pulled down. I want to make this as a baby chemise for Victoria.

Problem is, it's listed under childrens clothing, not infants. It says it's a "Child's Undershirt 1850-59". Seems like it should be a chemise, rather than a shirt.

In comparison, this is listed as a "White Cotton Baby's Slip 1863-65". It's a little longer, has different seaming and has frills, but the basic shape is the same as the one above.

So my question is...is the first image more likely a baby chemise/slip? Or if not, will it still work as a chemise for Victoria during the "infant" ages for the early 1860s? She'll be 5 months at our next reenactment. Can I use it even though she's still a young baby? Or should she still be in the open shirts? I'm just not sure when you're supposed to change from first shirts to second shirts or chemises or whatever... I know you're supposed to shorten the dresses around 9 months, but that's about all I know. I never thought baby clothes would be so confusing.

Can you tell I can't wait for her to be in "little girl" clothes? I always wanted a Mini-Me. ;) I can't wait for the little chemises and child's corset and tiny hoops. Just watch, though....she'll probably turn out to be a tom-boy just to spite me.

Hope you are all having a lovely Monday morning. Down here in Central Texas, we are 57˚ with a clear blue sky and sunny. That's chilly for us. I'm sure a lot of you are all starting to get snow or freeze.

- Amy

Mmmmm..

2009-10-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

I love fresh baked bread. I love Autumn!

Mama's Hot Rolls
(Makes about 30 big fluffy rolls. I usually 1/2 the recipe.)

2 pkgs rapid rise yeast
1/2 c sugar
3 c warm water (110˚-115˚)
1/2 c Canola oil
1 Tbsp salt
Enough flour to make a soft dough

Dissolve yeast into 1/2 c of the warm water (taken from the 3 c) and add 1 Tbsp of sugar (from the 1/2 c). Set aside to "rise". In mixing bowl, combine remaining water, remaining sugar, oil and salt. Mix in the yeast which should have started to bubble up and work its magic. Then mix in enough flour to make a soft dough -- kind of like drop-biscuit dough. Turn out and knead a bit with more flour (if needed) so that the dough is smooth and stretchy, but still somewhat soft. You don't want tough rolls. Make a ball. Lightly oil another bowl and turn the dough ball around in it so that it's coated, and then cover with a cup towel and set in a warm place to rise for 1-1/2 hours, or until double.

Prepare a couple of glass casserole dishes (or one high-edged cookie sheet) with non-stick spray or with shortening. Punch down dough, turn out, and pinch off pieces to make balls about 1-1/2" in diameter. (I actually make mine bigger, closer to 2" so that I can get 15 balls into each casserole.)

Let rise again until about double. Put into a 375˚ oven, lightly covered with foil for 12 minutes (just to keep them from browning too soon), then take off the foil and bake until golden brown. (If you use a cookie sheet, you may not need to use foil, as they'll bake faster.)

Brush with melted butter and enjoy!

Dress-Up Time!

2009-10-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

So she seems to like her cap after all. She's been wearing it all day today. :) Yay! Then I decided I'd do a dress-up session with her period clothing that I have done thus far:

(Get used to it, baby! You were born to a mama who loves to sew!)

Here's her regular petticoat.

Here's the quilted wool petticoat.

She suddenly decided she didn't want to pose by herself -- she had to sit on mama's lap. :) This is that quickie plain dress I did recently, plus the cap.
(I love that cap on her!)

She was starting to get tired, can you tell??

This is the coat and hood. I still need a hook/eye on the coat, plus ties on the hood and tack down the brim. Also, I put the hood on right over the cap, just because at the December reenactment, the wind can be so chilly that I don't want her ears to get cold. I figure it'd be an extra bolster against a chill.

Ungrateful...

2009-10-06T19:19:00.000-07:00

Victoria loved her new baby cap. ;)

Free Corset Drafting Pattern

2009-10-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

Catherine Hay with Your Wardrobe Unlock'd has a new website and a free -- yes free! -- corset drafting tutorial. If you're wanting to attempt to make a corset for yourself that truly is "glove-fitting" then her corset drafting tutorial will probably be what you'll want to try out. I can't wait to try it out myself!

Mason's Sacque Coat

2009-09-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

A wool flannel sacque coat for my friend's new little boy, Mason.

Baby Saque...in progress

2009-09-22T08:59:00.001-07:00

Thanks to information from Stephanie over at the Sewing Academy, I have drafted a little saque coat for Victoria, made large so she'll [hopefully] fit in it in December. I was just going to do pink silk lining and that cream wool for the outer layer, but then I said to myself: "Self, I have this wonderful plaid silk in the closet just waiting to be made up into a dress, and wouldn't the pinks in that plaid go perfectly with this wool and this lining?" They did. :)

So I did a wide edge trimming, which I really like. Now I'm thinking of adding a wider, cape-like collar to go on it, but can't really find historical references to that. I didn't add a batting layer of any kind -- not even flannel. The wool itself is pretty warm, and since we don't get terribly cold here in Texas...(shrug). Maybe I should have added a layer. I can still add one. What do you think?

If the good Lord is willing and the crick don't rise, I'll finish this saque and make a matching hood (a scaled-down version of Sarah Jane's Toddler Hood), and perhaps I'll try to make some little wool shoes. (I loved Malachi's little shoes!!) She should be nice and warm during our December reenactment.

We're gettin' there...

2009-09-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well, praise be, I finished a second baby dress so that Victoria can have 2 dresses to wear at the reenactment. Ok, well I still have buttons to put on. Luckily, since it's just a muster (and kind of a time to just say hello after the season's summer hiatus), we're only going to be there 1/2 of Saturday, then overnight, then 1/2 of Sunday. So I'm *hoping* Victoria can get by with 2 dresses, 2 petticoats, and a couple pairs of drawers that I'm going to try to whip out tonight.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a pic of the red hair before its all gone.
Hopefully it'll be back. No the photo is not touched up.

A rare photo of mama and baby. :)

And an exuberant baby in her bouncer after a morning nap and a change.

Spoke too soon...

2009-09-06T16:22:00.001-07:00

Well, now that I've had a chance to dress a happy, contented baby in a long dress, I've decided that the dress Sarah made fits after all. The sleeves might be a tad snug, but they're not terribly tight and Victoria could wiggle around to her hearts content in it...so I presume all is well. :) Thanks Sarah! The dress is gorgeous, and she's so adorable in it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I spent today making a couple of underdresses/petticoats -- since the petticoat I'd made was far too small -- and started to make some shirts/chemises, but it's going to be hot out there at the reenactment and I don't need the baby to be any more layers than necessary. So I'm going to try to whip out one more simple gown, since I really don't want the sheer dress to be worn out at the reenactment -- it's really for photos and memories. Plus, it's not actually finished. Still, I went ahead and took a few other photos of the sheer dress, so everyone can see it. It looks like I made the bodice too long, but it works, I think.

What should I do for drawers? I'll probably use disposables, but should I make drawers for a cover? Or a wool pilcher (?) to pretend I'm using cloth underneath? Seems like that would be hot... Hmmm...

Uh oh.

2009-09-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

So we have a little muster-style reenactment next weekend, right? And I think to myself: I have this adorable baby dress Sarah Jane made, and a couple of petticoats, and a little chemise, and another sheer gown that is almost finished (but I could make-do with).....little baby Victoria will be all dressed out -- for the most part, at least. So finally I get around to putting the dresses and petticoats on her to see how she handles the long skirts, and well.....

...they're too small!! Okay, actually, the bodices fit fine, but the sleeves are snug on both gowns, and the petticoats are too small around her waist by like 3"! The petticoat I made from the Elizabeth Stewart Clark pattern fits, but it's made out of wool because I didn't expect her to fit in it until our winter reenactment. Way to hot for September Texas weather.

I don't think the sleeves are too uncomfortable for her, but since I can't pull the sleeves all the way up, it then pulls the neckline completely off her shoulders. I can at least put ties on the petticoat (which is what I was going to do anyway) and tie it closed; but it's still gaps wide open.

I suppose I might be able to pull off another ESC petticoat this weekend, since that pattern is adjustable to growth a lot better than mine was. I don't know what to do about the sleeves on the only two gowns I have, though. ::sigh:: Heck, maybe they're supposed to be snug and the neckline to come off the shoulders. I'm kind of new to all this.

What to do. Hm.

Straw bonnet is done...sans trimming

2009-08-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Yay! At long last! I've finally, finally gotten my straw bonnet sewn together. No trimmings yet, but the hardest and longest part of the project is finished finally. I'm very happy with it. It took some finagling, but I did at last get the shape right. I had to use some wiring in the brim to keep it from losing its shape over time. I may actually add two more stabilizing wires. I've seen them in antique bonnets -- just not usually straw bonnets. But since the bonnet will be lined, and nobody will see the wires, then I feel it's do-able and still in keeping with the Old Ways.

For trimming, I'm going to attempt to use some navy blue silk satin ribbon I have which is about 4" wide. I may change my mind and use it for a dress I'm making a friend, but for now I think it's destined for this bonnet. I hope you all like it!! :) Spring fashions are so fun.

I Love Amazon

2009-08-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

I found two awesome books from Amazon.com, for those of you who are interested in taking your sewing to the next level. Some of you might have already seen these, or might already know many of the techniques shown in them, but I -- personally -- was blown away with what I didn't know about sewing. Not that I knew a lot, but I certainly thought I had all the basics down and could do pretty good at sewing up a pattern. However, these two books have really changed how I look at sewing, manipulating fabric, and designing/adapting patterns to fit and flatter my own figure.

The first is "Couture Sewing Techniques" by Claire B Schaeffer. It has a wealth of information on how the couture houses design, fit, and sew their clothing. As a reenactor, I'm a big fan of Charles Worth -- the so-called "Father of Couture" -- and have always enjoyed trying to mimic not only some of his designs, but also the techniques he used. Most of those techniques are still in use today, if you compare antique and modern couture clothing. And the beautiful photos of how some of the couture garments are constructed really open the eyes of the home-sewer to the ways in which a garment can be carefully fitted and supported to best flatter the figure of the wearer.

The second is "The Art of Manipulating Fabric" by Collette Wolff. All of the samples pictured in this book are done in white cotton muslin, and they show all sorts of ways to...well...manipulate fabric. It shows, with photos, what gathering looks like when you double, triple, or quadruple the length of fabric, what it looks like when you gather into a unique shape, what shirring is, and how to handle different types of tucks. It sounds basic, but seriously, it was a fun thing to look through and get inspired about ways to embellish clothing.

So, I hope you check these out! Happy sewing!

- Amy

Rock a spell and count your blessings...

2009-07-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe. (This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.)

WARSHING CLOTHES

Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.
Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert.
Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water.
Sort things, make 3 piles:
1 pile white,
1 pile colored,
1 pile work britches and rags.
To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.
Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don't boil just wrench and starch.
Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch.
Hang old rags on fence.
Spread tea towels on grass.
Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.
Turn tubs upside down.
Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs.. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.