Happy Birthday Dixie

Dixie Girl (dixygrl) was 8 years old October 7. She was born in Chase City, Virginia and came from a litter of nine. She is a very loving companion, never is critical, always is happy to see me, thinks I am the most wonderful person ever, never complains. She loves to play with the laser light and her favorite toy is a "monkey". Why not, she is a little turkey. Love you Dixie Girl.

Wool to Holloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday. Here is the side yard porch decorated for my Red Hatters coming to party. As the evening wore on the wind picked up and made for a perfect, Once Upon a Time, ghost story. Actually I believe this home is a true haunted house. It dates back to the 1909 era with the earliest documented section of the house dating from the 18th century. Several very strange happenings that cannot be explained away have occurred.

Side Yard

This is the side yard of my home that I use for preparing wool to spin. After a major washing it looks like snow on the ground. This yard gets the sun all day and is wonderful for growing tomatoes under the bird bath where they have a constant supply of over spray of water.

Drying Wool

I am very lucky to have access to sheep fleeces from a very gracious lady in my home town. This is wool that I have been drying on my back porch. I set up large containers in the back yard, one for soaking and one for rinsing the wool. It came out a beautiful white after sitting in the sun to dry.

Civil War Knitted Hood

This is my version of the knitted Civil War hood. Thanks to Colleen and Virginia for guiding me through the period pattern.

Working dress 1860

The dress is my civil war work dress. I use this for working impressions. The wood cook stove is much later than the war and still works, though not sitting in my foyer of my home.

Links and Ghostie Goblins

It is 1:57 am and the wind is howling outside. This definitely reminds me of ghostie goblins and lurking black cats. Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, even over the hustle and bustle of Christmas. I have been trying to link to some of my favorite blogs and sites and can not seem to figure it out. I enjoy so many wonderful blogs and gain so much from them. When I figure this out I will let you know. The image of Casper the friendly ghost is from Wikipedia. How could anyone be afraid of that face?

Period Ensemble

The dress was only the second dress that I sewed for living history. I have come a long way, but this outfit is still fun to wear. It is of small paisley print on a small (period) corduroy. You cannot see it here but there is a black braid around the jacket, pagoda sleeves and hem. I will wear this dress this Friday for the Virginia 150th Digital Legacy Project at the Farmville/Prince Edward Community Library. This picture was taken in my foyer.

Pound Cake

This is a cake for bosses day who just happens to be my best friend and husband. The recipe is from a friend. It is the most simple and best pound cake ever. The real magic is that it never fails to look and taste wonderful. I cannot bake a pound cake without thinking of my grandma and granddaddy. Every time she had a pound cake in the oven granddaddy would walk by and slam the oven door so that the cake would "fall". Grandma would come running and he would go flying and we all enjoyed the wonderfully gooey cake.

1860-1870 New England Sewing Machine

You can see that the paint is still in good shape. It runs very smoothly. You can hand-crank it or use a belt with it.

Here is my 1860-1870 New England sewing machine. This machine still sews, chain stitch seams only though. I use it when I interpret sewing for living histories. I am looking for needles if anyone has suggestions.

Snakes and Snails

I worked this little quilt hanging 22 years ago after the birth of my one and only child, my son. The shirt pinned to the quilt was his first gift from cousin Mary Frances and he wore it often. I always loved the shirt and the saying.What are little boys made of? "Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails"

Knitted Lace Civil War Shawl

One of the things that I love to do is knit, particularly knit lace. This shawl was a Knit-A-Long several years ago from a lady that called it the Civil War Shawl. She said it was not from the Civil War but that she was knitting it for a friend who was a living historian of the Civil War. This was a lot of fun to knit. I love knit-a-longs because many people are knitting the same thing you are and you have lots of advice and tips from the experts in the field of knitting.

Quilt in Progress

I can tell you that the four blocks you see here are a work in progress. What I should not tell you, but will, is that they have been in progress for several years. Actually I just came across them recently and it sparked a renewed interest in finishing the quilt. These blocks were very early attempts at applique quilting. The patterns I designed myself and like all pictures posted to my blog are copyrighted. Please do not use them without permission. I have debated over using these blocks because of the early workmanship. I still have much to learn about applique but I have come a long way since those early years. I think not, then I think of my mother. She saw beauty in everything whether it be a Copley painting or a child's drawing. I think I will complete the quilt using the blocks.

After A Long Break

Like many other ladies I have discovered FaceBook. It is such a nice way to stay in touch with family and friends. For posting pictures and some conversations however, I find a blog much more satisfying. The other thing that I have discovered is that I cannot limit my interests to just the 18th and 19th centuries. It is my hope that from time to time you are able to stop in and say hello, to enjoy a quiet moment, and thank our Heavenly Father for the day He has given us. The quilt you see here is done from a pattern that I came across on line several years ago. It is called the "Crossways Quilt." If you do a search you may still find it available. The only request the creator asked at the time was to post a picture for her to see when your quilt was done. Each block is of a cross and has a special meaning with historical explanations. I followed her colors as closely as I could because they were so bold and beautiful. I have seen several interpretations of this quilt and all of them have been beautiful.