November 30th, 2012

Finally, finished the knitted petticoat I've been working on. You can find the pattern I used (with my notes) on my KnittingAside blog.

I also finished a boy's paletot today that I started last week. This one is for a boy 3-6 years old. It's 100% wool, cape lining and facings are 100% cotton twill, trim is 100% cotton corduroy & velvet.

 

 

Other than that, not much is going on today. Have a great evening!

November 10, 2012 - September & October, 2012

Okay, so here's what I was up to in September & October.

September - Labor day weekend was spent packing for an event and trying to get a new phone. Which I did finally get (all though I had to go pick it up at the store) Labor day was spent driving down to meet up with my friends.  We spent the weekend at the Maryland, my Maryland event and despite of the rain on Saturday we had a great time. We had a really nice meal at Dan's Restaurant and Tap Room at the corner of Main & Potomac in Boonsboro, MD.

Oh, and I got to bring my sewing machine (which was in the shop being fixed) home with me. I forgot how much I like using my Janome 6600P. Thanks to my friend, Kay for taking it to her Janome dealer to be fixed. However, one of the projects I worked on in September, I had to do handsewn button holes on (4 early 1800's boys shirts). I did get some other sewing done for the mercantile, mainly boys' hats.

If I'm not sewing, I'm knitting.  I  made a Dalek hat for my daughter, I also knitted a hat for a customer. 

Otherwise, I don't think there was too much exciting going on in September.

October - Travelling again. Met up with a friend and drove down to Perryville, KY.  I had a great time, seeing old friends again. Moneywise, this was the best event I've had since Cedar Creek. I sold a bunch of yarn and a corset that I made that ended up not fitting. Got home, did laundry and started to repack for Raymond/Vicksburg event. I did get some sewing done before I left, but not much.

Raymond/Vicksburg Civil War Reenactment

We left on Monday for the event, not including the stopover just outside of Springfield for a couple of hours (Thanks, Jim & Tracey), it was about 19.5 hours driving (with three horses the last 12.5 hours).  I had a great time living in a cave from Thursday-Sunday with Amie, her family & Jeannine. All six of us lived in one cave the entire time.  We set it up so that the one that was partially dug out was our pantry (the farthest form the cave we slept in). The one next to it we left with some stuff in it to make it look like one that was used by someone who came down just when they were firing on the town. Then there was our cave, we had two single beds and one full/queen size bed in there and we still had room to spare.  Amazingly, we never were in each others way and we never tripped over each other. In my opinion, it was more comfortable than putting up and living in a tent. The last dugout, Amie and I put a tent fly over and we set that up as our dining room. Thursday & Friday we spent "entertaining" school children. We got a lot of the normal questions: Is that a real fire, did you sleep out here, etc. Best ones: is that a real baby, where do you go to the bathroom,  My daughter & one of the other kids were asked to eat & walk to prove they were real. (and I can just see the look on here face when she was asked to do that too. lol)  However, the kids from the deaf school did have the best questions (wish I could remember them, they really were very good questions).

I've been reenacting since 1988, so it takes a lot to impress me now. But this was definitely one I'd have to add to my top 5, as of right now it's #1. It was quite a learning experience. Oh, did I mention, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I wish I could take the cave with me to events, Thank you to my friend Amie for putting us all up Tuesday and Wednesday nights and thanks goes out to her friend who put the horses up on Tuesday night too!

When we got home it took me three days or so to do all the laundry and I still haven't gotten everything put where it belongs.  I'm already looking forward to next reenacting season!

Except for what's been going on already in November, that's what's been going on here.

November 2, 2012 - Busy Year So Far

Wow. I guess it's been a busy year for me (at least since June). It's been almost six months since I've been on here to blog.  We'll see if I can remember what's happened since the last time I've blogged.

In July:

Again this year we took our horses over to Old World Wisconsin for the 4th. We ended up having 6 Morgans there this year. We had a great time despite the heat.

A couple of days later we were on the road to the civil war reenactment at Wauconda, IL. When we arrived it was 107 degrees (110 heat index). I'm glad I broke down and bought a battery powered fan, it made sleeping Friday night bearable. Saturday, I had two students for my Tunisian crochet class. We didn't have too many spectators on Saturday, most of us think it was because of the heat.  Saturday night was a bit cooler and I didn't need the fan to sleep.  Crowds were much better on Sunday. Wauconda is a "home" event for us. It's also the event where our friends who have "retired" from the hobby come out and visit.  Some of them I hadn't see in 6+ years. 

July was also a busy month for sewing. I finished a bunch of corsets. Also, finished a four piece boys outfin in linen (jacket, paletot, & vest were all made of white linen), a pair of cotton trousers, a collarless linen vest, & a silk tie for a customer.  

The last weekend of July was spent at a millinery workshop in Fort Wayne. I worked on a couple of corsets.

Then came August and what was the  beginning of what seems like non stop traveling. We spent the first weekend of August at a civil war event in Boscobel, WI.  Sunday was cool enough (or at least it felt cool enough) that I went and got one of my husbands shell jackets out of the horse trailer.  The following weekend we took both of the horses down to a one day show in Brodhead, WI.  Our daughter entered a couple of in hand classes, on of which was split in two so because there were around 40 horses entered.  She got called back in the final 12 but ended up not placing. I entered in an inhand class, which my horse wouldn't stand still or be quiet for. But I did end up placing 5th out of 6th in one of my mounted classes. That was the first time I've ever placed. My husband entered in one mounted class with his horse. Unfortunately, they didn't place, but they did look good together.

Ended up spending a weekend of August 17th, in Hampshire, IL working on women's Regency petticoats and girls chemises. We finished all but two of the women's petticoats.

As usual, I had some corsets to due in August. Other items I finished for customers in August were a women's pinner apron, toddler dress and a small boy's shirt out of five yards of cotton calico, a silk rosette belt, a pair of men's pants and a sheer cotton dress. I also finished up some knitting and crocheting projects for Ravelry's Ravellenics (formerly Ravelympics).

I did get a chance to have some fun too.  We spent a day up at Mt. Olympus.  The rest of the month I spent on the road for the mercantile.

I'll finish the catch up later. (September & October next time).