Paper Mothball Vintage Giveaway!

See these shoes? 




Yes, you want them.

 

You really want them. And so do I. But, since I was always taught to share, here's how you can enter to win them:

Paper Mothball Vintage is teaming up with American Duchess this holiday season to bring you one merry giveaway!

The lucky winner will receive a new pair of  "23 Skidoo" Spectator T-Strap Shoes made in their size, a $120 value, or the equivalent of $120. 

There are a lot of ways to enter and gain points so take advantage of them all! Winners will be announced on December 16th on Paper Mothball Vintage facebook page.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{Helpmeet In Training} Boring Love

I read this great article last week about "boring men and the women who live with them." I'm sure a lot of you have seen it going around on Facebook, and maybe you've even read it. It's written as advice to men, and I definitely agree with all of it.

 

But what caught me is that is it also great advice for women to appreciate their men. I think as women it is easy to feel unloved if our men don't have a big surprise for our birthdays, or don't cook a fancy candlelight dinner for Valentines Day, or don't put on a huge fanfare for us when we think we deserve it. What we need to remember is that true love is shown in taking out the trash, unclogging the sink, going to work every day, and putting up with our crazy female hormones. So maybe he doesn't bring home roses every week, or plan a special romantic date every Friday, or leave mushy notes around the house. But it takes a lot more love and devotion for him to put up with a lousy boss 5 days a week, or brave his fears in order to be a good leader, or put his arms around you when you're crying for no reason at all.

In light of that, we are blessed women indeed who have "boring", hard-working, Godly men. Let us never take that blessing for granted, and may we always remember to see the strength of our man's love in the little, everyday actions of their lives.

Photo credit: Ann Voskamp

{Living History} - Fabric Giveaway!

Anna Worden Bauersmith is a beautiful re-enacting friend, an amazingly talented seamstress, and the author of the book Fanciful Utility; and now, she is having a give-away!

I have only had a few chances to talk with Anna, but every time I do she has such great bits of knowledge and new ideas to share. Her sewing work and outfits are all exceptionally beautiful and incredibly authentic. She has done so much research, and we all get to benefit from it! So, if you're into sewing and period reproduction fabrics, head on over to her blog and enter the give-away!

{Works With Her Hands} Dying Day

If you had come to me five or six years ago and asked what type of a crafter I was, I would have said a quilter, and a quilter only. Sure, I learned how to knit and crochet at a much younger age, but I thought quilting was my one-true-love in the craft world. Fast forward two or three years, and I would have broadened into being a seamstress, because I loved making quilts AND clothes. But ask me today, and I couldn't even being to give you an answer! I just love doing a little bit of everything, from paper to fabric to yarn, and everything in between.

While I still love quilting, and must always have at least one quilt in the making, I've recently been discovering all the other awesome fiber arts; three weeks ago I learned how to spin on a drop spindle. Gosh, was that a tricky one to pick up! But, I did it....I'm getting a little better each and every time I try. Yesterday, a group of friends got together and we dyed wool yarn, the 19th century way with big kettles hanging over the fire and all-natural dyes. Now, I have some awesome plans for knitting up the yarns I dyed!

Getting things started by mordanting the yarn. Mordant, I learned is a pre-treatment for the yarn which will soak up the dye and make it colorfast. They seemed to be mostly metals....tin, chrome, alum, etc. 

Yarn soaking in sumac, to create a red-ish brown. This same yarn was then heated with water in an iron pot to become a charcoal grey. An yes, the pot or container that you dye things in makes a difference in color, too!

Getting the sage ready:

Because every party with *mostly* females needs a lot of this!

Right now it looks like some disgusting witch's brew, especially the sage:

Yay for frog hats! It was cold in the morning....

Checking out the walnut dye:

Our amazing picnic lunch of chili, cornbread, and baked potatoes. We sure know how to do these things right.

Most of us brought other fibery projects, too, like knitting and spinning.

All the pretty colors, fustic (yellow) on the right, madder on tin (orange) in the middle, and sage green on the left.

We had pretty colors all around us, too!

We also dyed with some indigo:

This yarn ended up variegated blue/green because of an interesting pre-treatment.....it was so beautiful!

And isn't this madder on tin amazing? Madder is a root, and can actually produce some very different colors depending on what mordant is used. Tin makes this fantastic orange. I was literally bouncing with happiness when my yarn came out this color!

Fustic, madder, and sage.

Marisa's yarn was partly acrylic, so it didn't hold the sage dye very well, which you can see in this picture. However, she then over-dyed it with indigo, and ended up with a beautiful light grey-blue.

Ron showing Sarah her fustic overdyed with indigo, watching it grow darker as it oxidized.

Such pretty colors! That green was produced by fustic and indigo.

Madder, sage, and cochineal (red):

Yeah, color makes me so ridiculously happy. It was so  fun experimenting, and learning how to produce such fabulous colors. The best part? They're all period correct for the 19th century. So when visitors harass me next year about how "They wouldn't have such a bright orange back then!", I'll be able to inform them that it really is accurate, and I even dyed it myself!

{Helpmeet In Training} A Weekend at LIFT

This past weekend, I was so incredibly blessed with the opportunity to go visit My Man in the ADK at LIFT. For several weeks prior, it was very up-in-the-air whether I would be able to go or not, so I considered the simple fact of being able to visit a huge blessing.

The two short days there turned out to be a bigger blessing that I could have ever imagined. Of course, the biggest blessing was simply being with Stephen again, and getting to do so many wonderful things with him. But the other main thing that I was so humbled by was the deep love that this group of 30 young adults has for each other, and for every one they meet. The welcome his parents and I got when we arrived was astounding. And every time I walked into the same room as the LIFTers, I was immediately cheered and encouraged by their big smiles, joyous laughter, and positive words. 

Saturday morning, his parents and I got up super early and were on the road by 6am. It is about a four hour drive there, and every mile increased my excitement. By the time we arrive around 10, the mix of caffeine and adrenaline in me made me start shaking. The first LIFTer I met was this lovely lady next to me, Lisa. She gave me such a warm welcome, and it was cool getting to talk to her before Stephen showed up.

That very first hug from Stephen again was past description, and I was pretty sure I was never ever ever going to let go of him again. But, of course, I did have to. After having lunch and meeting all the other LIFTers, he and his parents and I went to a nearby antique shop that was right on the Hudson River.

Together again, at last. It felt so good to be able to slip my hand into his.

When we got back to camp, it was time to get ready for dinner. Stephen, of course, had been telling everyone that we were reenactors, and they were all interested in seeing us dressed up. So, I brought down his Confederate uniform and my new organdy dress. It was wonderful seeing him in his uniform again, and getting to wear my new dress for him! Our friend Nate blessed us with a mini  photo shoot once we were all dressed up. I can't wait to see the rest of his pictures!

Meal times with the group were so fun. At every meal, most of the group would be present, and we would all gather around one or two tables, and talk and laugh and joke. There was always so much joy and fun in group, and everybody got along so well. As Stephen said, they really have become family.

In the evening we got to see around camp, and Stephen and I had the chance to play some piano for each other. Hearing him play Moonlight Sonata brought tears to my eyes, because I have missed it so much.

I was blessed to be able to spend the night in one of the girls dorms with three of the girls. I got a chance to talk with two of them before bed, and they were both so sweet and wonderful. Sunday morning, Stephen and I had a chance to do our own Bible study together, something that we had always tried to do here as well. Then we had breakfast, and went to their church in Speculator. The service was wonderful, and I loved being at church again with Stephen.

This beautiful lady, Becca, is one of the girls I shared a room with, and I loved getting to know her. She has such a sweet, quiet, calm spirit.

Sunday afternoon, Stephen had to work housekeeping, and I was thankful to be given permission to be able to work right along side him. It's so cool to be able to enjoy working with him just as much as spending free time with him.

Then, after dinner on Sunday, it was time to leave. It was so hard to leave, not only Stephen, but everyone I met there. I arrived feeling like I didn't belong, and left feeling like I too had found a new family.

A week from today, the entire group is leaving for their two-week mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I'm so excited for Stephen, as he was assigned to work in Physical Therapy; he's going to be so good at that!

I am so incredibly thankful to have had the chance to visit Stephen and meet everybody up there. This has been and will continue to be a fantastic experience for him; and, even though I'm not there, the effects have been oozing out of Stephen into me as well. This has been challenging beyond belief for both of us, but we are both growing and learning so much. What a great God we serve!

{Works WIth Her Hands} AG Fair and Other Updates

Two weekends ago was the Agricultural Fair at the museum, and what a great weekend it turned out to be, despite the thunderstorms on Sunday. I had entered five different things into the Fair, and won blue ribbons on two of them!

The first and best item which I won on was my Double Irish Chain quilt! I worked so hard to finish it in time, and it definitely paid off! Here it is, totally finished, with its fun, multi-fabric binding, too.

The second thing I won a blue ribbon on was the quilted sunbonnet I made over the summer. The only thing, though, is that it was the only item in its category - not much competition :/

Then, I entered some blueberry shrub. Shrub is a popular 19th century drink made with vinegar, fruit, and sugar. It was my first time making shrub, so I don't wonder that I didn't win anything.

And, my roommate and I and a friend of ours all got together before the Fair to make some soap to enter. We didn't actually MAKE soap, with lye and everything, just the melt and pour kits. But it was still the closest I have  come to making soap. Here's the soap I entered - peach,walnut, and oat goats milk soap. No prize, though.

The last thing I entered is actually a present for somebody, so I can't mention it yet. :) But also, no prize.





For the other updates, I've been getting more sewing done on the Double Wedding Ring quilt. So far I've found that working with the curved seams isn't as hard as I was expecting. It's just rather time-consuming, because you have to heavily pin everything, and I'm usually a no-pins kind of gal.

I'm definitely happy with the way it's turning out!

And finally, look how small this number is getting! We're almost halfway. And, I'm so blessed that this weekend I get to go visit My Man with his parents!!! It has been seven weeks since he left.....and I get to be with him again in just four more days.

{Works With Her Hands} Always Doing

Saw this quote recently, and thought it was a good one:

"Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing."    -  Thomas Jefferson

In that spirit, I've been keeping busy with a number of different projects in order to help the time pass between now and December.

So, I've been working more on the Double Irish Chain quilt in order to be able to enter it into the Agricultural Fair at GCVM. (P.S. Want to enter something into the fair? There's still time! Entry time has been extended until September 18th!)

I've also started on the Double Wedding Ring quilt which has been in the planning for over a year and half now. It was actually the very first Double Wedding Ring quilt I saw that made me want to learn how to quilt, and ever since I started quilting I have been determined to someday make one. I've wanted to make one to add to my "hope chest". So, I decided that the 3 1/2 months while Stephen was away was a great time to finally do it.

Fabrics, templates, and instructions: Ready, set, go!

All 1,961 quilt pieces traced and cut out by hand!

A small section (not sewn) laid out on the floor to give an idea of how it will look:

Then, there was some beautiful Prussian Blue organdy that a friend gifted to me for an 1860's dress. As we have the last re-enactment of the season coming up at the end of September, I decided to try to finish it by then. The best part? It's entirely hand sewn. Unfortunately, it's not quite as far as I'd like it to be, but it's coming.

When it's done, it should hopefully look something like this:

And then, I saw a wonderful set of sunflower coasters on Pinterest, and decided that I really should make myself one, because I'm always carrying around a glass of water which is condensing everywhere. Here's mine, complete with a lady bug!

So all that, plus some odds and ends, has been keeping my spare time full lately. On a completely unrelated note, yay for new sweaters!!! My amazing sister surprised me with a giftcard to American Eagle, and I was able to get this piece of loveliness. I was so excited when it arrived on Monday!

And lastly, time IS passing! This chain is getting shorter, and the number is getting smaller!!!