Five Days Of Amazing

Two weekends ago was the 149th Anniversary Gettysburg re-enactment. Stephen and I, a whole group of friends, and his regiment, the 2nd Texas, of course had to participate. It was the very first Gettysburg re-enactment that I had ever been to, and the first time I had been to Gettysburg since I was four. It was amazingly EPIC.

I tried so many new things, and conquered some fears, and learned a whole bunch. I think the best thing I realized is that if you're willing to go all-out authentic, things get a lot easier!!! They really knew what they were doing back then! I'll also have to admit that it was absolutely perfect to spend five straight days with my Man. I mean, honestly, who wouldn't love that? And, it was so nice to have very little schedule, and very little stress. A great vacation, although we definitely did not come back "rested".

In fact, we actually came back slightly ill.....just a little cold, and no voices. But, it was totally worth it. I got to sleep in a tent on an old military cot, and Stephen went campaigner style, sleeping outside under the stars with just a ground cloth and a few blankets. We ate many a meal prepared over the fire, walked everywhere, and drank gallons of water to counteract the heat!! Gosh, you never realize how precious ice is until you're drinking sun-heated water half the time!

However, so much went down that I could never hope to detail  it all. So, as usual, here's a quick look through some pictures.

Getting ready to drive down on Thursday....do I look a little out of place, maybe?

Beginning the long trek down sutler row on Friday morning:

Listening to the 2nd South Caroline String Band:

Enjoying some ice cream and the shade of a tree downtown:

The 2nd Texas Dismounted Cavalry during the afternoon battle on Friday:

Up at Little Round Top on Friday night:

Looking down on Devil's Den:

Getting the fire started Saturday morning, with a new little buddy who copied Stephen's every move:

Trying a new hairstyle:

Writing in my journal....I even used an old fashioned pen and ink set:

Loading the pistol for battle...Crisco yumminess!

All suited up and ready to fight:

Hanging out in the "kitchen":

Weapons inspection:

Being given a "pep-talk"........"Today is THE DAY!!"

Excited to be fighting:

And they're off!

Cavalry  battling:

Playing "nurse" to my worn-out Soldier:

Cleaning guns and hanging out with friends:

My horribly messy tent/closet:

Ready for the dance Saturday night:

These five guys together are an absolute riot:

 The 2nd South Carolina String Band at the dance:

Resting before the battle on Sunday:

 Getting ready to move in:

Cavalry:

Enjoying each other's company after the battle....and no, this was not posed:

Devil's Den Sunday night:

Only my Love can get such good pictures of me:

Looking back at Little Round Top:

Enjoying the rocks:

Packed up and ready to leave on Monday:

It was sad to leave....half way home, I was ready to just turn around and head back to Gettysburg. It was weird coming back to modern life; thankfully, we had another re-enactment the very next weekend to keep us going. But that, folks, is another post for another day!

Three Years Ago

A few weekends ago was the War of 1812 event and GCV&M. Not only was it the bicentennial of the war, but it was also the three year mark since I met my wonderful man.

Of course, such an event put us in a reflective mood. Has it already been three years??? It feels like it just happened yesterday. And at the same time, it feels like we known each other for ever.

However, this post was not meant to bore you all with our mushy memories. =) Instead I thought I'd just share some pictures with you.

We just got a new camera, and this was one of our first big chances to play with it. So much fun!!!

In the afternoon, the dance troupe we are part of, the English Country Dancers, put on a dance demonstration; I'm there in the red (of course), my mom is in the green, and there's my dad in the black coat.

Here I am with some lovely friends:

In the evening, we of course had to keep the tradition going with pictures in Livingston Gardens. The first picture was the one taken three years ago, the second was this years.

So blessed that I no longer have to walk alone.....

Good times, good memories....it's good to be the Lady In Red.

A Soldier's Quilt

Woohoo......big accomplishment!!!!!! Another quilt is done!!!!!!!!!!!! I made this quilt for my Man to use while he is reenacting, and that posed some interesting but fun challenges.

The first challenge was figuring out what quilt patterns were around and popular at the time of the war. I also wanted it to be a somewhat simple pattern, and a pattern with some sort of meaning. So I decided on the Log Cabin quilt block, set in a Furrows pattern. Stephen reenacts as a Southern, so I thought log cabins and feilds of furrows would be appropiate, and something that would "remind him of home".

The next challenge was fabric. I wanted to do it all out of scraps ( and I had a LOT of them), but not everything in my stash was "period correct". So, I had to sort through all my fabric and choose the best ones.

The last challenge was in the pattern itself. The Furrows design is completely dependant upon having a difference between light and dark fabrics, and placing them in the correct positions. This was new to me, because up until then, I had always made quilts with very randomly placed color. So, I had to divide my fabric between light and dark (which is harder than you'd think) and then figure out where exactly all the fabric had to go. Trust me, this planning stage was probably the most challenging part of the whole quilt!

Next, I cut out all the strips:

Then divided up all the pieces and got them ready to become blocks:

Pretty quickly, blocks started appearing:

After all the blocks were completed and sewn together to form the top, then I embroidered a short poem on one of the blocks. It was common for the maker so quilts to do that, especially when the quilt was for someone special. The poem reads:

 I give this to my soldier
As off to war he goes
And when again I'll see him
The Lord alone knows

The furrows and log cabins
Remind him of his home
The red so that he'll ne'er forget
The girl he left back home

                      

Allison Gerwitz

1862

Then I made the backing, layered, and pinned the quilt in preparation for quilting it. While I was quilting, I had plenty of help from my puppy dog! You can see in the second picture that I quilted the light parts with a one-inch grid, and then tied the dark parts with black thread.

Finally, I made the binding, and sewed it on.

And now, it is finished!!!!!

I am so happy with the way it turned out, and I can't wait to see my Soldier use it at reenactments this year!!!!!!!

Happiness Is..........

Today, happiness is...........

A quilt in progress:

 

Peas that are flowering, and pea pods beginning to appear:

Trying two new recipes, stuffed peppers and rosemary polenta:

 Best of all, two beautiful bouquets of my favorite flowers from my Love: