{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!!!

{Works With Her Hands} No More Grocery Bags!

Wegman's grocery bags are great. They can be used for so many different purposes. But using one as a lunch bag, four days a week, May through October, gets a little tiresome. So, when I found myself in need of a knitting project, I decided to knit myself a lunch bag. It took me three or four weeks, and I got to use my new-found cabling skills a lot!

One of the best parts about it - the amazing and ridiculous fabric that I lined it with! So wild and crazy  and polyester-ish that it could never really work for much else, but it is fun on the inside of a bag!

This past Wednesday was the one-week mark till Stephen leaves. In light of that, I decided to go back to little kid traditions and make myself a count-down paper chain. It turns out he'll be gone for 107 days, and 15 weeks. Every chain has the number of days left, and a Bible verse for me to look up.

I'm already looking forward to seeing that chain grow smaller every day!!!

{Helpmeet In Training} Time Flies

This fall, my Love and I will be embarking on a new adventure. He will be attending a semester long leadership course in the Adirondacks through Camp Of The Woods, and I passing the time at home, waiting for him to return. Although I am thankful that it is only one semester, and everybody tries to encourage me by saying that it will pass quickly, it is still 3 1/2 months without my Man.

With his leaving date only a little over a month away, I find my self dreading August. I find myself saddened every time I think of it's approaching nearness. Even when I am with him it is difficult to be cheerful, because I am reminded of how soon we will be apart. And yet, I am reminded of a picture I once drew. In  the corner it reads: "Time flies. Cherish every moment."

I have to remind myself that I should be cheerful BECAUSE we have so little time. When he is gone, I won't want to look back on our time and feel like I wasted it in misery. I'll want to look back and remember all the fun memories.

But the hardest part if that joy and cheerfulness doesn't just happen. I must CHOOSE to be joyful. I like the way Debbie Pearl explains it in her book Created To Be His Helpmeet. We must practice joy the same way we practice the piano. Yes, we will often hit the wrong notes of depression and gloominess and unthankfulness. But, every time we hit a wrong note, we need to correct it. And sooner or later, we'll hit the good notes of joy, happiness, and thankfulness more and more often.

And I want to be that way. I want to cherish each and every moment I have with my Man, because times flies far too quickly.

{Living History} Lain's Mill, Canisteo

It's that wonderful time of year again -- re-enacting season! Last weekend, Stephen and I kicked off our season by attending the Lain's Mill Re-enactment in Canisteo, NY. Our decision to go was rather last minute, but I'm so glad that we did go!

I must admit that, overall, the event was rather unauthentic, or what re-enactors call "farby". It was small, with all of two sutlers (shops). But, the location was beautiful, the battles were fantastic, it was a fun time with friends, and it gave Stephen and I a chance to prepare for Gettysburg in July.

Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Here are some pictures!

Saturday morning:

Our little"kitchen":

The morning battle:

Here come my rebels!

 Stephen's regiment near the end of the second battle, after they had been fighting in the woods:

Sunday morning, with a lake of fog covering the town of Canisteo in the valley:

Cooking breakfast:

Sunday's battle: Pickett's Charge:

Stephen and some of his regiment making it to the fence for hand-to-hand combat:

{Works With Her Hands} Trying Something New

Well, with my few spare scraps of time this week, I thought I'd share two recent projects.

The first was started out of desperation, looking for something to occupy my time during a slow day spent in my least favorite building at the museum. I've always admired cabled knitting patterns, and many people have told me how easy cables were, but I just never got around to it. But I had extra yarn, so Bingo, it was a perfect time to learn. And I think I did pretty well! The only mistake I made was once doing 7 rows instead of 5 rows before doing the turning row again.

I've worked on it more since this picture, and it's getting quite long. I'm going to turn it into a mug cozy.

My second project has been making a vest for My  Man. I had left over fabric from my wool sacque and petticoat, and he had mentioned that it would make a great vest. I had a pattern for a single breasted, collarless vest which I had used and liked. But I wanted this vest to be double breasted with a shawl collar. So, I set to work trying to change my pattern, and here is my mock up:

I'd say I did fairly well! He tried it on and it only needs one small tweak. So, I've got all the fabric I need for it, and I plan on starting the real thing this weekend, with hopes of finishing it before the Gettysburg re-enactment in July!

{Works With Her Hands} Dress For A Schoolmarm

So, I know I've been pretty bad about keeping up on the blog posts, but now that things are settling back into a routine, I'm trying to get back into it as well. It's been so busy recently that I haven't had much time to work on projects, but my one main project over the last week was a regency dress to use while working in the schoolhouse at the museum.

I used Past Pattern's Front Closing Gown (031), which I had just recently used to make a dress for someone else. I'm really very impressed with this pattern. There are only two challenges involved in it. #1, the instructions are all for hand-sewing, which means that if you want to machine-sew, you have to play around and "interpret" them differently. #2, The sleeves get sewn in with some really awkward angles. Once you can get past those things, it is a great dress that fits well and wears well.

Anyways, enough of my ramblings. Here are some pictures. Thanks to My Wonderful Man for taking these for me, and dealing with the poor lighting in the school house!

{Helpmeet In Training} When I Grow Up

Yesterday was my parent's 25th Anniversary party. It was a simple picnic in the park with a small group of friends, and that entirely suits them. But, even though it wasn't a huge affair, it still was a really big deal. I was so thankful and blessed to be able to celebrate the fact that my parents are still happily married 25 years later.

Now that I'm entering adulthood, I'm really seeing what great examples my parents are of a God-fearing couple. Yes, my parents have faults; yes, they argued sometimes; yes, they  made a few mistakes when raising us. But they served God as best as they know how. My mom submits to and is a helpmeet to my dad, she got us three kids through all 12 years of homeschooling, and she runs the household smoothly and efficiently. My dad gets up and goes to work everyday, disciplined us when we were being rotten children, and leads the family with confidence and safety through many ups and downs. And that's just to mention a few of the things they did and still do.

Besides all this, I think what I treasure most about my parents is the fact that they laugh and smile and have fun. My dad has always been full of jokes and laughter, and my mom is always ready with some sarcastic wit all in good fun. I never remember having a gloomy or miserable household. Dinner time was always looked forward to because of the crazy conversations we got into. And even now, 25 years later, my parents still joke with each other; they laugh, and have a great time being together. They don't just tolerate being married, they treasure it. And that's a great thing to see.

My parents are really amazing. And when I grow up, I want to be like them.