At long last these little gowns are coming together. I wish I had not procrastinated so much with them. Since I had a slow start I had slow progress and today finished David's dress with a very slow finale. WHY did it take me two and a half hours to sew on the little bit of bodice and sleeve trim? I wanted to put a band on the skirt but I don't think I will do that now. Once I have everything else finished and done I might go back to add it. We'll see.
I tried the gown on him this morning and it is a bit big. I draped the bodice pattern on him but forgot to take into account I draped it over his overalls/shirt and so it is a bit large. Not terribly so, but he definitely has growth room and the skirt is a bit long. That is fine, since if it still fits him next spring I can shorten it (if it needs 
it) and combine it with some short pants for a cute outfit - but oh, the pain of putting my baby boy into trousers! How can he have grown up so fast?
it) and combine it with some short pants for a cute outfit - but oh, the pain of putting my baby boy into trousers! How can he have grown up so fast?The trim placement was inspired by a little dress from the Wisconsin Museum of History digital collection of childrens dresses. The original dress had the trim at the front farther apart, to accomodate buttons for a front opening and it had two rows of trim on the diagnal line of sleeve trim and two rows on the skirt.
I used bias strips of a red and navy plaid wool for the trim. I think that was one reason why I had some difficulty getting the trim on. That wool wanted to stretch every which way and would not stay pressed, not matter what I did! I thought 
the red plaid would look cheery and boyish combined with the gray-green wool flannel.
the red plaid would look cheery and boyish combined with the gray-green wool flannel. Judah's trim will be a bit different and will be of a blue and white plaid cotton. The cotton should be easier to stitch on than the wool was!
Hopefully I'll get his done tomorrow!
Love,
Sarah
Sandy Pine Elk Farm is, undoubtedly, a tourist attraction. The reenactment is held every Labor Day weekend to increase traffic to the farm and interest in the products offered. There are the typical touristy things like the gift shop with pie and fudge and elk meat and native American-inspired clothing and jewerly. There is the corn maze and the play area and hay rack rides and baby goats in a pen. But it is still a beautiful place and after the tourists had gone it was very nice to just sit in the evening and enjoy oneself. The sunsets could not be improved upon, and we had a perfect view. This was the 3rd year of the event, and there were more reenactors including a federal unit to help create a small "battle" on Saturday and Sunday for the spectators. The first year it was just our artillery unit. We did not go last year, since I was so close to having Judah. 
It was quite warm during the day and cool at night. Judah somehow always made his way into bed with David and I each night. On our last night there, little David started crying despondently in the middle of the night. It was dark and I couldn't see him and assumed he would go back to sleep presently so did not get him up from his little bed. At last, after a few minutes of inconsolable sobbing I felt for his wee, warm little body and he was not in the tent! He had rolled right off of his bed and outside beneath the side of the tent and was sitting by the tent, not knowing where he was or where we were! As soon as I scooped him up and put him back in his bed he went right to sleep. 
As we were coming home yesterday we stopped at an orchard and got some apple cider. This particular cider is the very best cider we have found in the area and even though it is a bit expensive, it is worth the extra cost for the amazing flavor and texture. It's a good thing we don't live closer to the orchard, or else we would buy cider every week until apple season is over! :) 
Now I have my typical after-event laundry to get caught up on. For some reason Elk Farm is always the DIRTIEST event to go to. Perhaps it is because we are in an elk pasture and there is longish grass and elk droppings about. I tried going with just one dress this weekend and it got filthy at the hem, and my petticoats are dirty to my knees! I'm going to try a new soaking stain solution my mom told me about - color-safe bleach and cascade dishwash detergent, mixed. She said she used it on my brothers (who works for a landscaper) socks and things and stains she thought would never come out came out. I can't wait to try it. Especially considering that the dress I wore was the new striped one I made last month for Freeport! I was hoping to keep it nice for a while. Next year I vow to make a dark wool work dress with a very small hoop and a dark work petticoat to wear so I needn't worry so much about getting my things dirty. Wool wears so well and cleans up so nicely.
After drawing out the pattern on paper I decided to make a practice hood just to see how the pieces went together and if the size was right for me. I chose the least-attractive wool scrap to use and I cut out both pieces, and then the lining of white cotton. I figured if it was a flop there was no great sacrifice materially and if it WASN'T a flop, hey, that's good too. I used the half-circular pattern shape for the curtain, with the short curve the neck edge and the long curve the hem edge. The crown piece I placed on the fold along the short, straight edge and the slight curved edge was the face edge. I sewed the crown to the lining along the turn back, piping between them. Then I pleated the rest in to match the measure of the curtain neck edge. The curtain was sewn right sides together along the long curved edge and the short edges and turned right sides out. I pleated the curtain up a little at the neck, to fit my own. Then, it was just a matter of stitching the two pieces together. 
Sadly, this year the event was very small. Only a handful of Civil War reenactors attended, and over on the other side of the park where the rondevue was held there were less attendees than formerly and less vendors of wares. I do not understand why, but after the years I’ve been involved in the hobby there does seem to be a cycle to different events. When I started out, Billie Creek Village in Indiana was the big event to go to every year. Now, that event is dying if not already dead by now. It seems the new up-and-coming event around here is at the Vermillion county park in east central IL, which will be held next month. Poor Galesburg. I hope it sees a new day again.
Judah did not have a very good time of it since he was running a slight fever and getting molars. After his waking up Saturday night and screaming non stop we decided to leave early and take him home. We were disappointed to leave early but the comfort of the little one was of prime importance and it was very cold at night. We need to make some rope beds before our next event to keep everyone up off of the ground! 
It was easy to put together. There is nothing interesting to say about it. Even though it came out exactly as I wanted it to, it was not thrilling to me to see it come together. At last I discovered the reason. It looks exactly like every other adult style CW dress I’ve ever made. I said so to David last evening and he shrugged and suggested, 
I made trim applied to the bodice in a wide, shallow V shape. On reflection, I ought to have made the neckline V as well, to echo the V trimming. Oh well. I’d like to make more of this ruching to put on the sleeves, where they are gathered, but I haven’t done it yet. If I have time I will do that before we go to Freeport. If not, I’ll get it done before Galesburg, our next event which is a few weeks away. 
For details, I made a plain white cotton collar, a silk bow made out of scraps left over from my silk dress and I also plan on using the belt I made to go with my silk dress for this one. I would like to make another bow/belt set in dark green silk but until I get the silk to make that, these will work nicely. 
In a break from my sewing, yesterday I made a zuchinni cake. Zuchinni cake is something that goes back into my earliest remembrances of childhood. My mother used to make them, iced prettily with cream cheese icing and set beautifully on her wooden cake stand with the domed glass top. I believe she got her recipe from one of our landlords when we lived in Connecticut, many years ago. She shared the recipe with me and now my own children have been enjoying this delicious, moist cake! For anyone interested, here is the recipe: 
