New Sunbonnets!

Some of the first items done in the new sewing room! I've added two new bonnets to my Etsy shop this weekend and am really happy with the new design.

I made quite a few last summer and had a lot of great feedback. Some of the suggestions included making larger sizes available, making self fabric ties and a longer curtain. So, here are my first two attempts at incorporating those suggestions into a better sunbonnet.

The ones I made last year were extensively machine sewn. It enabled me to construct them more quickly and I was able to sell them for a fairly low price. Still, I always felt somewhat uncomfortable because I knew I could make a better bonnet if I took more time to do the hand finishing I omitted. Namely, seam finishes and hemming. So for these I took my time to do that and am far more happy with the finished result. These should last a very long time.

I also added a drawstring at the back neck. This makes the sizing very flexible but also will make ironing a lot more easy.

And more rows of cording. One cannot have too much cording.

My poor little styrofoam head is too small to properly display these. I need to make my own display head. That might be my next project. Besides, Benjamin has taken a large bite out of nose of our poor Styrofoam Lady and her countenance is unfortunately affected.

Love,
Sarah

A Quick and Easy T-Shirt Dress

Anne will be 4 this summer and she has developed quite her own style and preferences when it comes to clothing. She pairs stripes, plaids and polka dots in a single outfit and God forbid I pick out what she wears - she has to do it all and she loudly objects to almost all of my suggestions about attire.

Right now she is going through a dresses-only stage. She clung to her long sleeved winter dresses as long as she could but eventually I had to pack them away and she was left with a few short sleeved dresses hanging in her closet, and a lot of cute, summery t-shirts that her grandma had bought her on various shopping trips.

She won't wear t shirts. So we are making them into dresses! There are a lot of great tutorials online for making this type of dress. Basically sew a skirt onto a t-shirt. For Anne's I used a full width of 45" fabric with a wide ruffle made of two 45" widths of fabric and sewed it to a t shirt I cut to the level of a high waistline.

It's loose, comfy and twirly, all things that Anne wants in a dress. She loves it! The fabric is an adorable print she picked out that depicts little girls from different areas of the world. We had to buy 2 yards of it since it was a closeout sale and there was a minimum cut, so Rose will be getting a similar dress.

Now to tackle the 15+ remaining shirts. . .

Love,
Sarah

Grassy Run Rendezvous

It's pretty awesome to live in an area where so much recorded history took place. Over half my life was lived in Illinois, otherwise known as The Land of Lincoln. And there, it seemed, popular history certainly began and ended with the great orator, statesman and president. I grew up loving New Salem and the Metamora Courthouse, and felt properly solemn and awed when visiting Lincoln's tomb and his home in Springfield. But there is so much more to the early American frontier story. 

(Originally from the Narragansett area of Rhode Island, I sadly was too little to realize and enjoy the extremely rich history of that area before I moved with my family to the midwest. I gotta go back there someday.)

I love southern Ohio because there is so much history here, too. And it's not Lincoln. It's new and different and so interesting and delightful to me. It's as close as down the road, or across the ravine in a grassy field. It's the thin roads threading through the hills and the little cemeteries with stones too worn to read. It's the river and the huge, old trees along the shore and the crumbled remains of stone foundations. It's the 200 year old buildings that are still standing, still in use, still beautiful and proud and mellowed with time and the lives that have played out within their walls. I live in such a beautiful place. 

There are quite a few pockets of local historians who are actively keeping history alive. It's been a huge enjoyment to meet them and to talk with them and to hear their stories. This past weekend the kiddos went out to the Grassy Run rendezvous and spent a fun time learning about earlier days. Here are some pictures in no particular order. We had such a great time! I can't remember the last time I spent such a happy weekend.

Grassy Run is the name of a so-called battle that occurred near here between white settlers and Native Americans in 1792. It was a small encounter but resulted in deaths on both sides, unfortunately. The history of the Native nations that lived here and were driven out by whites is extremely painful and tense. I am really grateful to these historians who share the history of their culture with others.

The kids enjoyed all sorts of activities. Here, they are making a pattern in tin with a nail and hammer. 

Then they used a two man cross cut saw to cut through a log. It took them a while to get through it!

Then they made rope. I had never seen rope being made before and it was a really interesting process. Three guys were required to operate the machine. Malachi here is waiting to crank it. David held the end of the twine and Judah held the paddle. 

They visited the vendors, of course. They each had a little bit of money they could use to buy something and Anne got a wooden dinosaur with hers. She loves dinosaurs. Benjamin proudly walked around with the gun that Judah bought (he got his own, too, but preferred to use his beloved "Jew-Ah's")

A few days before the event I had been out in the woods with the babies and we had seen pools of wiggly black tadpoles. Anne wanted to see if the tadpoles were still there so we took a little walk to visit the big puddles. 

There weren't very many left, but some were still there. 

Anne and Benjamin decided to wade out in the warm water. Benjamin fell down and got soaked. He was so mad. Poor little dude! 

But back at the Cherokee camp he was consoled with candy. 

And he and Anne found some flowers to pick. 

Here is me and my girlies! I didn't really have an appropriate era dress to wear (except my white Vernet dress, which I didn't want to ruin with all the mud!) so I am not really dressed appropriately at all. For next year I think I will make a 1780's or 1790's dress. Not sure yet. But definitely something 18th century. 

The Boone Frocks worked out great for the littles. Of course they were covered in filth by the end of the day but washed up no problem. 

Malachi and Anne tried their hand at grinding corn. I asked them how long it would take to grind enough for a skillet of cornbread. Malachi said it would take too long. 

We didn't want to leave when it was over but of course all good things come to and end. Only, it's not really an end, but rather a new beginning! We can't wait to go back next year!

Love,

Sarah