Had Mom lived, today would have been her 67th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Mom!!

My third bit of good luck that I mentioned Friday are Mom’s travel journals.  For Christmas 1995, right after Mom and Dad sold the campground and went “full-time” as travelers, I bought Mom a blank book and told her that she could use it to record everything she saw, did, heard as well as tickets, pictures, whatever she wanted in order to be able to read them again when she was old and remember everything.  She looked at the blank book in her hands and you could see the light bulb go off.  “I can, can’t I?”  And she did.

Beginning January 1, 1996 through May 31st, 2001, she wrote nearly every day and filled six volumes of blank books.  Like with Mammaw, I replaced each book when it was full with a new one.  She quit the first time she got cancer and started going through all the chemo, surgeries and radiation.  She said she just couldn’t write about that.  Even when she went into remission and she and Dad started traveling again, her energy level and the constant pain from the chemo treatments left her with no desire to write again.  We are so lucky for the 4 and a half years she did write though.

As you can see, she included pictures, maps, brochures, cards and letters from her grandkids, everything she could think of to make these memories as complete as possible.  The further she went, the more stuff she found to include in her journals to the point they were a hybrid journal/scrapbook.

This is how thick the 6th book is.  I think there is more extra stuff than original pages in it.  Each page is like opening another present from Mom as underneath all of the extra stuff is a full, written page describing the events and experiences.  I am so sorry that she didn’t get the chance to relive this time by reading these journals in her old age.  I would have loved to sit with her and discuss her experiences with her when the time came.

On Saturday, I began transcribing Mammaw’s diaries.  The first volume has 1954 at the top of the page and 1955 at the bottom, so I an transcribing both years at once with each year in a different Word document.  It took a couple of hours, but I have both Januarys done.  Reading them as I go along is fun.  There are daily trips to a neighbors for a few weeks because that neighbor was due with a baby “anytime” and they didn’t want her to be alone when she was in labor.  There were worries about paying bills due to winter lay-offs at the factory, there were chores, visits, broken bones, basketball games, laughter and heart aches.

It was such a different time.  Someone in the area getting a new telephone and people visiting so they can call friends and family who also have phones so they can hear what they sound like.  Also, television was relatively new and people would invited friends and family over to watch a show together. At that time, baby showers happened during the week rather than on the weekend because women having a job outside of the home was the exception rather than the norm it is today.  In order to make extra money, Mammaw crocheted “chair sets” which consisted of a cover for the back and arms of a chair and sold them for $10 for 2 sets.  Also, more times than not, hair cuts were given by a neighbor rather than a barber or a beautician.  No one had the money in rural southern Indiana for extras such as that.  In fact, running out of coal and having to burn scrap lumber happened far more often than was comfortable.

I grew up hearing these stories firsthand and have read these diaries a couple of times before.  What an eye opener it will be to the generation after me who are used to computers, cell phones and ipods.  I can hardly wait to get this done so I can discuss it with them.  I’d love to hear their comments.

As I have already mentioned before, Conner Prairie Museum stepped forward and offered to host the Sheep to Shawl competition since the State Fair was closed on Sunday.  They gave us the Featherston barn, and all four of the youth team showed up in full, with only the adult team opting out. 

The event was to start at 11:00, only one hour later than it was to have started at the state fair.  I have to hand it to the kids and their textile coordinator, Sue Payne.  Sue had gotten the call at 1:00 AM that the state fair would be closed on Sunday, and was on the phone to everyone at 7:00 telling them to go to Conner Prairie instead.  I found out about it when I had gotten home from going to the fairgrounds, only to be turned away by locked gates.  I immediately got back in my car and headed to Conner Prairie.  The other Judge, Mindy McCain, managed to pick up the rosettes from the state fair staff, and brought them with her.  That was very lucky and we were all very thankful to Mindy for doing this.

Mindy used to compete in the Sheep to Shawl years ago when it was first formed and she wore her costume that day as a nod to all those teams who had come in between.  Isn’t she cute?  Mindy is a professional weaver and has 40 years experience behind the loom.

Let me introduce you to all four teams before we get started.  Part of our scoring for each team included their ID, presentation board/table, and their costumes.  I began on one side of the room, and Mindly on the other as soon as the teams were allowed to start.  The first team I came to were the Pirates of the Treadle.  You might remember this team from last year, but there have been some member changes as some had graduated and new ones were admitted in their place.

Of all the displays, theirs was my favorite.  Each team member had “assumed” the identity of one of the characters from the Pirates of the Carribean movie, which made it even more fun.  One of the team members is the son of a very good friend of mine, and he “played” Bootstrap Bill. 

And here are the pirates themselves all working hard.

These pirates even brought their own version of rum to help give them the stanima to make it all the way through.

The second team, I came to was The Traveling Gypsies.

I’ll admit that theirs was my least favorite display.  I had hoped that, being gypsies, theirs would have been very colorful and flambouant.  But I do like the addition of the peacock feathers.

And the Gypsies in their colorful costumes getting started.

The third team was The Legends of the Loom.

Theirs was a definite old Greek theme and the girls gave themselves names from Greek mythology and history.  And, yes, the weaver was Penelope.

Check out Penelope’s lovely costume.  They all had toga-like dresses on and they looked like they could have stepped out of a temple painting.

And the fourth team was The Majestic Spinners.

If you will look to the left of their display, you will see they included an audio/visual display of what all the teams did to prepare for the competition. 

Also, Mindy and I decided that if we were to be a part of any team, it would have been this one because they had the coolest costumes, all being dressed as princesses.  I mean, the pirates’ costumes were awesome, but, as females, we wouldn’t have been able to join their team anyway.  (Although I think I would have made a cool lady pirate – Yarrrggghhhh!!!)

Also, on each table, were two “practice” scarves woven by each team as they prepared for the big day.  These scarves were being sold via silent auction, and I got beat out at the last moment on the one I liked, woven by the Legends of the Loom.

Here is what all four teams looked like from above.  The barn had a upper floors and a couple of us were given permission to go up and get pictures from above.

This one was taken looking straight down at the Majestics’ team.  As you can see, they were working hard on their scarf.

This is Bootstrap Bill proving that sailing the open seas is only one of his talents.  One of the most fun parts of the Pirates team was the fact that at one point they were softly singing pirate songs as they worked.  I absolutely loved that!

And the Pirates’ scarf as it was being woven.  If you look closely at it, you will realize that the pattern is very reminencent of the skull and crossbones in the pirate flag.  Also, they dyed their handspun warp using indigo and cochineal which made the dark Shetland weft really pop against it.  I loved their pattern.

Nearing the end, the weavers had gotten into their zone and were paying little attention to the crowds of people wandering around them.  These next pictures were taken at the 3 hour mark, and they knew that have only an hour left to finish their scarves and get them presented to the judges.  The one above is the Gypsies scarf, and this really shows off their pattern very well.

The Legends of the Loom coming in at their 3rd hour of weaving.

And the Majestic Spinners. 

Each of these teams stayed focused and worked hard to get their scarves done.

The Pirates were the first ones to cut their scarf from the loom, but they had had troubles with broken warp threads and they needed the extra time to fix these.  When I took this picture, it reminded me of surgeons starting to work on a patient, and I asked a parent standing near me if he “thought it would live.”  The parent got a big laugh at that because that is what it looked like.  The patent survived.

The Legends of the Loom with their scarf cut off and onto the finishing table.

The Majestic Spinners with their scarf done and on the finishing table.  These young ladies were moving so fast that this is the clearest picture I could take of them as they worked.

And last, the Gypsies cutting theirs off their loom…

…and onto the finishing table.

Each team worked hard to make their scarf as presentable as they could.  The Gypsies even experimented with placing peacock feathers in theirs, but abandoned the idea and opted for their scarf to speak for itself with no added embellishments.

With the scarves off the looms and being prepared for the judges, I will stop here and tell you about the judging and name the winners tomorrow.  I am so proud of these young people and how hard thay had worked preparing for this day.  Also, how they didn’t let the change of venue rattle them.  Til tomorrow, then!

Yesterday was another lovely day at the Indiana State Fair.  It was warmer than Friday – 91 at one point.

As Sandy and I were leaving a little after 6:00 last night, we passed people coming in to go to the Sugarland concert that was to take place.  Some were dressed in cute little sun dresses, some in cowboy hats and boots and all were obviously looking forward to the show.

Also, at that time, the weather had begin to cloud up and there was a prediction of a possible storm coming.  I made it home with enough time to spare to take a shower and print out the judging forms for the Sheep to Shawl competition before the storm arrived and we had to shut down and unplug everything.  As Scott and I were getting ready for bed a bit after 9:00, a hard gust of wind hit our house and made it shudder.  Scott looked at me and said, “I didn’t like the feel of that,” so we turned on the weather radio and listened to the report.  A wind gust of 70 miles per hour had hit Fortville (the town nearest us) and that is what we felt.  What we did not know was that a wind gust of that same speed hit the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  What that wind gust did was horrific. Please click on the previous sentence to see a report on the tradegy that hit the Indiana State Fairgrounds last night.

Today the fairgrounds were closed.   Sandy and I did not know this until we arrived at the fairgrounds at 8:30 to begin setting up for Sheep to Shawl.  We were going to be able to set up a booth selling our tie-dyed merchandise for Sandy to man while I spent the 5 hours monitoring and judging the competition.  Needless to say, we turned around and went home.  I dropped Sandy off and I came home, just planning to spend the day washing fleeces and proof-reading on the graphic novel.

When I arrived home, Scott said that I had gotten a call to go to Conner Prairie Museum because the museum had generously offered to host the Sheep to Shawl competition for the state fairgrounds.  I’ll tell you more about the S2S tomorrow.  Right now, my heart is really very heavy about what happened last night at the fairgrounds.  Please say a few prayers for the victims and their families.  What should have been a fun night of music and entertainment turned into an evening of nightmares come true.

Now that tax season is upon us and things have really gotten busy at work, I needed a day of no thinking.  So, Scott and I opted for a day at the Indiana State Museum.  There were a couple of special exhibits we wanted to see, plus it had been a while since we had been there.

The major exhibit we wanted to see was the war poster art from WWI.  For my homsteading friends, I offer the following:

It was considered being patriotic to grow and preserve your own food.  Why did that ever fall out of fashion?  This is still the best way to get the best nutrients for your body.  I think we have damaged our country by making everyone think processed, fast, cheap and junk food are what our bodies need.

While we were there we wandered around, and I am sure people thought us strange for taking pictures of the floors, the walls and other texturey stuff.  Well, Scott is in the process of collecting lots of textures to use in his computer art, so wherever we go, taking these types of shots are just part of the day’s activities.  But I did take some shots that did not consist of old wood, stone work and gravel.

These small glimpses into a world far into the past always fascinate me.  I love minatures and these little scenes make my fingers itch to make some myself.

I think it is a shame that this wheel isn’t in working condition.  How is anyone supposed to learn anything from a broken, non-functioning wheel?

After looking at the Civil War surgeon’s kit, all I can say is “Thank you, God, for modern medicine.”

“And thank you for the modern way to get a perm.”  When I saw this, my first thought was “Wow!  Tim Burton would love this thing.”

I have always wanted a chatelaine.  I don’t know what I would do with one in this modern age, but I think they were cool.  Not to mention, they showed who was boss.

Isn’t the beading on this dress top beautiful?  I wonder how long it took to do this?

I think I have mentioned that I like dolls.  Check this one out!  What’s that in her mouth?

Yes!  It’s a cigarette!  She must have been a fast, racy little lady in her day.

And then there was this nun doll.  Her state of shock in finding herself a nun hasn’t lessened in all these years.  Either that or finding herself standing next to that smoking, cheap broad next to her that did it.  Or both.

I have always enjoyed watching the pendulum as it goes back and forth with the movement of the earth.  What makes this one extra special is…

…who ever thought it would be cool to make the center a glass ceiling into the museum offices below. 

One of my favorite things there was this HUGE copper pot.  I forget what it was originally used for because all I could think was “How much yarn could I dye at one time in that thing?”  Do you think they’d notice if I had tucked it under my coat?

Going to the museum is always lots of fun for Scott and I.  We love history and we love looking at artifacts from the past.  I’m still disappointed in that flax wheel.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to volunteer to make costumes for the 1836 area of Conner Prairie.  These clothes were hand-sewn on the areas that could be seen, and I really enjoyed this type of work.  The patterns used were taken from vintage clothes of that era that were on loan to the museum by Tasha Tudor. 

During this short, two-year stint making these costumes that were to be worn by the interpreters, I learned a lot about how vintage clothing was assembled and worn.  My triumph while there was making a corded petticoat with 25 yards of cording.  These petticoats were the precursor to the hoop skirts and crinolines that were to reach their height (width) during the 1860’s. 

The petticoat was entirely hand sewn and even traveled to one of the comic book conventions in Chicago where I sat behind the table, sewing away, and explaining to people what I was making.  It was the interest in this project, and the draw it had on the people there, that eventually lead me to sit behind the table with a spinning wheel, keeping my hands busy and pulling people in for a better look – and to buy comics.  This petticoat, I understand, is still referred to as “the petticoat” at Conner Prairie. 

Also, I made one dress for the 1876 schoolhouse for the schoolmarm to wear.  You can imagine my glee and pride when I visited Conner Prairie soon thereafter and in the schoolhouse was the teacher wearing the dress I had made.  Luckily, by this time sewing machines had been invented, so I made it on my sewing machine.

Where am I going with this?  Well, this past weekend while I was at Kristy’s, she showed me a pattern from her husband’s great-great-grandmother.  The pattern was like nothing I had ever seen before and I took several pictures of it to show to you.  It was almost (but not quite) enough to get me back into making vintage costumes again. 

The paper the pattern was printed on was very thick – thicker than card stock, but not as thick as cardboard.  Obviously it was meant to last through several dresses and the adjustability of the patterns meant it could be used for the entire family of adult women.  In fact, there was a sheet with the names of several women, including the owner of the pattern, and their measurements.  Fascinating!

I started with the sleeve.  Since this dress was in the same style as the 1870’s dress I had made for Conner Prairie, it immediately brought back memories of making that dress.  The sleeve is curved toward the inside seam which means that while wearing it the arm cannot be fully straightened out.  Also, the sleeve was fitted very tightly.

See the small holes?  These were used to mark cutting lines, dart lines, and other fitting lines.  With this many options, these dresses could be form fitted to the person much more easily than we do today.

Now, let’s go to the bodice front.  Again, there were lots of darts to be sewn in to fit the corseted body snugly.

The same with the back of the bodice.  And look at how tiny the waist is!  When I was a docent with the Morris Butler House in Indianapolis back in the late 1980’s, there was a dress (and I assume it is still there) that had an 11 inch waist.  At that time I weighed about 120 pounds, and my neck was 11 inches around.  I used my neck as a visual at how tiny the dress’ waist was and then reminded people that there would have been a corset, corset cover and chemise under that!

This piece was referred to as the Skirt and Dart Rule and was used to measure out the fabric for the skirt of the dress.  I didn’t get to look more closely at this piece, and I think I will ask if I can study the pattern even more.  The dress pattern I had used for Conner Prairie had a skirt pattern, so I’m not sure how this piece was used.  More study is needed on my part.

The following are several of the written areas on the patterns.  They are a bit blurry, but if you go slowly you can make out the words. 

And this was on the bodice front.  The Climax System.  I would love to know more about the history of these patterns and the creators of it. 

Anyway, I thought you would love to see this wonderful old dress pattern.  If I were a woman of leisure (HA!), I might be tempted into recreating this dress.

Today, Scott and I drove out to Huddleston House to pick up our canopies, the little loom and my grill (it was too hot to bring home on Tuesday, and the rest was left for their use the rest of the week).

I asked Karen how it went and she had nothing but positive, glowing terms for the whole week of camp for the kids.  They were introduced to llamas, thanks to Mike Hoopengardner, they learned how to knit, spin on drop spindles and make bread on the hearth.

One young lady took to the knitting so well, that she was thrilled to death to learn that she could take her knitting needles and yarn home with her.  In fact, she went home and taught her little sister how to knit.  I told Karen to feel free to send some extra balls of yarn home with the kids if they wanted it.  Anything to encourage them to continue knitting.

The same young lady couldn’t wait to get her spinning off of the spindle so she could weave it into the cloth on the loom.  Karen said the girl would like that part of it to keep, so I’ll be cutting it off and mailing it to her.  Also, I’m going to invite her, her sisters and their mom to join us on BASK night.

One thing I have come to love about working with kids (and, mind you, this is my first attempt) is their lack of inhibitors.  You show them how to work a loom, hand them a stick shuttle with yarn on it, point out other yarns they can play with and turn them loose.  We adults want patterns so we can “make something.”  Well, kids do not need patterns to make something.  They just create.

And what they created was 4 feet of something that is fun, remarkable and very interesting.  You can see where they followed what I had showed them about twills, tabby and basket weave, and you can see where they left the well-trodden track and made their own paths.

Would we have woven something like this and considered it a success?  Most likely not, but this, my friends, is truly a successful thing.  I’m thinking that we adults care too much for perfection in the eyes of the world, and I know I am going to take away a lesson taught to me by these wonderful children.  Play, experiment, be freer in my creativity, and I might create something beautiful.

By the way, the young lady who wants the part with her handspun in it?  Hers is the lime green portion.

Today we did the natural dye demonstration at the Huddleston House in Cambridge City, Indiana.  We woke up to glorious sunshine and cool temps.

Before I go any further, I want to take this time to introduce you to my two helpers for the day.

On the left is Ann Rockwell, a weaving student from my March class, and someone who has become a friend.  Ann is fun, smart, enthusiastic and a hard worker.  She and Scott (on the right if you couldn’t tell), worked hard helping me get the fires started and the dye pots going.  Also, Ann helped one of our campers who was in a wheel chair and couldn’t get too close to the fire.  Thank you, Ann!  You made the day so much easier with all your hard work.

I had taken 10 sets of yarn to dye as well as a book with terminology, information on the three dyes we were using today (indigo, cochineal and Osage orange), and a bibliography.

While the yarn was in the pots, Karen Trent, the manager of Huddleston House wrapped bananas with the skin split open and marshmallows and Hershey’s kisses stuck inside into aluminum foil to bake over the fire until done.  Those were wonderful and we have decided we will have to do them again at Dye Day in October.

I took several items I had either dyed or made from dyed yarns…

…as well as binders full of sample cards from dye days and other dyeing experiments from the past 10 years.  I could have taken so much more, but this worked for today’s event.

And the kids got beautiful colors!

Karen had wanted them to be able to weave, too, so I warped my little Nilus loom (and all this time I thought I had a Dorothy!) and showed the kids how to work the loom.

Then I stood back and let them go with it.  I found it very encouraging at how often over the course of the day one or more would go back to it and weave on it.

I know that one of these kids will be in my November weaving class if not a couple more.  I found that working with kids is really easy.  They don’t need a lot of instruction and are game to try their hands at anything.  They asked a few questions, but for the most part, they pushed levers, raised and lowered shafts and watched how the weft yarn went in and out of the shed. Also, they are much more likely than adults to experiment with patterns and were less concerned about what their weaving looked like as they were about having fun with color, textures and pattern.

I left the loom there for the week and I can hardly wait to see what it looks like when we remove the fabric from the loom this Saturday.

During times of waiting for the dyepots to do their thing, there were many stories, lots of area histories, family histories and tales of experiences being told.  I am a true lover of history and I was fascinated at some of the stories I heard today.

We ended the day around 3:00 this afternoon, said good-bye to the kids, gave and received hugs all the way around, loaded up the car and left.  The day was fun and educational, and I’d do it again anytime I’m asked.  If just one of these kids take up the fiber craft (and I know one young lady, Sarah, already spins and is taking my weaving class), or looks back on this day when they are adults, remembers the fun they had and starts weaving or knitting or felting or spinning, then I will be happy.

Last, but not least, I wanted to show you one of my favorite tools that played a huge part in my getting the yarn samples ready for today.  This is a click, or clock, reel.  Scott found it at an antique mall here in Indianapolis a few years ago.  It was in complete working condition and only needed a bit of cleaning up.  And we only paid $65 for it.  I love this reel and use it to wind off my handspun yarns when I am done plying it.

And, I know I haven’t gotten any further with my studio set up, but with with today behind me now, I can start concentrating on getting my room set up and ready to use.

Today, Scott and I went out to the Huddleston House to set up the fire pit area and two of the tents for the Natural Dye demonstration being held there on Tuesday.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful day.  See?

Just look at that sky!  This cupola was on the bank barn and I love cupolas.

The back side of Huddleston House.  There is a very calm feeling about this old house, although, in its day, it was a humming hub for travelers.  It was built in 1841 and was a tavern on the Old National Road.  It served the purpose of giving people a place to change horses, get a meal and spend the night if needed.

I am assuming this was caused by the wind, but there is real character in this tree.  Either that or it is taking a bow for us.

This wee stack of half-grown acorns looked like a pile of fairy hats to me.

The bees were out in force today, although they were more the bumble variety than the honey ones.  I have seen a few honey bees this summer in my own yard that happens to be mostly white clover.  I have missed them and hope this is a sign they are making a come back in our area.

And while I welcome bees of all types, I do not welcome the other critter in this shot.  Go away, stupid Japanese Beetle!!!  Hey, there, Bumble Bee, look behind you!  Go and sting the beetle to death, please!

While the three of us adults and two teenagers were sitting around taking a rest break, a little lizard came out from under the porch to sun himself.  We three adults were going bonkers over him,  and Scott snuck off to get his camera while Karen Trent, the manager of Huddleston House, and I kept an eye on where the lizard scuttled off to while Scott was gone.  Scott took several pictures of him from the side, then handed the camera up to me so I could get some from the top.  We admired his coppery-bronzy shimmer and his tail went from green to turquoise to blue and then to purple at the tip.  Lovely with the sun bouncing off of him.  And could he move!!

The funny part about this little guy is that the three adults acted like little kids over him and telling stories about hunting lizards and salamanders as children -  and the two teenaged girls just could not care less.