Stockings Should be Changed Twice a Week

I know knitting takes a very long time. I also know that I have to change my stockings every day on I will die. Yes. Die. Okay, maybe I won't die, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in the same tent with myself. It seems impossible to me that even for gentile ladies , stockings were only changed two or three times a week as is suggested in the book The Lady's Guide to Perfect Gentility.

If you are a reenactor, you know how smelly the guys can be--you can smell them before you see them. In an effort to be authentic, many of them refuse to wash their clothing or socks, even in between reenactments. I always offer to wash their clothing as a public service but many refuse.

Back then laundry could be a weekly or even a monthly thing. I could not imagine waiting that long for a nice, clean, fresh smelling pair of socks. I don't think I can put a dirty pair of socks back on once I take them off. It sends shivers down my back. I think I'd be one of those people who were trying very hard to invent stocking knitting machines during the 1850s.   


For instructions for knitting socks from an 1860s Godey's Pattern, please check out this post: Civil War Era Socks From Godey's Lady's Book.

Sontag Civil War Knitting Update

In theory I was supposed to be finished the sontag by now, but I'm probably going to need another month. It is getting to that point where I like to put it up to myself frequently and imagine what the rest of it will look like when it's finished as I always do with sewing projects.

I am at the point where I decrease once every 4 rows. I always have to keep a tally on scrap paper when I have to "shape" knitting or else I forget where I am after every row. I am bad at knitting with charts but when I do, I have to color them in and use a sticky note to mark my spot.

Do any of you want to continue to add your links within the next few weeks as well or should I end them here? I'd still like to see everyone's projects as I don' t think any of us are finished yet. Everyone's sontag is looking really good. I thought that the basket weave pattern would be a problem for those of us who were new to it, but everyone has been doing really well with it. Is anyone also familiar with crocheting? If you are, are you considering crocheting the border?  

School is Almost Here!

Ugh! School is about to start again. Where did the summer go? School is hard because I won't have time to study the things I like as I am free to do in the summer. In school they tell you what and how and when to learn. How stressful!

Today certification is everything. I know we want to make sure that everyone is qualified for the job that they wish to do, but I think we have gone a little overboard in recent times.

Remember, in days passed, that many things and jobs were learned by apprenticeship. Little Timmy would show up at the shop with the rest of the men. At first, Tim would only sweep the floors and help customers out with their purchases. But soon he would learn how to stock the shelves. In a few months he would be cashiering and helping his aged employer with ordering. In less than a year he would learn the ins and outs of commerce and business. As anyone who has learned a new skill can testify: 10 minutes of hands on experience is worth years of a traditional school course on the same subject.

Of course, there are certain jobs that people need lots of traditional classes and hands on experience to be good at what they do, such as doctors; however, I am going to school to be a teacher. Remember when all you had to be able to do to be a teacher was to be able to read, write and do simple math? Not so anymore. We have to take classes on "lesson planning," "time management," "Spanish," (which I am notoriously bad at) and even "childrens arts and crafts." I truly believe that one week in a classroom will teach you more about these things than 4 month in these classes. Why do we make it so hard and time consuming to learn things?

I think the worst thing about it and probably the thing I feel guilty about is the fact that I feel no more qualified to teach now than I did my freshman year of high school. I'll end my rant here and applaud all of you who did not fall into the "everyone has to go to college" trap. I know many perfectly intelligent, caring and capable people who never set foot in a college--not that they couldn't pass, I know they could easily, they probably could teach college classes! I'm sorry about this post, but school just makes me so sad. :(

Colonial Kitchen Garden: Directions for the Year from 1799

The Kitchen Garden in Colonial times was tended to by the ladies of the house. In the garden were grown vegetables, greens, and herbs. Most of what was grown in the kitchen garden was used to feed the family and was not sold for a profit. Many herbs were grown by the family for use as flavorings and medicines.

The ladies of the house would also be responsible for the cooking or preserving of everything in the kitchen garden. The common methods of preserving were drying, smoking, salting, pickling, or jellying. Canning had not been invented yet. Following is an excerpt from The Laboratory, written in 1799, at the end of the Colonial era. It is very interesting to see that there was always something to be doing on a colonial farm, even in December. I am very interested that they would still be growing things in the winter.       

Civil War Era Knit-Along Update

Sorry this is late, I was stuck at the binding off part. I have decided to make the wings as is stated in the Piecework Magazine, to ensure that they are long enough. Even though the back is about 12 inches long, it still doesn't look long enough to reach my natural waist. I think it might reach after I put the trim on.



I hope I have enough yarn. With the alterations at the beginning, I might have to order more. Overall I am excited that I have even gotten this far in it. Binding off one side and working on part of it seemed like the hard part to me.