The 150th Anniversary and Civil War Era Dinner Invitations

So, tomorrow is the generally accepted date for the beginning of the Civil War (you know how historians are.) I wasn't even going to mention it but I felt the need because I am already sick of hearing about it. :D Every time I open a newspaper there's a story about the Civil War or stranger-- Civil War reenactors.

As much as I love to see how other people view us-- I feel like the media regurgitates the same few sensational aspects of it. I love reading that reenactors " even make their hardtack from scratch," as if there is a hardtack mix we should know about. (For those of you not familiar with hardtack the ingredients are: flour and water.) Another interesting topic that gets noted frequently is the price of reenacting items. Normally, the papers will say something like "ladies spend upwards of $1,000 on a nice dress,"-- of course people think we are crazy! Other good topics are "reenactors go on extreme diets to replicate soldiers on half rations," and "women even squish themselves into corsets!" 

Okay, now that I am done my rant. :D I am excited for this year's reeanacting season. The weather was is so nice today that I can imagine myself in my dress holding my basket full of apples while skipping barefoot down the company sheet, smelling summer and gunpowder.

I shall be commemorating only with Civil War Era Dinner Invitations from Martine's Sensible Letter-writer, published in 1866:

A fill-in-the-blank card. Manuals of the time recommended fill-in-the-blank cards for people who frequently had parties. Other options included having your name printed in by the printer and only leaving the invitee's name and date blank.

To fill the card in, follow the first example.




Is everyone excited for the 2011 season?

100 Followers and I've Been Awarded!

I was told I don't post enough pictures of myself.

Yay! I finally have 100 followers! This is mind-boggling to me. I never imaged 10 people would want to read my blog and yet there are 100! Thank you all so much!

 ***On a side note, I've been told that I don't post enough pictures of myself. The reason is that I am normally the one behind the camera and I also hate pictures. :D I guess in comparison to other bloggers, I really don't include enough photos of myself. So for those of you who have e-mailed me, this one is for you. ***










I've been awarded the One Lovely Blog Award by Deb at Adventures in Genealogy--go check her blog out.

Part of accepting the award is awarding it to 15 bloggers that you have recently discovered. I am only choosing 5.

My 5 Blogs are:

• The Couture Courtesan--Some very pretty dresses there both Civil War and Revolutionary War.
• Godey's Girl- Crazy-amazing knitting from Godey's. 
• Historic Cookery-- Exactly what the name says. :D
• History-Cornbread--Love-- Lots of pretty, historical inspired modern wear ideas.  
• The Thrifty Reenactor- Great sewing and "thrift."

Check them out!

Colonial Raspberry Tart Recipe from 1774

I went to work one day and there were 17 piglets by 2 mothers and another soon-to-be mother. That's a lot of pigs!










We made this recipe from Hannah Glasse that was absolutely delicious, and I don't even like raspberries. At the time tarts were cooked in individual tins, which make for pretty, rippled tart shells. (Authentic, tin tart molds can be bought at Deborah's Pantry.) If you don't have tart molds, a cupcake pan will work, but the tart shells won't look as fancy. You can also make one large tart using a pie pan. 
 

Hannah Glasse, Raspberry Tart from 1774

Ingredients for the Crust:

-1/2 lb (2 sticks) Butter
- 3 Cups Flour
- 1 Cup Sugar 

Instructions for the Crust:

Cream the Butter with a wooden spoon until smooth, add the Flour and Sugar slowly until it forms a stiff dough. Lightly flour your surface and your rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4 of an inch. Measure your pans and cut the dough in circles about 1/2 an inch bigger than the diameter of your molds, (a cup works great for this.) Butter your molds and press your cut dough into them forming small bowls. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.  

 Ingredients for the Raspberry Preserve Filling:

- 1 lb Raspberries 

- 2 Cups Sugar

-  1 cup Water

Instructions for the Raspberry Preserve Filling: 

***You can save time buy using store bought jam or preserves but if you want to make the real thing, you will end up with a very sweet, but delicious preserve.***

Rinse off the Raspberries. Add Raspberries to a medium sized sauce pan and stir in the Sugar and Water. Let the mixture boil, being careful not to squish any of the Raspberries. Once the sugar-water starts to thicken, remove the raspberries using a slotted spoon or sieve. Let the juice boil until it is about as thick as maple syrup. Add the Raspberries again, you may crush them up if you want a more jelly-like preserve or keep the raspberries whole. Be sure to stir the syrup constantly so that it does not burn.  

***Alternatively, apricot, cherry, plumb, apple or currant preserves could also be used for this recipe.***

Put a tablespoon of preserve into a cooked tart shell. You may eat them as is or bake for an additional 5 minutes. If you have extra crust dough, you can decorate the tops of the tarts and bake for 5 minutes. Use a sifter to sift sugar over the top and enjoy. 

The tarts were very good. We cheated and used store-bought jam but we have made this preserve recipe before and it was surprisingly good for such few ingredients. They disappeared before we could take a picture but next time we make them, I'll definitely put one on here.   

I've finally taken a photo, although it was taken about 4 days after I made them:

Night Trip: Kevin Burke, Irish Fiddler

A few nights ago, Andy and I were fortunate enough to see one of Ireland's premier fiddlers, Kevin Burke. Kevin Burke is best known for his work with the Bothy Band in the 70s with Uilleann piper, Paddy Keenan.

For this concert, he was working with Cal Scott, a guitarist and songwriter from Oregon who writes soundtracks for documentaries.The concert was a cozy, small affair and the music was great. We were close enough to the stage that we could hear the music, crisp and clear, straight from the instruments.


In true Irish style, the concert was informal and the audience was almost dancing. We ended up buying a CD that had a lot of the songs that they played at the concert and we've been enjoying it very much. They were even nice enough to sign it for us.

You can listen to the whole CD at Amazon: Across the Black River

We very much liked "The Surround," and "The Lighthouse Keeper's Waltz." It is great because they have a songbook available for this CD so Andy can play fiddle and I can play guitar. We've been having fun with it.

Civil War Era Apron Pattern

My dirty apron.The stains are from the ashy pots.

 Nothing is so helpful at a reenactment than a good apron. Aprons function as napkins, drying cloths, extra warmth and protection against various "wardrobe malfunctions."

 During the war, it is said, that a few ladies who dressed like soldiers and joined the army were caught when another soldier tossed them some apples and they attempted to catch them in their nonexistent aprons.

I've been using the same 2 aprons for at least 3 years and think it's time for some new ones. I thought I'd include my sketchbook diagrams for anyone wanting to make their own.

To find the waistband length, take you waist measurement on top of the dress you will be wearing it with and add 5 inches for overlap. If you want to make an apron that ties, use at least an extra 12 inches on both sides.

For waistband stiffeners, buckram and stiff muslin were used in the 1860s. I will be using buckram for mine. If you are a beginner, buckram can normally be bought at the cutting counter, you just need to ask for it. The size should fit a teenager or an adult, the only thing that really changes is the size of the waistband. Cut two apron bibs along the fold of the fabric, cut 2 waistbands of fabric and 2 of stiffener, and cut one apron skirt, hem the skirt with a plain hem. Alternatively, you could make a apron with no bib. They were just as popular and are quicker to make if you need one in a hurry.

Diagram from my sketchbook.

A note for beginning sewers: If you make a pattern that you know you will use frequently, such as an apron pattern or a bodice pattern, make it easy on yourself and glue the flimsy pattern pieces to poster board. The next time you use it, you will not need to use pins or weights and it will trace very quickly. You also won't have to waste time ironing pattern pieces or repairing damaged ones. They are bulkier to keep around but it really does save a lot of time. You can use a hole bunch and a piece of ribbon to keep the pieces together so you don't lose them.   

1. With right sides together sew around the sides and the top of the apron bib.

2. Turn the apron bib right side out and iron it. Gather the bottom edge (by hand or with a long machine stitch.)

3.  Stitch a piece of interfacing to the wrong sides of each of the waistbands. With right sides together, sew between the stars indicated on the diagram. (8 inches from the center at the top, 16 inches from the center on the bottom. Clip the excess fabric, turn right side out and iron.

4. Insert the bib into the 8 inch open space left in the waistband. Stitch across. (There are nicer ways to do this that would be too difficult for me to explain. If you know the nicer way, do it that way.)

5. Hem the apron skirt on three sides. Gather the rough edge. Insert the gathered edge into the 16 inch gap left in the waistband and sew across the waistband.

6. Add a button (or 2 if you fluctuate frequently) to one end of the waistband and a buttonhole to the other. 

****Ironing is very important when sewing. Many people, myself included, don't want to stop sewing to iron each piece but it really makes the garment look more professional and fit better.*****