Tag, You're It.

Every once in a while the blogosphere goes silent. People are busy, we forget to comment on posts, although we've enjoyed them and we forget that the greatest thing about blogging and the internet is the people we meet. I've done a lot of "things you didn't know about me posts" with a blog of bloggers and find them to be a lot of fun and a great way to connect and get to know each other. 

This is open to everyone whether you're a blogger or a blog reader. The Internet is a big, noisy place. Let's make it smaller! You can answer in the comments, on my facebook page, on your own blog but make sure to leave a link in the comments section.

The Challenge: 

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

I'm a twenty-something girl living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I've always wanted to use the term "twenty-something." I have a degree in History and Secondary Education and am the blogger here at World Turn'd Upside Down.  

2. What are your hobbies? Do you have any interests most people don't know about?

I love blogging, history/reenacting and taking photos. I actually have a slight photo taking addiction.   I also have a strange interest in historical court cases and forensics.

3. What is something that is on your bucket list?

I have a lot of weird stuff on my bucket list. Most of it has to do with traditional skills I would like to learn. Alternatively, I wish to travel a lot! At least see most of Europe, Egypt, India.


4. If you could wake up tomorrow and be anywhere in the world (past, present, or future), where would it be and why?

I'd probably have to go to the 1860s just to see what that's like. Being in the business of recreating the 1860s, one really wonders just how different it was. 

5. Are you here for the history, the cooking, or the camaraderie?

I came for the food but stayed for the camaraderie.

6. What are your 3 favorite History/ DIY / Traditional skills/ Reenacting blogs or websites?

There are so many great blogs and things that it's hard to pick just three. 

- http://passionforthepast.blogspot.com 

Ken has the best photos and is doing some really neat things in the Reenacting hobby.


-http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com

 It's always interesting to see what homesteaders are doing and how people can break the cycle of reliance on big business little by little. 

-http://www.theoldfoodie.com/

This is just a fun one to learn about the history of food.


7.  If you could ask any deceased person one thing, who would you ask and what would you ask?

I do not have a good answer for this one but I know some of you will. Whoever I got to talk to I would probably ask them their general advice for life after seeing the whole thing.  

8. What are 3 pieces of fiction that will stay with you forever?

- Harry Potter
- Anne of Green Gables
- Les Miserables


9. What literary  character best represents you at this point in your life?

Jo March


10. You're stranded on a desert island. The boat won't be back for 3 months. A suitcase washes up on shore. What do you hope is in there?

-Kindle
-iPod + Earbuds
-Solar powered charger
-Notebook and a pen
-Machete
-Tarp
-Blanket
-Cell Phone (Probably pushing my luck.) :P


Please comment and tag everyone! I'd really like to see what you all have to say.
 

Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party: Post # 30

 I woke up yesterday morning feeling like I swallowed a small porcupine. Hour by hour I felt my body getting heavier and heavier until I was too weak to keep my head propped up. My body gets chills that run up the spine and make me feel like a cat with fur on end. I am sick. Please forgive me for not getting back to emails as quickly as usual and please do not catch this.


10-30-2014

10-31-2014

11-1-2014

This does not look like much but it is the first photo I have taken with the camera obscura that I made myself. Hopefully I'll keep refining the technique.

11-2-2014

11-4-2014

11-6-2014

11-7-2014

Taken at the art loop in Wilmington, DE with Barrel of Makers. 

11-11-2014

11-12-2014

11-13-2014

11-15-2014

I have something new that I am looking forward to learning to use, an early 1900s Kodak Brownie box camera.

11-16-2014

11-18-2014

Finally finished knitting these for myself. It was one of those projects that were so simple almost to be boring.

11-19-2014

11-22-2014

11-23-2014

11-24-2014

11-25-2014

11-26-2014

11-30-2014

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! There is so much to be thankful for. As part of my plan not to work on Thanksgiving I have decided not to write an in depth post today. As usual my Thanksgiving advice is to spend time with family and don't fret. The turkey may catch on fire, the house will never be clean as it should be and the dog is likely to knock the dish of steaming, gloopy mashed potatoes on the floor. 

It's not important. May you all have a night of good company and good conversation! 

I encourage you all to read some of my other posts about Thanksgiving and have a great holiday:

Facts Not Fiction: The First Thanksgiving Celebration

Thanksgiving Letter from an African American Civil War Soldier

1856 Cruller Recipe: Historical Food Fortnightly

"Hither came to us in our isolation, the North Star, laden with packages for the brave men, who were far away from home fighting for their country. How we blessed the little hands that shaped the crullers and made the pies and the kind hearts of fair maidens in whom an appreciation of the heroic is never wanting."

-Brown University in the Civil War

The Challenge: "If They’d Had It… November 2 - November 15

Have you ever looked through a cookbook from another era and been surprised at the modern dishes you find? Have you ever been surprised at just how much they differ from their modern counterparts? Recreate a dish which is still around today, even if it may look a little - or a lot - different!"

The Recipe:

The Date/Year and Region: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Although cruller comes from a dutch word, krullen, which means "to curl," crullers have traditions in Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Austrian and Polish foodways. The Dutch and Germans are credited for bringing crullers to the United States. The recipes differ in flavorings and proportions but are still deep fried, twisted stick shaped doughnuts. Crullers were a popular dish on Shrove Tuesday and differ from French Crullers which are made with pate a choux and are circular.   


How Did You Make It:

Ingredients:

- About 3 Cups of Flour
- 6 Tablespoons Sugar
-1 Stick Butter
-1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
-2 Tablespoons Brandy
-1 Tablespoon Salaeratus ( 3/4 Tablespoon Baking Soda)

Instructions:

Cream the sugar into the butter. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, add the brandy and the cinnamon. Add the egg mixture to the butter mixture and add flour until it forms a dough. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch and cut into long strips. Fold each strip over and twist the dough around itself and pinch at the end. Deep fry the crullers in lard. Sprinkle with sugar when cool. 

Time to Complete: 40 minutes.

Total Cost: I had everything on hand, but the ingredients would cost a few dollars.

How Successful Was It?:  I had no success with making longer crullers, perhaps if I added more flour they wouldn't have fallen a part so easily. The dough tasted very plain even with the cinnamon. I believe frying them in lard would have added a lot of flavor. If I were to make these again I would cover the crullers in cinnamon and sugar. 

 How Accurate Is It?: I exchanged the brandy for vanilla extract as it's what I has on hand and fried in oil instead of lard (vegetarian.)

How to Care for and Repair Vintage and Antique Quilts: Guest Post by Ann Wasserman

I am so excited for this post and to introduce everyone to Ann! Ann has a degree in anthropology and many years of experience working with vintage and antique textiles. She has a wealth of knowledge as can be seen on her blog and website and is so inspirational. Thanks Ann!

Hello! My name is Ann Wasserman. Stephanie Ann has graciously invited me to write a bit about my experience with repairing and caring for antique quilts (30 years). I also have more recently begun repairing vintage clothing (5 years).

Quilts (and clothing) are an important part of this country’s history, and of family histories, too. When you are working on an antique quilt, you are taking stitches in a three-dimensional, historical document. All quilts, not just “museum-quality” quilts, hold valuable information. In a hundred years, there may be only a few quilts from the 1940s left intact. They will be as rare and collectable as quilts from the 1840s, even the plainest ones, are now. A future quilt historian may someday find a great deal of information in your quilt if it is treated kindly now.

Over the years, I have developed three basic "rules" of quilt care:

- Do as little as possible.
- Don’t do anything that can’t be undone.
- Preventative maintenance is the best medicine.

These rules could just as easily apply to any antique or vintage textile items. And really, they are also pretty good to keep in mind with any new heirlooms that you are making or acquiring.

Here are some ways these rules can be put into use:

- Do as little as possible.

- Remember that doing nothing is always an option, especially if you are feeling unsure of techniques.

- Each quilt and its problems are unique and must be carefully considered before you start.

- I avoid inserting my own color and design tastes into the original look. Duplicating the original as closely as possible maintains the vintage ambiance of the quilt.

- There are two very different routes to choose between:

“Restoration” is often referred to as “repair.” A quilt is restored as closely as possible to its original state by replacing or fixing missing or worn fabrics.

Patches on a 1950s-60s Bowtie quilt:

Mending torn edge of a 1940s quilt:

“Conservation”, on the other hand, stabilizes and maintains the current condition of the quilt. The only fabrics added to a quilt are those that give necessary structural support. A pleasing visual presentation takes second place to maintaining the historic information embodied in the quilt.

Applying crepeline silk on a c.1860s Old Italian Block quilt:

Don’t do anything that can’t be undone.

- When patching, don't remove the old, worn fabrics. If anyone ever wants to see the original quilt, they would be able to find the original underneath your patching. Also, removing fabrics and cutting threads can cause new problems, such as weakening and skewing the structure, or causing more stitching to unravel.

- Stay away from mending with fusibles. Besides being permanent, some can stiffen the fabric, and longterm effects of the glues are unknown.

- Keep all your knots in the new fabrics you are applying to avoid making knot-size holes in the older fabrics.

Preventative maintenance is the best medicine.

- This includes careful storage, gentle cleaning, and so on. These things are sooooo much easier than sad and difficult repairs down the road.

- Storage: Never in plastic - Never in unheated or damp attics or basements - Use moth and rodent protection.

- Cleaning: Wet wash only when the soil is actually damaging the fabrics or the quilt is too dirty to be bearable - Be very, very careful if you do decide to wash, eg. never agitate in the washer, don't use stain removers - Vacuuming to remove dust is the safest.

- Old fabrics should never be handled as if they were new. Natural fibers are made from plants and animals, from parts of living things. When the fibers are harvested from the plant (vegetable fibers) or animal (protein fibers), they, in essence, have died. They immediately begin to degrade, or decompose. Synthetic fibers seem stronger, but are also susceptible to aging and wear.

Other guidelines:

- A good knowledge of the history of fabric colors and styles helps in finding fabrics for repairs. Some books that I use often are:

-Clues in the Calico, by Barbara Brackman
-Dating Fabrics, books 1 and 2, by Eileen Jahnke Trestain
-Fabric Dating Kit, by Cindy Brick

Also, just browsing through quilt history books and books with vintage photos of all sorts can really hone your eye.

- My favorite source for reproduction fabrics is a shop entitled, most appropriately, Reproduction Fabrics. (This is an unsolicited endorsement. I'm nothing more than a very happy customer.) The owner, Margo, and her staff are super friendly and super helpful and super knowledgeable. They'll send out huge swatches in no time at all, and fill orders just as quickly. The website is sectioned by era, but searches can be done by color as well.

- The sewing needed is relatively simple, i.e. no fancy stitches required. But this is pretty much all handwork, so be prepared for a long-term project. What's nice is that you can relax and take larger stitches (at least, large compared to what quilters usually do). Larger stitches are less likely to pull on and break the weak, old fibers.

- Professional conservators have tons of skills, tools, labs, and information that homesewers do not, myself included. If you have a very valuable, fragile, or historically significant quilt, consult with a conservator.

Here are pix (and links to my blog posts) of a few of the lovelies I've had the pleasure of repairing.

Six-Pointed Stars, part 1 and part 2       
 

Embroidered Crazy Quilt: Link to post.

Friendship Dahlia: Link to post.

Snowflake, part 1 and part 2

I would also like to introduce you to the book I've written that covers all these topics and more.

http://www.annquilts.com/book.html

Thanks to Stephanie Ann for including me in her blog! There are lots more photos and stories on my blog and at my website.