Ironing and Tips

Since I do not iron as much as many women do or 19th century women did for that matter, I thought I would show you what I did iron today. Not too exciting, but I am lengthening my mother's slacks. So, I had to iron a new crease in the bottom before I sew them.

This is what they looked like.

You can see the old line where the bottom crease used to be, and hopefully, you can see where I made a new crease a quarter inch above the serging. Needless to say, my ironing for the day consisted of two pant leg hems.

Here's a couple of tips on how to iron certain fabrics.

1. When ironing wool, use a thin piece of cotton fabric to lay over the wool, then spray with water to make steam. Never iron directly on wool! It will turn shiny.

2. When lengthening pants or skirts and trying to get the old crease out, make sure your iron has water in it so you can create a good amount of steam. Depending on the type of fabric (i.e. cotton, wool, or synthetic) and how long the item has been washed, ironed, and worn at that length, the crease (or line) may not completely iron out. Steam is one of the best things to try.

3. With synthetic fabric, remember not to have the heat turned up too high. The fabrics will melt!

And last but not least, here is a simple homemade starch recipe that also makes your clothes smell nice, too.

Lavender Linen Starch

Dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Add 6 drops of lavender essential oil (or whatever your favorite scent is). Place in a spray bottle and shake before using.

The Infamous Wash Day

The dreaded wash day is upon us. After that wonderful, relaxing Sunday day of rest, it is now time to get back to the daily grind. Many people don't mind doing laundry, but to some of us it is a chore that seems to be unending. I can't even fathom how women of the 19th century dealt with all of the laundry, washing it the old fashioned way. I think it takes long enough sorting the different colors, putting one load in the washer at a time, waiting to switch it over to the dryer, all the while starting the next load. Then folding everything and putting it all away.

Now I have no reason to complain since I don't have to boil water and scrub my clothes by hand or with tough soap such as lye. Nor do I have to wait for the outside air to dry all of my clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love the smell of clothes freshly dried in the sun, but choosing to do that and having that as the only option are two different things!

Here is the before and after of my day's laundry.

- The dirty clothes pile

The clean clothes pile -

I am still folding and putting away the clean laundry. No nice, neat folded stacks of clean clothes for me. Not when I have the loving help of my 10 month old. No excuse compared to 19th cenury women. They definitely had it harder - the process, the space, the help, and so on. Since we don't have it as hard as those women did (and we don't have a specific day to do laundry on), I think it is safe to say that at least the laundry is clean and my baby is happy!

The Much Needed Day of Rest

Today was a good day overall. We went to church after sleeping in a little. Then went to lunch at a 50s diner called Edward's Drive-In. They have a really good Pork Tenderloin Sandwich that is huge! So, after a nice dinner with most of my family, we came home to watch my mother's favorite sport - football. It's not so bad. The Colts won!

Since having a baby, naps have become one of my favorite things, especially on a Sunday afternoon. Pioneers had it right. Resting on Sunday takes the pressure off of feeling like you have to get something productive done (at least on this particular day). Brenna and I took a nice nap together while the rest of my family watched football. Very cozy, hearing them cheer for their team in the other room while relaxing with my baby in another. It is very rare indeed to have most, if not all of my family at home at the same time.

I actually had a short break from being a mom this evening, which I'm sure didn't happen much for 19th century women. My mom wanted to take Brenna to church tonight with her, even though I was not really up to going. So, while they were gone for an hour and a half, I was able to relax and drink a cup of coffee without having to keep my precious little girl from trying to drink it or burn herself trying. Once everyone was home, we decided to do something spontaneous and fun. That translated into playing Apples to Apples. Everyone played, and it was great! It made me think of families back in the day that spent most every Sunday together as a family. I can see it now. Father reading by the fireplace, Mother handsewing in her rocking chair, and the children playing on the floor with their toys.

Well, playing a game on the living room floor is the closest my family can get to that picture right now, and I'm ok with that. We had a wonderful time together, and I'm sure we will try to do it again now that we remember what fun it is to take the time to play games together.

If you haven't tried doing something together as a family in awhile, even if it watching a good, old movie or playing a game as we did, try it!! You will love it!

Baking Day!

The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the house while I finished up yesterday's cleaning and worked on dinner. Ahhh... baking day; I love fresh bread! I love kneading the dough. There is something so satisfying about kneading bread. I bet pioneer women loved having this opportunity on a weekly basis, what with the stresses of daily farm life.

Here is how my loaves turned out today.

Below is a simple bread recipe that I have used before. It's one of my favorites!

Easy Wheat Bread (or rolls) - by Helen Farver

5 1/2 cups very warm water

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup honey

1 tablespoon salt

7 cups freshly milled whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons dry yeast

3-5 more cups whole wheat flour

Combine water, oil, honey, and salt in a bowl. Mix while adding the 7 cups of wheat flour and yeast. Continue mixing and add 3-5 more cups flour until dough pulls away from sides and forms a ball. Knead for 8 minutes. Grease 4 loaf pans - turn oven on to 150 degrees. Divide into four loaves. Let them rise in the oven (with it on) for 25 minutes. Leave the bread in the oven and turn temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes - cool.

Enjoy!!

Cleaning Day the Old Fashioned Way

Today, being Friday, was cleaning day. I got lots done (including the bathroom, living room, bedroom, and some of the dining room), but while I was working I was thinking of the ways 19th century women cleaned their houses. This turned my attention to the simplicity of which cleaning products should be. We don't need chemicals to thoroughly clean and sterilize our belongings. Because I have a little baby around putting everything in her mouth, I am constantly aware of the fact that what I clean with will probably end up in her mouth at some point. So, combining the concern for my baby's health and safety and the knowledge that I have of old fashioned cleaning supplies, we will look at a few basic items that will also help you be more "green."

Every household almost always has baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice. These are the basics. So simple! You can always make something a little more elaborate or that has a fragrance, and I will share with you a couple easy recipes for everyday cleaning supplies that can be added to.

1. All purpose cleaner - for two cups of water add a few drops of natural soap (liquid castile soap is a good, safe one). If you want to add a fragrance, add 15-30 drops of your favorite essential oil, such as lavender or tea tree. Put mixture in a spray bottle, and you can clean just about anything.

2. Clogged sink or drain - pour one cup white vinegar and one cup baking soda into the drain/sink, and let it sit for a few minutes. Then pour a tea kettle full of boiling water down to flush it through.

3. Window and glass cleaner - mix half a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water.

4. Toilet bowl cleaner - sprinkle baking soda and lemon juice in the bowl and let it sit. Then use your scrub brush on it.

5. Dusting spray (or furniture polish) - mix a half cup of lemon juice with one cup of olive oil. Wipe down furniture using a soft rag and mixture. Smells better than the store bought!

Hope these are helpful to you! I am keeping an eye out for more interesting and easy ways to clean and disinfect our homes without using chemicals.

The Woman's Workweek

So, I thought we would take a look at the old adage about what chore was done on each day of the week.

Wash on Monday

Iron on Tuesday

Mend on Wednesday

Churn on Thursday

Clean on Friday

Bake on Saturday

Rest on Sunday

Since today is Thursday, I should have made some butter. Unfortunately, I didn't have any heavy cream to make some (and I can't eat real butter anyway). So, instead I made peanut butter cookies that used butter. They turned out sooooo well!

Why was there a set day for each chore? Well, here is how I see it. Laundry was done on Monday probably because it was such a hard job, and the mother needed all of her energy. Since she had just rested on Sunday, she was at her best first thing Monday. Tuesday is the logical day for ironing because the clothes were just washed the day before. Since all of the clothes have been labored over meticulously, the woman knows what needs mending on Wednesday. Now on to the kitchen work for the week. Churning butter on Thursday took its time, but I'm sure it was worth it to have butter for that freshly baked bread that was sure to come on the weekend. Friday was the cleaning day. In some ways, my least favorite chore but my favorite day of the week. That probably helped get through the chores of that day by remembering that it was soon going to be the weekend. Baking was done on Saturday so there would be fresh bread for Sunday dinner. Sunday was the much needed day of rest!

Very logical progression of the woman's workweek in the 19th century. So, over the next week, I will share with you my version of these chores in my daily life. Who knows. After having been sick all week, something might actually get done this coming week!

Costumes, Clothes, and Sewing

It's been a long time! Finally getting back to myself after being sick for so long.

Probably the only thing I did while I was sick for a week was make a Laura Ingalls Wilder dress for my cousin for Halloween. It turned out better than I was expecting, and it looked so cute on her!

Making this costume and sharing it with you all leads me to my next topic - sewing.

With the weather continually getting colder (albeit beautiful today!), the winter sweaters, wools, pants, and layers come out. For me, with all of the physical changes I've had going on the past year and a half, my clothes are very sparse this winter. Very few items fit anymore! I guess it is a good problem to have :)

While trying to be thrifty, I have been looking at my fabric stash to see what I can make that will be warm and cozy, as well as fashionably acceptable. I have some nice wools that were just sent to me that should make some very nice skirts!

Pioneers probably did something similar, although they more than likely didn't have a "stash" of fabric like mine. Fabric was expensive and carefully planned out for each garment that needed to be made for each family member. Fabric was also reused. For example, your daughter needs a new dress because she has outgrown her old one. So, mother probably used an old skirt of her own to cut out the daughter's new dress, or at least parts of it.

To see an interesting site that is in Indianapolis and that has many costumes, take a look at Conner Prairie's website - http://www.connerprairie.org/

This idea of reusing fabric is one that I particularly like. I have an old full length skirt that I got at Goodwill Outlet awhile back that is considered dated today (but I love the material!), and I am working on remaking it over into something that I can wear today. Perhaps you will see pictures of this redone skirt in a future post.

Happy sewing!