The blessings of this past year

Hey everyone! Here are some photos from the past year of my families lives. The Lord changed my life so much this past year in so many ways! We found a good new church that is teaching the Word as well as a great encouragement to us. We also started our own reenacting group. We helped with colonial and war of 1812 reenactments as well. I was able to start college plus and am Lord willing starting my own home business. Dreams of my mine have come true such as doing family Bible study regularly as a family. Daddy had it put on his heart from the Lord. Praise God!

I have also done something that has been a goal of mine for a long time. I have been learning to drive! I have been able to help out and drive my parents and sister places now that I can drive. Praise the Lord. I just need to get my liscense and that will be a even bigger blessing. Praise God for His protection as driving can be scarey and dangerous.

 We found so many new friends that have encouraged us on the path of Christ! I had prayed for friends who were also one in Christ! The Lord never forgets His childrens hearts desires. As I remember from Psalm 42 He really does fulfill our hearts desires. He gave us a church home as well fulfilling the 3rd desire of my heart.

 

 My father bought my mother and I a grand piano. that was a blessing from the Lord! this photo was it being delivered! It was used so it was a great price. We love playing it and it has been a blessing as another desire of my heart has happened. And its only from the Lord! I have played the piano for my church during our worship service on sunday morning! I am going to play every few months and I love it!

 Our friends got married December 2009 actually but it was in december and practically the new year. So I added this photo in! :)

 Beth and I and our great aunt planted a garden in our front yard last spring. Here we are in action putting the bushes in the front garden.

 I was able to be in the Patrick Youth choir until June when I graduated from homeschool high school. I loved it and made many wonderful friends.

 Bethany and I and our parents were able to participate in the army of chivalrous christian soldiers homeschool reenactments of the civil war. It was great fun. Here is a photo of the two of us below. WOW! was that really almost a year ago?!

 Bethany and I graduated from high school by our parents homeschooling us for 7 years! It was a blessing to be able to have our photo done by our great friend in Christ Lindsey W. below. She is so talented! We celebrated by going to williamsburg with our friends and Grandpa all the way from Alaska.

 We participated in 3 colonial living history events through the Bonnets and Bayonets organization. It was great fun and Williamsburg gave us much inspiration for sewing up our dresses and caps and such. I had fun sewing my first outfit inside and out all by myself! I even made my stays! It was hard, but great fun! I was proud when it was done. But my cap was made by Sarah Jane over at Romantic History blog. Do read her blog if you love historical clothing!

 My sister, mother, and I and friend below and above. I am in the lavendar gown. My sister is in the maroon gown and my mother is in the striped jacket. I made my mothers cap as well.

 We had a huge snow as well last february! We had over 3 feet! that was memorable!

 My sister and I celebrated my 19th birthday in our new to us A-frame tent for my birthday. We had food and lots of books and spent the night there and watched Persusasion on my laptop. We had access to it on youtube because we slept in the backyard and had wi-fi access. :) It was great fun and we knew so little what the Lord would do after we got a tent. We did not even have our reenacting group together yet. So glad it came together by His will alone!

We made a quilt for our friends that got married. You can see it below.

 I finished a civil war paletote(coat) and even finished the trim this past november.

 I made a wool modern coat with the help of friends and its kept me so warm this december! I am in love with it!

 I switched to no shampoo method of washing my hair in august 2010 and I love it! I am using only baking soda and water for my shampoo with some lavendar essential oil along with apple cider vinegar for my conditioner.

Below you can see my first knitting project. In August Bethany started to teach me how to knit. I love it and have made 3 scarves for friends and my mother so far. I am going to have some things in my etsy shop this January Lord willing for sale as well.

 My sister and I ran the sue gregg cookbook booth at our local homeschool convention in June and loved it! We love her books and enjoyed immensely telling others about it. We also graduated at the HEAV convention here in VA as well.

I was so excited to finish my first quilt for myself! :) We had been doing so many quilts for friends that I had not done one for myself. So it was fun to do this Ohio Star quilt this past year while watching the winter olympics and get it done. I also use it at civil war reenactments in our tent. My cat Oscor loves it too! :)

I received my christmas gift early this year in November and now I am the proud owner of my own sewing machine. I had been using my sisters. But I love my Janome Magnolia.

I completed my 3rd civil war dress. This was my first time working with a more expensive fabric though. Its a wool and silk blend navy blue plaid dress. I adore it and loved wearing it 4 times this past october and december. It was quite warm! :)

 Here is a picture of our first event in May as a reenacting group below. Our tents all set up.

Me playing the piano here at home. Well God bless everybody! We have had a busy week and our sewing room has been reorganized. I can't wait to post pictures! Its starting to be beautiful again and organized and not so cluttered and messy. I love that! But its too tempting when I am supposed to be studying for clep exams for college. :)
God bless and I hope you can find things to improve on this coming year and be thankful for all the things the Lord has given you to learn, do for His glory, and see that you can do differenting! I really have seen the Lord work in my life this past year more than ever before in my short life. He is amazing! I will leave you with these words.

" I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom, but I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death, and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom. " From the song How Deep the Father's Love for Us by fredrick W. Faber

We sing that song at my church often and it reminds me that I did none of this past year without my Lord. I did not learn new things, see His glory by my strength! He is so good! may you all see that as you go on to this new year! Be blessed in Him alone!

In Christ,
Rebecca

Etsy store to be opened in January

Hey everyone!
I have been quite busy with Christmas and sewing products for my new etsy store I will be Lord willing opening in January. Here are some pictures of the products I have to offer so far. I am willing to sell them through paypal or check by mail as well right now before I open the etsy store. So you don't have to have an etsy account to buy them. I was really convicted by the Lord that besides my college studies, which are not a very hard load right now I should do something productive to add to the family income. Also when I am married it would be hard having to open a store if I had kids and new responsibilities. So I thought why not start the business now so its established by then.

I so far have been sewing up cloth napkins that are very practical because they can be washed and reused. My family uses cloth napkins for the most part and loves it. I used scraps from my stash to sew them up. So it was very economical because I did not have to buy all new fabrics. Some of the fabrics in the napkins are vintage as well as fabrics from marie madeline studio. All sets of 6 napkins cost $22.00 for the set plus $5.00 shipping for continental US. It would cost more for out of the US shipping. All sets of 4 cost $16.00 plus $5.00 shipping for contitental US. Contact me at ra.stricker@gmail.com for more information.

 First set is a set of 6, one was missing when I did this picture, its found now. :) I call is sunshine.

 I used some yellow linen and light blue cotten for the main fabrics, along with scraps and decorative stitching to top it off.

 You will receive them in the mail in stack as shown with a ribbon and tag.

 The second set is called strawberrys and cream and is also made of yellow linen and light blue cotten fabrics and is a set of 6. They are 10 inches by 10 inches wide and long. These are great every day napkins being smaller in size.

 I also used the decorative stitching on them as well. You can see that below.

 The next set is liberty and is made with navy and light blue cotten for the main fabrics along with scraps. This set is mostly made of vintage scraps from my great grandmother and a friend. Its a set of 6 as well. They are 12 inches by 12 inches wide and long. These are great dinner size napkins.

 You can see the vintage fabrics in detail above and below.

 Wrapped in a ribbon and tag below.

 The 4th and final set I have for now is called tropical rainforest as its made with some tropical scraps and sea green scraps. They are 12 inches by 12 inches in width and height and they are made with all cotten fabrics as well.

 Ready to go in a ribbon and tag below.

I also wanted to know what my blog readers thought about my name for my etsy store. I was thinking Sing and Sew would be a great store day. What do you all think? Let me know. Oh and I am still wrestling with prices. I will put those up soon.

In Christ,
Rebecca

150th post!!!! and dresses for sale

Hey everyone!

I just realized that this is my 150th post! woohoo! its been not too long ago that I started my blog and I also realized that I started it a year ago last month! So happy blog anniversary to me. I have been getting rid of lots of my stuff as I have a small room as most of you know and I have a great sister who is a great example to me of purging stuff. I wanted my room to have more room and my closet especially was really overflowing. So I will be posting over the next week things that are from my past that you can buy from me and include shipping cost.

The first item is my very first regency gown that is made of 100% polyester light blue sheer! yes its poly and not authentic! But my sister made it for me about 4 years ago and I love it! But I will never be wearing it again because of its lack of authenticity because we will be doing hard core reenacting at Fort McHenry this summer and spring. So I need authentic gowns, but don't let that stop you from buying this gown and enjoying looking as if you were out of a Austen novel! Its still fun to wear and I wish I had an occasion to wear it again. But I don't, so here are some pictures of it on me. Its the Sense and Sensibility regency pattern and its the size small I believe. I have a 34" bust and the waist is free and the gowns length is about 44". If you need further measurements I can send them if you email me or comment here.

I would like to sell the gown for $35.00 including shipping. If you want to give this as a gift for christmas order soon and I can get it to you as fast as possible. Please contact me by commenting here or emailing me at ra.stricker@gmail.com if you are interested. I can send other pictures of the dress in more detail if needed. Just ask.

God bless,
Rebecca

I will be posting more photos of other items I want to sell sometime in the near future, probably next week. Yes the week  of christmas Lord willing.

Sewing tutorials and thoughts on health insurance

I thought since I do not have a camera as of right now because I forgot it at a friends home I would post all the lovely tutorials I have been trying out these past few days. I have been sewing crazy of of late!


Fabric storage bin I made today!


Pot holders I made yesterday and the day before.


Tea Cozy tutorial I am going to try out today.


FestiveBunting I tried out last night while watching Shirley Temple in Rebecca of SunnyBrook Farm on netflix instant play and then finished them while listening to my father read from the Bible about the Christ child. I just love family Bible study that we do each evening! Its an answer to my prayers to have prayer as a family and Bible study each evening. Had been praying about it for 2 years and now it happened. Praise God!


Well have a lovely rest of your day and praise God I am still covered under the military health insurance despite my being the age of 19 going on 20. I will be covered as long as I am a college student and under 21. We had to go to the Fort today to get my ID renewed as well as my sisters. It was a lot of our morning and we had to leave bright and early at 7:30am and no I am not a morning person except when its a reenactment and its exciting to get up and start the fire going! :) The Lord is good and if I am still in my fathers house come this time next year we will figure something out for health insurance. What do you all do for health insurance if you are not in the military or have a father or husband who is serving or is a veteren?! If you have any ideas please comment!


In Christ,
Rebecca

Yes Civil war photos of my family again!

Hello everyone!

At an event in gettysburg, PA in november a good friend of ours was willing to do some professional photos of my family in period clothing. She did a great job don't you think?!

 You can see the braiding I did on my paletote recently as well. I had made the paletote last year but never got around to the braiding until this year. :) Its cotten braiding from abrahams lady.

Sisters, sisters!

You can also see my wool/silk blend dress in the above photo, especially the sleeves Beth and I drafted in August and I finished the dress in october. Go figure! It sat for months untouched, because the pleating of the waist was so frustrating to me. But I got it done in time for our first event of the season in october. Now its been worn 4 times! I love this dress! my favorite one out of the 4 I own from the period. I am also wearing my first knitting project I ever did back in september wool cuffs. they are purple!

This photo was done this weekend at a friends house that was a hospital during the civil war and we were able to stay and they had a christmas civil war social as well as attended with dancing and all. But I don't have photos because I forgot my camera at their house! So this photo will have to suffice from our friend who is a professional photographer. I believe I look shocked or scared or something in this photo. But oh well!

Modern photos of my family sometime in the future Lord willing!

In Christ,
Rebecca

Wool Coat finished and thoughts on scraps

Hey everyone! I have been having fun using this tutorial for christmas gifts as well as having finished my modern wool coat finally! I finished it last night with the help of my sister and a dear friend also helped me modify the pattern to fit me better. It had to be taken quite a bit as well as I drafted a different collar than the original pattern. You can see my old post here about the pattern.

I used view A and we modified the sleeve to be view C's sleeve and we also made up the collar. I love my collar way better than any of the ones they had on this pattern. I also did not put the tabs over the pocket because I wanted them to be usable and not just decorative. I used 100% charcoal grey wool that I purchased at a reenactment back in October and finally its finished. The red cotten lining I purchased in Pennsylvania many years ago and it was supposed to be a dress for myself, but I thought it too bright and not my color of red so I thought a lining would be great. I have lots of left overs too for quilts and other small projects. :) love those scraps! I also would love to use my wool left overs to sew up a cloche hat! I love  this website called folkwear, but have not gotten around to buying it yet. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and its the metropolitan hat. I would love to sew it up someday! maybe christmas money will buy the pattern. See photo below! I love those rosettes don't you!

                                    

It had been mostly done since november except for the collar and buttons and button holes.

So finally last night I finished it up! I needed it so badly as I had not winter coat. Yes I got rid of the one I had, which did not cut it anyway. It was a polyester/cotten blend and not very warm at all. Now I will be nice and toasty! I wore it to the store this morning with my sister and Mom as we got craft supplies for our busniess.

 

And yes it started to snow when we went outside to the the photos this morning!!! Our first snow of the season! I am so glad to have my coat done!

I love my big collar!!!

You can see the vintage 1930's red lining! I love it and I am so much warmer than in lots of sweaters in this coat!
                               
Praise God for the completion of a much needed item of clothing! It was an adventure and I hope to never have to do it again too soon.

In Christ,
Rebecca

Harpers Ferry, VA Christmas 1861

Hey everyone! I have not posted very regularly I am aware! So I thought I would let you all in on some of what I have been up to when I am not studying, sewing, singing, or playing christmas music. We went to harpers ferry for a christmas civil war event last saturday. It was great fun and we had lots of new friends come along with us as well! Here are some of the photos all them done by myself and friends with our new camera. Woohoo! We did pictures with our own camera at an event. a first in a long while!

 we found this old abandoned house and it was perfect for photos of all the gals!

 getting to the house was a feat! over all these walls and rails!

 We played red rover and were quite silly! It was great as we were little women as we had big women and little women. It was fun playing in our big hoops and all the petticoats.

 Our friend even ripped her dress playing the game! It was great for memories but not so much for her as she had to pin herself the rest of the day so her dress did not fall apart!

 The fire place above in the little abandoned house.

 All the older gals and myself, you can sort of see the new trim I put on my coat recently. It was fun doing all the braiding!

 The bridge we had to cross to get to the old house and we did not get photos of the historical town we were staying in unfornately! I forgot! So we only have pictures of us in modern places. but that is alright right?!

 All going along singing christmas carols and skipping as we went!

 Here is the whole crew!

and yes I look quite funny skipping in my cage! lol

have a wonderful rest of your tuesday evening and I am back to sewing christmas gifts and then off to bed!

In Christ,
Rebecca