Appomattox......150 years Ago

On this day, at this house in Virginia......150 years ago the Civil War officially ended.  This is the McLean House.  Did you realize the war started in this man's front yard in 1861 and ended in his parlor four years later?  Wilmer McLean

I wished we could be at Appomattox today and celebrate this dramatic time in history.....

In honor of that I took a few pictures of a CW housewife I made from a pattern I purchased when we attended the Chickamauga reenactment 2 years ago.

A housewife is a sewing kit that many soldier's carried.  Many were made by mother's or sister's of a soldier so they could do basic mending of their clothes.  As we have traveled to various CW exhibits over the years, they often include at least one example.

This one happens to be a reproduction of a Confederate housewife made by a sister.  

It included a crocheted strawberry that was probably stuffed with wool to sharpen your needle.  And several layers of wool to store a few pins and needles in them to keep them from rusting.

Now you will notice, since I am a northern girl, that I took some creative license and made it for a northern soldier.  So this fabric, which make a little pocket, has the portrait of A. Lincoln on it.

I also changed the flag slightly to reflect the North rather than the South....the original said....CSA in beads.  I made a few large pins with my initials on them and included a star charm.  The silk rose is luscious and was on the original.

That little heart chain you see is also something I just added.  About the time I was making this, I ran across a little bag of these pearl hearts.  They were made to hold embroidery floss. So I crocheted a little design around a cabone ring to hold them all together and thought it fit in quite nicely with this housewife.

Here I am all rolled up....which is the way it would have been carried.....you will have to notice all the fabrics I used.....everyone of them!  I had such fun picking them out.

And here is the man that this housewife was made for.  He died at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain in GA.  We have plans to visit there in a few weeks.  I think I will carry my housewife with me in honor of him.  It is so wonderful to be able to research people like this and come up with some history to attach to these relics.

George Tilley Burch

I love making examples of vintage finds that I can never afford, but gives me a chance to hold some history in my hands and use them in my everyday life.  If you would like to make a piece of history for yourself..... you will find the pattern here.....Confederate Housewife.