The New Little House CAL, anyone?--List added

[soozun]

I found this site which has crafts and recipes you can print out. A dried apple sauce (which is just apple slices and a sugar/cinnamon sauce), and 'heart shaped Christmas cakes'~~ I want to make some of these. (Does baking count in the CAL?) Also, snow candy, and town party lemonade.

 

Here is a copy of a letter she wrote to a Jennie Lindquist later in life. It has her gingerbread recipe in it!

 

I did see an apron for sale on one of the sites, and I have been wanting to make my own apron, too...

 

Tracey your link didn't work for me (maybe it's just my computer?)

 

Tina

 

Baking is always a good thing to do, so we'll count it! I've been wanting to make old fashioned gingerbread cake since this past December when it seemed like all the cooking shows featured one for their Christmas dinners. I think this is the kind that turns out more like a cake because they said it's a thin batter. If I try this out, I'll have to let you guys know how it turned out!

[soozun]

I would love to be part of this however I have two afghans I'm trying to finish up. BUT, here is a book on Laura's Crafts from Amazon.com

 

http://www.amazon.com/My-Little-House-Crafts-Book/dp/0064462048

 

If you have more time later when you finish your afghans, please come back and join us. That's a cute book about the Little House crafts. Love it!

[soozun]

sorry for all the posts, one after another like that. I've been ill lately and got behind on my participation here. normally, I would consolidate my replies so as to not appear to be spamming. So here's 3 replies in one:

 

tracey: A swap is a neat idea. I'm not sure if I'd be able to part with any of my little house creations since I'm already feeling a bit sentimental about them. But my feelings might change after I've made my first one.

 

tina: cute doll and dress pattern. thanks for sharing those.

 

Karin: The "what not" edging is a neat idea. I have always admired the filet edgings like this type: http://crochet.about.com/library/nfilet_edging.htm

[karin4christ]

Thanks for the link Soozun.

[Mom w/a Motif]

Do you think Laura and Mary really wore the kind of clothes they have on in the Little House on the Prarie movies on tv? Look at the type of clothes they have on in the pictures at the different sites. (I found an original picture of the family, but it won't link to that specific page here...) It doesn't seem like the ones they have pictured in the gift shops online, or in the shows..... (Am I just being knit picky, maybe?....)

 

I am crocheting a dress (the one I posted about earlier). (Which is kind of what got me thinking, along with the pictures I have seen....) I have a whole bunch of stuff planned~ I hope it turns out as cool as I think it is.

 

Today the kids have a snow day, so we will probably bake the "heart shaped Christmas cakes" I posted earlier, too.

 

Tina

[soozun]

Karin: You're welcome.

 

Tina: That's a good question. I don't know really, but here's a guess. Picture taking was not something that people did very often back then, so when you did get your picture taken, you would really dress up. Maybe the photographers even had some clothing there that people could wear if they needed something suitable? Kinda like how you can get your old-timey picture taken at amusement parks, and they have all the stuff to get you looking the part? Maybe that's just my imagination though. The better way to understand their style of dress is to see what the books say. They were doing pretty rough work, so they might have had a lot of plain clothes with a few nice things for special.

[Mom w/a Motif]

I went to the library today and got every book on the shelf that was Little House. I also put a hold on the 'Little House cookbook' (forget the exact title...)

 

Tina

[soozun]

I went to the library today and got every book on the shelf that was Little House. I also put a hold on the 'Little House cookbook' (forget the exact title...)

 

Tina

 

That sounds like so much fun. You can skim through any of the books you want if you are looking for ideas for this CAL. If you come up with anything, share here, please! The cookbook is neat but the recipes are kinda strange. You'll find out when you get it. I told my husband I could make him blackbird pie...if only we could catch some of those starlings I have seen flying around outside. ;-)

 

It is so much fun to talk "Little House" with you all.

[Mom w/a Motif]

I like the part about the blackbirds... I did get the cookbook a long time ago, but the only thing I remember from it is the gingerbread. I guess back then they had to eat what meat they could get themselves...

 

I know I have been bordering on obsession with Little House since I found the new CAL. At least I can come here and no one thinks I'm *weird*.

 

That sounds like so much fun. You can skim through any of the books you want if you are looking for ideas for this CAL. If you come up with anything, share here, please! The cookbook is neat but the recipes are kinda strange. You'll find out when you get it. I told my husband I could make him blackbird pie...if only we could catch some of those starlings I have seen flying around outside. ;-)

 

It is so much fun to talk "Little House" with you all.

[soozun]

At least I can come here and no one thinks I'm *weird*.

 

That's for sure! If anyone comes here, they must be a Little House fan of some kind. So it's all good!

 

Just a general question: Is anyone able to make a Little House CAL button? I have Paintshop Pro but never really used it except to fix up my pics from my digital camera. But I could goof around and try making a button. It would just take some time for me to learn how. If anyone already knows how to do it, it would be fun to have a button sometime sooner (than what I can do). Also, what do you guys think: Is it ok to use one of the pictures of the real Laura Ingalls Wilder from the web as the basis of the button image? Or would it violate copyright? I never can tell what is in the public domain or not. I think if the picture is on almost all the Web sites, it must be public domain? There are some common pics of her that I could use.

[Mom w/a Motif]

I don't know how to make buttons.... sorry I can't help. I have seen a banner on one site, with Laura's picture in it... but I don't know if it was *legal*, or not.... Not sure about all that.

 

Has anyone made anything or working on anything? I finished the dress part of mine. Just need to do the rest... (can't decide if I want to do it in 'Aran Fleck' or 'Buff'.... without having to go buy more yarn.. And be in the hole even more with my stashbusting score.)

 

I finished reading 'Little House on the Prarie'.... There weren't many references in it about knitting or anything; but quilting their nine patch quilts.. Now I'm reading 'The Long Winter'... so far there is a few times they've said 'knitting'. Mary is knitting stockings for Carrie (even though she is blind-- she must be good.) And Ma is knitting, too. Laura talks about sewing--and wanting to scream (LOL), but Mary couldn't do the sewing anymore being blind...

 

Well that's about it.

 

Tina

[Tracey4610]

On the Banks of Plum Creek has a few ideas, as well as Farmer Boy, and you can "invent" projects for this one! They mention shawls a lot, and even the girls wore shawls in Plum Creek. So, the mere mention of items that could be crocheted or knitted are acceptable to this CAL! I'm hoping to get the list going soon, and if you choose to do more projects, post here so I can add them to the list. Right now, dd is keeping me too busy to do much as far as compiling the list is concerned, so that may have to wait until she takes her nap this afternoon! Also, if you design something for this CAL, please type it up and post it in the Original Designs forum, and link to it from here so that others can try it out, too!

 

here's my update: i'm still plugging away at my paletot, and I'm also working on lingerie pieces that could be considered chemises by any standpoint. i keep flitting from project to project, so i don't know when or if i'll ever get done!

[Scorpio59]

I was inspired by this CAL to start a shawl over the weekend in a half granny square pattern. I am using Homespun and a K hook and I am loving it !!

One skein is gone and since the weather has me stuck in the house with the kids DH just went to Michael's for me to get two more skeins! I hope to make this shawl big and am keeping it for myself ! And since I love doing this pattern, I may make a few to give as gifts.

 

My 10 year old is working her way through the Little House Books. She started with Little House in the Big Woods and is currently reading By The Shores of Silver Lake. I have read them as they come into the house.

 

I'll try to post a photo of my shawl progress this evening.

[Breger3]

I am SOOOO in!!!! I think I'll do the shawl first!!! But I'll have to think about it! YEA!!

[Breger3]

 

Has anyone ever visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum? I'd love to go someday. I used to watch the Little House on the Prarie all the time when I was a kid, and sometimes even now...

 

Tina

 

 

I would love to start a trip where Laura was born and then go in order to the different places she lived! I will one day, even if I have to go by myself. Although My daughter is starting to get into LH so she may like that too!

[fizzle7033]

I would love to do this!! They are my favorite books and I just love the TV show!!! Wish they still made shows like this!! Anyway, I think I am going to make a sontag. http://www.csa-scla.org/articles/Sontag.htm

 

 

Here is a link that has some good drawings etc of little girls' clothing around that time. http://www.fashion-era.com/Childrens_clothes/1860_1870_girls_costume_pictures.htm

[Tracey4610]

Hey, Fizzle! That sontag is a really neat idea! I think it looks like a small version of a Faroese shawl. Maybe after my paletot is finished, I can make a matching sontag...Gee, I think my friends are going to think I'm nuts by just saying the words "paletot" and "sontag"!

 

Okay, okay! Time to get started on that list...

[Mom w/a Motif]

Tracey, in 'The Long Winter', Mary was also braiding a rag rug. Laura sewed it together for her. (I just finished reading that book.) (If you wanted to add it to the list...)

 

Tina

[soozun]

Okay, okay! Time to get started on that list...

 

Hi Tracey,

 

Your list looks great. (Hint for other people here: Look at the first post on this thread for a list of ideas of what to make from the books and t.v. shows).

 

I'm going to start watching the t.v. shows again, starting from the beginning. If I can figure out how to capture screen images and save them as jpegs, I'll have to post some of the crocheted items I see. Or maybe just describe things with words...?

[soozun]

I'm still stuck without the right yarn to make my Little House crochet project. But I thought I'd share something that I realized recently. Did you guys realize that Ma and Pa Ingall's in real life were such a handsome couple? I saw an old photograph of them in a documentary (included in season nine of the t.v. show) and it really touched me because in the picture, Charles had one arm around his wife, and with his other hand, he was holding her hand. They appeared to be in their late twenties or perhaps their thirties. It seems like they really loved each other just from the way they chose to pose in that picture (he couldn't keep his hands off of her!) Unfortunately, I can't find a large version of the picture online but here is a smaller copy of it:

http://www.childrenstheatreplays.com/images/liw-mapa1.jpg

What is so sad is that they cropped that picture so that you can't see that they are holding hands.

 

But here's a clearer picture of Charles Ingalls (I think he's a little older here). I think he's so handsome. I love him. Even though he has a huge beard!

http://hoover.archives.gov/LIW/DeSmet/images/ingallspa.jpg

 

Somewhere in one of the extra bonus programs on the ninth season, the guy who plays Almanzo Wilder (Dean Butler) comments on how the books showed how much Laura loved her dad. He says the theme of the books is really how much she loved him. He looks like such a good soul.

 

Just had to share. Loving Charles Ingalls these days!

[Mom w/a Motif]

Susan- I saw that same exact picture of them in the cookbook I ordered (from another library--inter-library loan..), and I loved it, too! Ma was really pretty!! Not what the Ma in the movie looked like at all. (She was pretty, too, what I mean is she looked totally different, though!) Same with Pa. (Hee hee- his hair is *shelved*, kind of--is that what they call it? Very *in* now...) The bottom of the picture said 'Wedding Tintype', it must have been their wedding picture.

 

I did just finish kn*tting a pair of socks... don't know if that would count for this *C*AL, though..

 

Tina

[soozun]

Susan- I saw that same exact picture of them in the cookbook I ordered (from another library--inter-library loan..), and I loved it, too! Ma was really pretty!! Not what the Ma in the movie looked like at all. (She was pretty, too, what I mean is she looked totally different, though!) Same with Pa. (Hee hee- his hair is *shelved*, kind of--is that what they call it? Very *in* now...)

 

I did just finish kn*tting a pair of socks... don't know if that would count for this *C*AL, though..

 

Tina

 

sure, Kn*tting counts. I wish I could get the nerves up to learn to knit socks. I tried once and chickened out when it came to the heel.

 

I agree Ma was really pretty. The actress to. But the actual Ma was a very nice looking woman. They both look like nice people.

[Mom w/a Motif]

Ooo! Okay, then. I will post a link to the picture of my socks (so as not to offend anyone by it..) I am also working on a shawl. But it is a lacey shawl. I don't know if that would count. What about an evening shawl? (I'm working on both....)

 

The heel is not that hard. I wish I could help you. I know of a tutorial that you might find helpful, if you were really wanting to learn how.... Socks 101. I used this for my first pair I think.

 

sure, Kn*tting counts. I wish I could get the nerves up to learn to knit socks. I tried once and chickened out when it came to the heel.

 

I agree Ma was really pretty. The actress to. But the actual Ma was a very nice looking woman. They both look like nice people.

 

I noticed another crocheted thing. It was in the cookbook. A hexagon- type potholder. Two of them! They look like they are in thread, maybe. Would it be wrong to take a picture of a picture in a book to post it here?

[mardar]

In farmer boy, almanzo's mom weaves then fulls (felts?) some wool cloth to make the kids winter clothes. also in one of the later books, maybe "those happy golden years" Laura uses silver cardboard and floss to make a cross stitch hair collector as a gift. I've seen some antique cross stitch done on perforated paper instead of fabric. I've got to many projects going right now to join in, but I love these books and will keep reading all your great ideas

[Tracey4610]

Score!! I've been meaning to post about these for a while now, but just keep forgetting or I've been too tired. A couple Fridays ago, one of the local middle schools had its annual garage sale, at which there are lots of wonderful things, typically. I found a book called "Little House In the Ozarks," which is a compilation of Laura's writings to local newspapers and newsletters of which organizations she belonged. So far, it's been rather enlightening to read, and I haven't gotten very far in the book yet. The other book is "The World of Little House" by Carolyn Strom Collins and Christina Wyss Eriksson. There are chapters devoted to each of the books Laura wrote, as well as games, activities, and recipes--including Laura's famous gingerbread recipe!! On top of all that, it has floor plans for each of the houses she lived in, as well as the schools at which she taught, and photographs of the various people in her life. She was a very handsome gal throughout her life, and so was Almanzo. Rose was gorgeous, and there's a picture of her wearing a dress that appears to be trimmed in Irish Lace!! i saw what you meant, Tina and Susan, about Carolyn and Charles being a handsome couple, and Carrie, Grace, and Mary were all three beautiful women. There are also pictures of Almanzo's brothers and sisters, as well as many of Charles's siblings and Carolyn's. In the back of the book there is a complete time-line of Laura's life, beginning in 1860 when charles and Caroline were married to 1957, when Laura passes (coincidentally, she passed exactly 20 years before the date on which I was born, which was February 10).

 

I'm going to ask Amy S if it is alright with her and Donna if I were to post a couple of the recipes in the book, as long as they are cited properly according to bibliographical context.