Civil War reenactment and dance

As one strolls down the streets in Keokuk this weekend it as if time has been turned back. Men in military attire escort Lady's in hoop skirt. The smell of gun powder lingering in the air and the sound of fife and drum brings the smells and sounds of a time gone by.The weekend is full of strolling trough sutleries, watching the pea ridge reenactment,the Lady's tea, and the civil war ball. It was so much fun.

Learning and teaching

A few days ago I had the opportunity to make a new Friend and she was so gracious in offering to teach me about Quilt. She is extremely knowledgeable and talented in this area, so I felt really privileged . It made me think of one of my favorite quotes By Catherine Beecher." If all females were not only well educated themselves but were prepared to communicate in an easy manner their stores of knowledge to others; if they not only know how to regulate their own minds, tempers and habits but how to effect improvement in those around them the face of society would be speedily changed" I so love to read about Catherine Beecher. Catherine Lived in the 1800's and was instrumental in the education of women of the time. She helped in the founding of women's colleges at Burlington, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. How grateful I am that I have the opportunity to learn from others that practice this philosophy.

Studing for Dec

I have been reading the book of Luke this month. Since there are 24 chapters I will be reading one chapter a day up through Christmas eve. It has been wonderful reading about Christs conception, birth, life and ministry as I make preparations for Christmas. I am so grateful for this opportunity and the spirit it has brought to the holidays.
I am also studying about the Jewish tradition of swaddling clothes. This has been very interesting. When a man and women became betrothed, they did not visit each other during the betrothal. During the one to two years of betrothal the man would work on building a home and the women would also be working on things for their new life together. One of these would be embroidering a swaddling band. This band would be used in the marriage ceremony to wrap the couples hands. Latter the band would be worn as a girdle around the belly of the pregnant woman, then used to swaddle the child, then even used sometimes for the eventual purpose of wrapping the body for burial.
The symbols on the bands often indicated family history. Mary was from the tribe of Judah, so she may have used symbols common to that lineage such as a lion, a lamb, or a tree of life. As a descendant of David, she was also entitled to use the royal colors of blue and white. The symbolic significance of swaddling bands was so important that the embroidery on each side of the swaddling bands had to match exactly, with “right” and “wrong” sides indistinguishable. This symbolized the complete harmony of inner and outward life.As soon as I have done enough research I plan on embroidering a swaddling band.It might take some time until I can start because I want it to be as atheistic as I can make it. I am hoping I can have it done by April conference. Once I get the design figured out I will post some photos.