Jar Cozy Success

 Yesterday was a mix of sun and clouds with a high of 21C (humidex 26C). This morning it is cloudy and 13C. Today is supposed to have showers with a high of 21C.

Lifestyle

I focused on cleaning the kitchen yesterday and got it done. It wasn't a big job but it wasn't a small one. I also got a load of laundry done and ready to fold. 

I did do some research on the family tree. The rabbit hole was productive. I was searching the branch from my 3rd great grandfather who was at Fort Edward. I was looking at each of his children and their children as many lived and are buried here this area. As I stumbled across names and looked them up, I found that 3 grandchildren from two different brothers lived and died in what is known as the "Poor Farm". There were several of these places in the province that housed people who were deemed destitute, elderly, or harmlessly insane. From what I can find the people were labourers at the farm and they were poorly funded. One of the family members was also housed for a time at the Mount Hope Insane Hospital in Halifax. The census records certainly told me a story as it searching on the internet. Death certificates showed that all 3 are buried at the Poor Farm and their headstones are numbers not names. 

Sewing

I did do a bit of reading on the thesis. It stated that the women dressed according to where they lived. At Fort Louisburg, they wore fashionable dresses and capes made of silk, cotton, and other expensive fabrics. They wore silk stockings and leather or fabric shoes. They did not wear a lot of wool for warmth as they wanted to show off their status. If they left the fort to visit family, they wore what was worn at those locations. It seems as if the women at the trading posts and in farming communities wore wool, linen, and fur for warmth and durability. They did have clothing that was fashionable to wear for church and special occasions. Dutch linen was in great demand in all locations that were studied in the thesis. A lot of this information comes from inventories upon death, from seals, and receipts. Acadians across the province were well to do but dressed according to their location, who they had contact with, and how they saw fashion in their locations. 

I did sew the cap for the Acadian outfit. It wasn't a hard sew and I did get it done in good time. Would a farming Acadian lady have had ribbons on her every day cap? Probably not unless it had flaps that needed to be tied up. On her cap that she wore visiting or to church under her hat, yes. 

The lace on the cap would only be on caps she wore when not working. Lace was expensive and was something worn to show off her status when not working in and outside the home. 

Once that was done, I cut out 2 jar cozies. They are to help protect the jars when travelling but they can be used if you use jars for glasses. The first cozy was the learning curve. I had a few struggles with it but adapted the pattern so it was what I wanted. 

The original pattern was 6" in height and I cut mine down to 5". The width stayed the same at 5.5". The cut outs for boxing the bottom were 1.5" high and I cut them back to 1.25". They remain 1" wide. The first cozy looks good with the adaptions and the second one needs the lining cut out. I showed the pattern as I would have cut it out on paper with the fold line marked. Once I had done that, I folded a piece of tracing pellon and cut out a full sized pattern. 

I cut the fabric into a larger rectangle and used fusible fleece. I did straight lines 1.5" apart to quilt it. When I placed the pattern on the fabric I was careful not have a cut line on the vertical stitching. 

When sewing the cozies, I did a lot of pressing as I wanted the seams flat as possible. I pressed them open. I did not trim them as they were flat as can be. Pressing them well seems to be an important step. 

I am happy with it as a jar protector and if it was going to be a cozy for a hot or cold drink I would make it 6" high. With the jar topper I like it better at the height I made it. 

Knitting

I picked up the afghan and knit 8 or 9 rows last night. I attached a new ball of yarn and am on a roll with it. 

The white at the top caught me by surprise but I am sure it will fade into the mix. 

Thoughts

    I had a fairly good day yesterday pacing myself with activity and resting after having some poor nights of sleep. I had another good sleep last night so will be able to do more today. 

    I am also a lot more relaxed as daughter is in a better place mentally with her situation. She has two new phrases to use to get things done that he thought he could force her into accepting a deal that is more in his favour than it should be. When she shows she is strong and has a great plan in place I relax and don't dwell on the situation and pace worrying about her. 

    Daughter-in-law dropped her car off here as it says low brake fluid. She has my car for the morning as she has to go to work. We are learning to laugh at her car even though it is frustrating. We also make some nasty comments about it also. Keeps us sane while it goes in for perpetual repairs. 

Today

I have to fold laundry and bake cookies this morning. I have to go to the post office this afternoon and want to finish the second jar cozy and cut out two more. I also want to knit tonight. 

Until the next time........................................................