The Home
The home was an active place
in the spring. Women were busy spinning and dyeing
wool to make clothing,quilts and coverlets. Cleaning and repairs
made the house
seem new again, while planting gardens ensured a diet rich in
herbs and veget ables.
Today most people buy their clothes at stores, but in 1845, clothes were made in the home. Although inexpensive fabrics were available at local stores, and home cloth production decreased, many women still chose to spin their own wool and weave their own fabrics. They even dyed the wool with dyes made from roots and berries. |
 |
 |
 Wool coverlet |
||
Wool was used to make many different items. Farm women knitted wool into socks, gloves, and scarves.Many women wove the wool into coverlets. Wool jean fabric was made at home or by a professional weaver. The fabric was used to make quilts, roundabouts, trousers, and dresses. Thomas Lincoln was remembered as wearing brown wool jean dyed from walnuts. |
 Wool jean trousers |
 Wool roundabout |
Today spring-cleaning is made easier by using store bought cleaning supplies and vacuum cleaners. In 1845, these cleaning sup plies were made by hand. Women placed all the household items outside so they could scrub the floors, beat the rugs, and whitewash the walls. They also made soap from the lard left over after the winter\rquote s pig butchering. |
 |
 |
White wash was used to whiten the walls of homes, and happened each spring. It made a brighter and fresher environment for the family to live in. |
Time to plant the gardens! Large grocery stores didn't exist in 1845,
so farmers had to plant enough vegetables and herbs to last all year.
Farmers used seeds collected from previous crops or traded with neighbors.
Vegetables were used for cooking, while herbs were used for flavoring food
|
 |
The lads do relish a mass of greens cooked in the deep pot with a ham-bone and they do enjoy the dark
liquor eaten with corn-dodgers.
22 May 1833 diary of Jane Moses Wood-Roadhouse of Greene County, Illinois
|