the annual report from the battlefield

Again it's time for the Redcoats to Rebels military history weekend at Old Sturbridge Village. As you may remember from blog posts about this event in 2006 and 2007, this one of our favorite events of the summer because there are aspects of it that appeal to the interests of every member of my family.

I'm always smitten by the hues attained through the combination of natural dyestuffs and wool, especially in a setting that includes a campfire, beautiful location, and fascinating people.

We roamed the encampment areas, stopping to chat with various craftspeople, some of whom were practicing skills we're interested in and/or practicing on a regular basis ourselves, including buttonmaking (pewter, not glass), spinning, weaving, embroidery, knitting, carving, and the gentleman above, making soap. Here he's telling us about the lye he's making in the pots to the right. He was especially fun to talk to because he couldn't seem to wrap his head around the fact that we make soap now, for the fun of it, and that it's gentle enough to actually use on human skin, and even beneficial to skin, and smells good too! I think he had more questions for us than we had for him. :-)

New to the Redcoats to Rebels experience this year was a historical miniature gaming group from Boston. Jesse spent most of the day with these guys and, in the picture above, is contemplating a move during a game with about eight players. We previously knew nothing about this type of gaming, but it seems to be a perfect next step in Jesse's passion for military history and he says it was the best day he's ever had at Old Sturbridge Village. If you know even a teensy bit about our history with OSV, you'll realize that this speaks volumes. Luckily, there's a gaming group that meets closer to home, so he'll be exploring that soon.

The majority of the time was spent meandering the encampment sites, stopping for visits, demos, answers to questions, big laughs, old-time entertainment. Leah was in full costume, so she joined in with groups/people enjoying fiber arts and especially enjoyed the tavern puzzles and wooden games. She also got a verbal pattern for a knitted shawl that she cast on while relaxing at home yesterday evening.

During the big battle, there were rumbles from the sky as well as from the cannons. We all got caught (by choice!) in a rainstorm and ended the day somewhat soggy, but the passing storm sure didn't appear to put a damper on anyone's enthusiasm for this great event.