What Did Pioneers Use for Quilt Batt?

What Did Pioneers Use for Quilt Batt?

Quilt-making was an important part of “women’s work” in the 19th century (as well as before and after). My ancestors’ journals tell of a ransom demanded for the return of their little boy, kidnapped by the Black Hawk Indians in central Utah–including five quilts. The family got by with husk-filled bedding until Mother could gather enough wool from the barbed-wire fences to make batting for another quilt. She wasn’t alone in this frugal (and apparently necessary) practice.

TODAY is Release Day! PLEASANCE’S FIRST LOVE is here! It’s #6 in the acclaimed Grandma’s Wedding Quilts Series.

Butter-making in the Old West

Butter-making in the Old West

Old West homemakers churned their own butter as part of a time-intensive process. Churning butter depends upon much more than simply agitating cream–temperature matters. Can you imagine trying to churn butter on a bitterly cold day or in the heat of the summer when the process depended upon a narrow range of temperatures?