Sweet Grass Baskets

Sweet grass baskets were being made in the Low Country of South Carolina as early as the 1690's. The skill actually came from West Africa with the slave trade. This type of basket had been made there around 1800 B.C. In fact, Baby Moses was likely put in the Nile River in this type of basket.

Instead of making a basket by weaving strips in and out, the sweet grass is fashioned into a coil. Long pine needles can be added to give a darker stripe. Palmetto leaves are torn into thin strips and used to lash the coils together by forcing it through the coils with a awl fashioned from a spoon. Bull rushes are often used to strengthen the basket, especially in the handles.

The first sweet grass baskets in America were used in the rice harvest. The picked rice was pounded with with a huge wooden mallet to break the hull and then tossed in large flat baskets to blow the hulls away. These "fanner" baskets evolved into other styles for plantation use as well. By the 1800's, sweet grass baskets had spread throughout Coastal South Carolina.

By the 20th century, however, this style of basket-making had almost died out. They were only made on a few remote farms, and these where hard to find. Then, some black artists in Mount Pleasant, outside Charleston, began making them to sell to visitors. In doing so, they kept the craft alive, taught future generations, and established it as an important economic outlet.

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Unanswered Prayer

Let me first begin by saying, that if you belong to Christ, if you've asked Him to come into your life and save you, there are no unanswered prayers. The answer might not be what you expect or want, it may even be "No" or "Wait," but your prayers are answered.

Faith and praying go hand in hand. Prayer puts us in direct contact with God, and faith tells us He is there listening. Faith assures us He has our best interests at heart and will bless us richly, according to His will and purpose. We can put our complete trust in our Heavenly Father.

In If You Will Ask (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers, 1989), Oswald Chambers says:

Our Lord in His teaching regarding prayer never once referred to unanswered prayer; He said God always answers prayer. If our prayers are in the name of Jesus, i.e., in accordance with His nature, the answer  will not be in accordance with our nature, but with His. We are apt to forget this, and to say without thinking that God does not always answer prayer.

Prayer is a great Christian tool and blessing that most of us don't use enough. If we truly believe in the power of prayer, it will become a habit we exercise throughout each day. How much could we change our lives and our world if we put this into action?

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

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Smoothing Out the Writing

A librarian, who doesn't usually like historical or inspirational fiction read Cleared for Planting, and left the following review on amazon:

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of historicals or inspirational fiction but.... This was one of the best books I have read in a very long time. The writing in this book was so smooth... I actually felt that I was there when I was reading the story. I can hardly wait for book 2, If you love historicals and inspirationals this is the book for you....you will be hooked and like me patiently waiting for #2. Thank you Janice for a heartfelt wonderful story very well written.

This got me to thinking. What had I done to make this reviewer feel it was one of the best books she'd read in a very long time? As you can see, she went on to say the writing was so smooth that she actually felt she was in the story. This was music to my ears. As I tell everyone, I'm too close to my books to have any perspective, so I have no idea how to rate them. I depend on my readers for that.

The things mentioned in this review are ones all good writers strive for. I've thought about this for several days, and this is what I came up with. First, I keep rereading and editing a manuscript time and time again. I look for awkward, stilted, or hard to understand sentences, and I change each one I find. I want readers to get lost in the story, and they can't do that if they have to pause to figure out something. If they start paying too much attention to the writing itself, then they're yanked out of living with the characters. I didn't keep count, but I know I must have read and reworked Cleared for Planting at least 20 - 30 times. Persistence and tenaciousness are important writing skills, and hard work can rectify many faults. Some of the self-published books I've read have been released before they were ready, and I don't want to make that mistake.

It's also important to find the right balance between descriptions, details, dialogue, and what the characters are thinking. When a writer gets this right, the reader is pulled into the story and cares deeply about the main characters. That's when a book becomes special; that's what I try to achieve. Only my readers can tell me if I succeed.

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Camellias

Camellias have long been associated with the South, but they're not native to the United States. They originated in Asia and grew in China and Japan years before they made it to Europe where they were  called Japanese roses in the beginning. The first varieties in England were a single red and a single white. The camellia is closely related to the tea plant.

Andre Michaux, King Louis XIV's botanist and a noted plant explorer, brought them to this country. He actually started the first botanical garden in America north of Charleston in 1786. Michaux presented camellias and other plants to his friend at Middleton Plantation. Begun in 1741, the garden at Middleton is thought to be the oldest landscaped garden in America. No record has been left of how many camellia plants were gifted, but there was a least four - one at each corner. One, a gorgeous double

red camellia survives today. Many other camellias bloom through the gardens of Middleton Place today, as well as in countless other gardens throughout the South. Their array of colors have dazzled people for centuries.

Today there are about 3,000 different varieties of camellias, both with single blooms and double ones. Colors come in a broad range, including variegated two-tones. In fact, they dot many landscapes and yards. My current neighbor has one large enough to be called a tree.

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Crayfish

Crayfish, also known as crawdads and by other names, live throughout North America. They're usually called "crayfish" in the North, "crawdads" in central and western parts of the southern United States, and "crawfish" in the South. This isn't always true, however, because there's a lot of overlap.

Crayfish look like small lobsters but live around fresh water. They do better in clean streams, but some varieties can tolerate pollution better than others. The Southeast has more varieties, but the crustaceans live throughout the United States, although they've been introduced to some areas.

People across the world eat crayfish, in much the same way they do lobster. Louisiana is one of the largest producers of these crawdads as a food source. In 2007, they harvested nearly 55,000 tons by aquaculture. Fishermen also use crayfish as bait, especially to catch bass, pike, channel catfish, walleye, and trout. In addition, they can become aquarium pets, or they build their own homes outside.

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Embroidery in America

Embroidery came to America with the early colonists in the 1600's. It resembled the stitchery being done in Europe at first but soon took on a New World look. Items from nature found in the Americas but not in Europe made their way into designs. Because decorative fabrics were harder to obtain in the colonies, and people seemed to be more practical anyway, the embroidery tended to be more utilitarian. American embroiderers also often chose stitches that used less yarn, especially on the reverse side.

Almost no embroidery works have survived the 1600's, but we know about them, because they were included in inventories and records. At first, they tended to be monochromatic, using indigo blue or white thread. Next came the yellows and tans common with natural dyes, but these were follow with an array of colors. "Even the English did not produce colors as varied or as brilliant" (The Antique Trader Weekly, August 15, 1990).

Embroidery became even more popular in the colonies in the 1700's, as some women began to have more leisure time. They embroidered bed hangings, chair seats, purses, petticoats, and pockets to tie around the waist. However, textiles are not very durable, and most of these were well-used and worn out.

The 1800's brought the Industrial Revolution, and embroidery fell out of vogue. Printed cloth became less expensive, and embroidery was no longer needed to provide colorful patterns in the way it once had been. In some areas, like on Southern plantations, women still embroidered for entertainment and pleasure, but it was done less and less.

By the 1900's, embroidery had changed. More stitches were used that would complete a work faster, such as the outline stitch and daisy stitch, and less of the cloth was filled in with satin stitches, etc. It did flourish during the Victorian Era, but it declined again during and after the war years. The biggest exception to all this was in rural areas. In remote areas, folk art like embroidery, never died out. The renewed interest in Americana and crafts around the bicentennial in 1976 revived embroidery. No doubt, embroidery in some form will remain important to those who like arts, crafts, needlework, or history.

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Talking About the Tailor

The Tailor's shop became an important part of most Early American towns. Many women could make their own clothing, but not the men. A tailor would make men's clothes, especially for the single men and wealthy. In the larger towns, tailors only made suits, coats, breeches, etc. A seamstress would make the shirts. In smaller places, however, the tailor might make it all. He didn't normally make women's clothing, however, although some online sites say they did.

One advantage to ordering from a tailor was you could have the items custom designed and made to your specifications. You were also measured, and the clothes made to fit your frame. In addition, a tailor usually kept abreast of the London styles.

A man often learned the tailor's trade from his father or as an apprentice. Apprenticeships usually lasted for seven years, while the young person learned the trade. The last name, Taylor, originally came from a person involved in this trade.

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