Beauty Of the Everyday Kind

Beauty is missing from our culture. Oh, there are still a few beautiful buildings put up, and you can buy pretty things, and you can find artists making art, but the everyday making of beauty is missing.  We have devalued it until it has almost completely vanished. The mentality that if your work is not producing a paycheck then your work has no value is killing off everyday beauty. Home making is both work and an art form that is almost dead from neglect because it does not bring in a paycheck. Few are those who knit or crochet beautiful … Continue reading

Looking To 2013

I love the pristine hopefulness of a new year. A New year has so many possibilities, so much potential and a whole 12 months of adventure in it. I shall make plans and enter into the New Year eagerly and energetically.  How will it turn out?  Will the New Year be a disaster, or success, or something in between? I resolve to cling tightly to my personal goals.  I plan to adhere to my healthy eating plan, geared to my issues with blood sugar, and my need to lose weight.  How?  I will combat the feelings of deprivation by pampering … Continue reading

Sewing, Weaving and SCA Fun! (renamed)

I’ve been exploring a number of interesting crafts as part of being a member of the Society for Creative Anachronisms or SCA for short. SCA is a lot of fun and can be a neat way to learn about history for home school.  You try to create a persona who could have lived in a particular era.  What did they wear? What fabric did they use? What colors? What foods? ANYTHING having to do with living in that period is part of the fun. I’m making a Byzantine outfit to wear to events. The Byzantine Empire was the remnant of … Continue reading

Sewing Closet

I was checking out blogs I hadn’t looked at in awhile and found THIS.  I’ve been living with my sewing in a corner and that is beginning to be a problem with a toddler and another baby on the way, and the fact that I’m going to need that corner for the cradle and baby swing….. I would love to have a closet set up like hers.  I have a closet that is longer that would be fabulous, but it has such nice hanging rods and shelves built in that I hate to rip it up to make it into … Continue reading

Skirt Wars and My Skirt Phase

Anyone who knows me knows I love skirts. Long, full, swishy skirts are a delight and joy to wear.  Do I feel that skirts are extra-feminine?–yup; are skirts the ONLY clothing that is feminine?–nope. Do I feel skirts can be very modest?–yup; are skirts the only clothing that can be modest?–nope. My loving skirts does NOT mean I hate your jeans. Most clothing choices have modest versions but any of them can be made raunchy if you try hard enough. A person’s tastes and preferences in clothing vary over time.  I’ve had my pantsuit phase, my jeans and t-shirt phase, … Continue reading

Learning to Dress Modestly

It can be done!  You can be dressed modestly and also be appropriate for the office.  You can be dressed modestly and avoid being frumpy.  Just think about the various styles that have existed over the history of clothing and realize that today there is a wider variety of styles in fashion than ever before– it can be very exciting and confusing. One delightful book about modest style is IT’S SO YOU by Mary Sheehan Warren, which is about finding your personal style and colors and being frugal and stylish by buying only what works for YOU;  another is THE … Continue reading

Modesty and Victorian Re-creations

“Victorian women were feminine, perhaps the most deliberately feminine females of history, and dressed and carried themselves to look the part. Steampunk lasts in part because the Steampunkettes dress in pseudo-Victorian costume, and it looks very cute and very female. It is refreshing change from the dull unisex monotony of modernity.”–John C Wright–A Salute to Steam-Powered Cuteness The attraction of steampunk clothing to the modern woman interested in feminine and modest clothing that delights her own creative nature is in the period of clothing from which it takes inspiration. John C. Wright, over at his blog, gets into the reasons … Continue reading

Drafting one’s own patterns yahoo group

Anyone interested in making their own patterns?  I found this great yahoo group here.  How-to-Make-Sewing-Patterns which is also a book that can be found on Amazon.com here. I haven’t yet read the book, but it is in my cart waiting for me to have enough money to make a book order.  I’m excited about it because the comments on the book indicate it is good for learning to draft a pattern for a less than perfect body! This is important because most women do not have the “perfect” body; you know the one I mean, tall, thin, just barely an … Continue reading

Sewing Skirts: Preparation

Sewing my own clothing is a goal of mine. I feel that it is part of my personal vocation and thus essential as an aspect of seeking God and seeking sanctity in this life.  Quicksilver to Gold is about this journey, this path of discovery in which I figure out what activities are meant to be included in my plan of life.  Sewing is one of those activities I feel strongly is important for ME.  It may not be something that belongs in your plan of life, but it does belong in mine. Skirts are an easy sewing project.  Some … Continue reading

Fabric for Sewing: Fibers

I am no expert in fabric.  There are fabulously heavy and huge books on the subject.  For definitions, try this link.  Today, I’m just going to write about the fibers I like and the little bit I know.  Nothing deep or profound. 🙂 Lots of links though to places where I go to read about my favorite fabric fibers. I love natural fibers. I like the way they breath and that they are renewable in their source. Wool is one of my favorites.  In a colder climate, especially a dry cold climate, wool is my hands down favorite of all … Continue reading