Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!

It may have been over two hundred years since she wrote her first novel, but her prose, wit, & humor are still considered by many to be many of the best novels ever written (I include my self in that). Her intelligence was just as important as her humorous satire, which not every reader comprehends when they read her novels, made the written creations of her imaginings timeless & still true today. She draws us into her own world, even though such an age of elegance, refinement, & manners of dress & etiquette, have faded almost entirely from existence. Jane has been one of the many writers who has inspired my own desire to write & be published. I hope someday my own words & ideas will measure up at least half as much as hers have. Have a blessed Birthday Jane!
In the words of Tiny Tim "God bless us everyone" & a Merry Christmas to all!

Sincerely,
Sarah Grace

A Time of Grief.....

Yesterday my Great Uncle left us to go home to be with Jesus. It is a hard thing, as it has been a year as of Monday 11th, that my Aunt passed, so this is very hard on my Grandfather, as it was his last remaining brother. Please keep my family in your prayers that we will be able to pull through this.

God bless,
Sarah Grace

A Quick Update....

Hello all! I am still here, but I have been extremely busy the last several weeks. We had our church's Campmeeting two weeks ago, which is similar to a tent revival, but held inside our church. I taught the children's classes for several of the nights, which I loved but was very tiring. Since then, I have had a few sewing & a tutoring job, as well as helping with autumn cleaning at my Grandpa's farm. I have enter one of my poems in a poetry contest & I am praying that I will win first prize, which happens to be a $1000.00. There is a institute that offers correspondence courses in writing for children that I have been accepted to, upon contingent that I receive a specific sum of money in the near future. Please keep me in your prayers that I will win the contest & be able to enroll in the institute.
Well, that is all for now. I have to help prepare supper so that it is ready in time, as we have our mid week church service.

Have a pleasant week & God bless,
Sarah Grace

Happy Labor Day!

I thought I would just drop a line to say Happy Labor Day to all! Hope you have a lovely day with friends & family.

God bless,
Sarah Grace

The Story of a Seamstress Hosting A Giveaway!

Atlanta from The Story of a Seamstress is hosting a wonderful giveaway for her Design Your Own Regency Dress kit! If it is anything like the Design Your Own 1860s Dress kit, it will be fabulous & an immense inspiration to anyone who receives it.
I was blessed to win the 1860s Dress kit & it has been an informative & fun aid to use whenever I need to create a new Civil War dress or I just want to attempt recreating something that I have seen on a film or photograph. The drawings that she has in the kit are beautiful & there is information attached, so that you know what types of fabric would work best with the design you have just drawn. It is almost like a guide to helping you choose, not only the style of your next CW dress, but the fabric as well, so that when you go to the store you have an accurate idea of what to buy.
I think this kit would be a wonderful gift to any aspiring seamstresses, designers, or lovers of history. I have entered the giveaway for the Design Your Own Regency Dress, so that I can pass it on to a friend whom is learning to create her own clothing. I hope whoever wins will enjoy their kit as much as I have mine.

God bless,
Sarah Grace>

Sewing For Gentlemen......

I have been so busy since the last post I made that I have only been on the computer for short periods of time, so posting had ceased. I seem to think that you must always write long posts, but I suppose that is not the real purpose of this blog.

What have I been so terribly busy with that I have neglected this writing source?
Well, I have received several alteration & repair jobs of multiple items, which I am being paid to do, thank you God, I am helping more with the housework at my Grandpa's house, trying to sew for my own miniscule wardrobe, helping my Mother prepare for another year of homeschooling for my youngest brother, Matthew, returning to teaching Sunday school & singing with the Worship, & last, but not least preparing my sermons for our ministery training class.

So, needless to say, I have not had much free time for writing. I would like to try & document my next project, if not with photos of the process, at least of the finished projects & writing how I accomplished it.

What might this new venture be, you say? Well, the title of this post is a very good indication as to the answer. Yes, I am embarking on the stormy seas of sewing for gentlemen, for a gentleman actually. A good friend from church has a birthday coming up (all too soon it seems), & I have gotten the supplies for about $15 to create for him two corduroy vests, (one sky blue & one deep brown) one pair corduroy pants of the same deep brown fabric as the vest, & one lovely blue shirt (Hopefully I can create a pair of suspenders to go with the pants, but I don't know if that will happen). My friend is quite the history fanatic & has expressed an interest in wearing historical clothing. I have chosen the period of the mid 1890s to early 1900s, as the style that I have found is more in line with the appearance that he needs to present at church. I have a pattern for the vests, which are probably what I will atempt first. The shirt, I plan to take a general idea from the Laughing Moon #107 pattern for the Victorian & Edwardian men's shirt. The pants I will probably end up drafting from looking at images of period correct garments. I hope to have all of the items done before or at least by Christmas. I know I am undertaking alot, but I really would like to give him something for his birthday/Christmas that he will truly love. That is the plan, but I have been noticing other men's styles from several other eras that would look quite dashing on him, so if I don't change my mind, all will goes as aforementioned.

God bless,
Sarah Grace

P.S. Please pray for me that God will help me with these new sewing endeavors.

Anne of Green Gables Fashion Week

It seems completely odd to be posting twice in one week, much less in one day! Ashley of Bramblewood Fashion is hosting her Anne of Green Gables Fashion Week (it began Sunday 11th & is over on Saturday 17th). I wanted to create an outfit for it, but I haven't had the time, so I am posting a photo of my Anne of Avonlea inspired dress for my friend's Prom in May.

(Left to right: My brother Joshua,his fiancee Shelby, myself, & my friend Adam)

My dress was construct with my Mother's help, as was Shelby's dress, hers being inspired by the Tudor era.

Anne of Green Gables & Anne of Avonlea are two of my favorite movies (books as well) in a rather long list. Since watching the set, I have become engrossed in the Road To Avonlea series, both for the clothing & the characters. I am continuously borrowing them from my library's inter-library loan program. I can relate very well to Anne & to several other characters such as Olivia & Felicity in the RTA series, as I find myself to share similar traits. Would that my imagination were as vivid as Anne's, that would be a dream come true, for I am certain that it would improve my writing immensely. I like Anne & Hettie King am a teacher, but I long, as they, to be a writer, an authoress! That is one of my life's goals. If that is God's will, it shall be.

Below are two of the lovely photos that Ashley has used for her links to the stupendous event. I love both of the ensembles & hope to recreate them someday.



This is a painting of an outfit that I think Anne might have worn & that I would again love to recreate. It is something that I think would work very nicely for every day wear, even in the modern world.


God bless to all on this day,
Sarah Grace

An Old-Fashioned Girl Giveaway!

Johanna of An Old-Fashioned Girl is have a giveaway in honor of her 200th post! I only have a little more than a dozen posts thus far. I can hardly imagine having 200! Back to Johanna's giveaway. She has received donations from several wonderful companies, whose products are quite lovely!

The first item is a sweet little night light donated by Roses & Teacups.


Second is an epattern from Sense & Sensibility Patterns, a fabulous sight, run by a fabulous lady, Mrs. Chancey.


Third is a pattern for a Summer Shade Jumper & the fabric to make it up with from Marie Madeline Studios.


Finally, last but certainly not least is a pair of "Pure for Life" earrings donated by The Joy of Jewelry.


All in all a simply superb giveaway indeed! I hope that the giveaway generates more readers to Johanna's blog & more business to the generous donors for their fantastic donations!

God bless,
Sarah Grace

P.S. I simply adore the layout of her blog, especially the lovely painting of the Edwardian lady at the top. Wouldn't you just love to have her ensemble?

Summer Heat....

Is barely beginning & already I am wishing for the cooler days of fall. I haven't posted in ages. It seems that I never have enough time to post anything new.
I have been very busy with several alterations projects for a fellow church member, which has taken up quite a bit of time & given me many a painful poke from my Mother's glass head pins (OUCH!, lol). I appreciate the business & hope for more to come in the near future.

The heat as I said has been somewhat overwhelming, with temperatures reaching well over 100 & humidity not far behind it. So I have been trying to stay indoors as much as possible during these heat waves. Hopefully it will cool down a little so that I can plant my rather late summer garden(crosses fingers, hoping it will be so).

I am in the process of trying to finish a drop-front early Regency dress for church on Sunday, so my post will have to be rather short.

I found the below photo of El Yunque National Rain Forest in Puerto Rico & thought that it was such a lovely scene, it makes you feel like you are in a cool, comforting embrace.


God bless to all & I hope you enjoy the summer,
Sarah Grace

An Overdue Post....

Hello to all who take the time to read my blog, much forgotten by its authoress for many months. I have been much overdue in my writing & beg your indulgence, as every time I planned to write, some other matter took precedence. I hope over the summer months to be more frequent & post at least once a week, but I am uncertain what will occur, what with graduations for many family & friends taking place over the next two months. I am also in the process of tutoring a fellow homeschooler, a task for which I am both overjoyed & anxious. In the interim of all other things important, I am attempting to create a Civil War wardrobe for summer, for which I have recently purchased five dress lengths of appropriate fabric, at a much lower price than I had hoped (Thank you, God). So, my schedule will hopefully open up for further posts, but I make no promises.







Isn't the above 1860s court dress simply stunning. It would be magnificent as a wedding gown in my opinion. God bless to everyone & have a joyous summer,
Sarah Grace

Wrappers..... Warmth, Function, & Style

For the play that I am costuming for my church I need to make a wrapper for one of the ladies. As I was in search of images, I came across quite a few that really stood out.


I never realized what amazingly loud fabrics they sometimes used for these garments. I love the colors & the fact that even though they provide warm & style, they are also functional & practical. I plan to make one for myself, hopefully soon.



The photos are from both the 1860s & the 1850s, as I found several articles from ladies magazines with simple lovely garments. I hope you all enjoy the photos & are inspired to perhaps make one for yourself.













I am off to do more sewing for the costumes. There is still quite alot to be done & I do have a deadline.

God bless,
Sarah

Thinking of Katharine....

I recently watched one of her movies, "The African Queen" & it got me to thinking about how much I truly admired her as an actress. I know that some people don't like her acting, because they think she is too independent or strong-willed. But I personally can identify with her on some levels, especially the strong-willed (or as my Mom calls it, bull-headedness, LOL)spirit. In my opinion, she was a wonderful actress, a gorgeous woman, intelligent, a very dry, almost satirical sense of humor, someone who knew what she wanted & stuck with it, a woman who cared about others. I have enjoyed every movie I have ever seen her act in, there are few that I don't absolutely love. She was raised in by her parents & her mother was a suffragette, so I am sure her independence stemmed from such. At the age of fourteen she found her brother, whom was to believed have committed suicide in the attic & as a result fell into a state of depression. She eventually came out of her shell. In my opinion, to have overcome such a devastating trama, to be able to have a sense of humor & not let that rule her entire life was something that should be admired. I apologize for the rather long rant. My Grandma was very much like Katharine & I believe that is another reason why I love watching her films. Below are some photos of Katharine.
She even had a pattern in the 1930s designed for her:





"Bringing Up Baby" is one of my absolute favorites, as it also stars Cary Grant & is very comical.


"Stage Door Canteen"


"The African Queen"


This brings a close to my rather long, slightly random post.

God bless,
Sarah Grace

In Search of Warmth

Where I live the weather has decided to become very cold. We are experiencing temperatures that are barely reaching the mid-teens during the day & dropping below 0 at night. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the snow, but I also like the temperature to stay around 20-25 degrees. While thinking about such cold (although for some, I know it probably sounds very mild), I decided to search for photos of firesides that would at least help me imagine that I was warm. I found somely lovely images. The one below caught my eye as it looked like such a loving family.


I just love this one. It reminds me of my German shepherd, Majesty & one of my former cat friends, Spitfire, who unfortunately died last year. They always seemed to get along well.


I then found this painting by Henry Salem Hubbell, which I think is beautiful, & along with it I found two others (although not really about firesides, they do look very warm & inviting). I especially love the colors he used.






We are supposed to be having a snowstorm coming in soon, but I am praying against it, as we have our Easter play auditions coming up this Saturday & we don't need another cancellation. I hope everyone is having a wonderful & blessed January. I thank God for giving us what we have that we so often take for granted, our salvation.

God bless,
Sarah

A Happy New Year & A Belated Merry Christmas!!

I am sorry that again I have fallen behind in my posting. So much has been going on, what with trying to sew the things I was making for Christmas for my family. My camera is out of whack & I have no other means of posting photos that are not already upon my computer. I am still finishing my parents quilt, but soon I hope to have it finished. I have finished writing the Easter play script & will be handing out copies to the cast on Sunday. We will be having auditions next Saturday, hopefully! After auditions, we will be having a celebration of sorts for the cast of our Christmas production for the good job they did & possibly after that begin practicing for the blacklight group signing. Well, I hope everyone had marvelous holidays. Mine were very nice & I am very grateful for my family & friends & for a loving & forgiving God. I leave you with a few winter photos that I found lovely & interesting while doing a search.







God bless to everyone during this lovely & joyous season,
Sarah