I love starting a project because I think in my mind that, "I'll just bet in the 'olden days' a lady like myself; seamstress, milliner; perhaps did the exact same thing". Well, that is precisely the thought that was going through my head when I started my House of Faithfulness scrapbook at the beginning of the year. (House of Faithfulness would be the name of my couture business if I had lived in the Victorian or Edwardian era. It has everything to do with how faithful God is.)
I had decided that I wanted to so something that went beyond sewing Victorian/Edwardian clothing and hats. Something that ladies did frequently in their time. Write. Not just my sloppy, gotta get it done writing. But the lovely, flowing, spidery script that children were taught at school and developed over time. I have letters that belonged to my ancestors and an autograph that was my Great-Aunt's Uncle dating from 1905, that have beautiful examples of such hand writing. So, I started by finding all the letters of the alphabet and teaching myself to write, using a nibbed pen that belonged to my Great Grandma, Cornelia. It was so fun that I filled pages and pages of the alphabet; both upper and lower case, days of the week, months of the year, flower and herb names, names of my family, numbers, anything that caught my attention.
On a trip to Spokane, WA, for my niece's Birthday Party, I happened upon the perfect vintage scrapbook at the antique shop, Vintage Rabbit Antique Mall. I brought it home with me and immediately began entering ideas for dresses. Every page is its own dress and at the top of the page is the "name" of the dress. I have pinned with silk pins (because back then they didn't have ball headed pins back then...) swatches of the fabrics I wish to use on the dress; inspiration images and the patterns I plan on using is written in spidery cursive; and the accessories that are going to be worn with the dress are put down along with any other notes, so I won't forget. Then when the dress is complete, I pin a photograph to the page so I can see that I did indeed complete it! It has been such a fun hobby to begin!
Well, today I was laid up with a very grouchy tummy and I had ample time to peruse the internet for dress designs and to play around in Pinterest. On Pinterest I found that in all actuality, a young lady from the "very olden days" did the very same thing I am doing! Well, except she didn't pin a photograph of the completed garment. Here is an excerpt of what is written on the tumblr where this scrapbook was found...
"A British reverend’s daughter named Barbara Johnson (1738-1825) kept a meticulous diary throughout most of her life (from age 8 to well into her 80s) of the fabrics she used and details of the garments she made with them. What an amazing personal and historical document. Doesn’t it inspire you to do the same?
This is my garment scrapbook...I love the fact that is embossed and ivory in color!
An entry about my Mama's 2010 Christmas dress...
My 2010 Christmas dress...
Greg's frock coat, vest and puff tie entry.
This has been so fun and I look forward to filling it up....maybe even until I am well into my 80s!!! I have also started a botanical scrapbook....I'll share that one later.
