Lighter Fare

     One of my favorite hobbies (and a handy one) is sewing. I can't remember exactly how I first learned to sew, but I can recall stitching away by hand at doll dresses and even a few dolls.
     So, now that it's summertime and I wanted some new outfits for college, I took up my long-forsaken-for-the-sake-of-school pastime.

 This one is a pink jacket, with pleats and puffed sleeves (pleats and puffed sleeves are so pretty!)

 This is a yellow dress, also with pleats. The pink jacket is made to be worn over it.

 A plaid skirt, with pleats that can't be seen very well. This one should keep me warm on wintery days.

 A blue herring-bone jumper, also for winter. It's a 1950's retro pattern (love retro clothes-unless its 1920's. Blah. But never mind that.)

 This is just a plain cream-colored shell. Nothing exciting, but very useful.

This last one's a peasant-top-like casual dress. I actually disliked the print at first, so it sat in my closet for a year or so, until I decided that I might as well sew it up.
     As you can probably tell, I love pleats, gathers, darts, and puffed sleeves. Probably a holdover from my Victorian-mania days, when I insisted to my family that my (future) little boys were going to wear knickerbockers, and I was going to wear hoop skirts all the time. I'm glad I outgrew that notion! But I still love Victorian and Victorian-like clothes

Thankful for the Past

Many decent, thoughtful people have in their hearts a love of history, and often, an affection for a particular era. Whether the attraction of the era is the beautiful homes and clothes of the Victorians, the strong force of Catholicism in Medieval European society, or the military equipment used by the brave soldiers of the Second World War, the admiration is based upon something good.
For some, when they think of what the past means to them, feel a deep sadness that what they admire exists no more, at least in society at large. "Why can't things be that way now?" Some think. For some, this spurs them on to strive to rectify the wrong, but for others, it can lead to discontent with their lives.
I used to think this way, but have begun to think of the past, especially of things that have passed away, with gratitude that such things at least once were. At least their was once a time when women's clothes were consistently beautiful, or when Catholicism reigned supreme in Europe,or whatever other aspect of the past I admire.
I am not suggesting that nothing be done about whatever is wrong with the present using the past as a model for restoration. Far from it! Rather, let the past encourage rather than sadden most of the time. Think on how blessed we are to have good models to follow, unlike some who went before us. For instance, Catholics today have a model for the Christianization of society, while the early Christians had none to look back upon as teachers and guides. At least, they show us a way.
Let us be grateful for the past that is given to us.