Daily Archives: February 13, 2021

Back to the Brontes

I watched a movie about the Bronte Sisters that was shown first on PBS. It is called To Walk Invisible, which is what the Bronte girls had to do when they were writing and getting their works published. They had to publish under a man’s name for a time.  I found this movie very interesting, but what I really loved seeing were the clothes.

In my previous post I talked about how people really wore colorful clothes back in the 1800’s.  I’m sure the people at PBS tried to be as historically accurate as they could be while making this movie about the Brontes.  The clothes were just beautiful. Now the Brontes were not rich by any means, but the clothes they wore were still beautiful.

I would love to see women dressed like this coming down the street. Look at the rich colors, the plaids, the florals.  The wonderful capes in such beautiful colors.

Kidskin gloves. Tight bodices.

Tiny, corseted waistlines.

Even the hats had pretty, bright ribbons and look at the floral fabric in her dress.  I have some reproduction material that almost looks like this fabric.

The Brontes were trying so hard to get their poetry and books published.  They had to pretend to be something they were not. To be invisible. It was a man’s world and women just did not do something like write a book. How silly that sounds now with all the women authors we have now. I can’t imagine what it must have been like back then to know you could write and really wanted to write, but it was discouraged at every turn. These women were so brave and ahead of their time.

But back to the clothes, here the sisters come walking down the street all dressed up in their gorgeous dresses, capes and scarves.   The actresses who played the Bronte sisters were excellent.  The sisters had to deal with their brother’s drug and alcohol abuse and he had an affair with a married woman which was quite the scandal back then.

I’m in love with this dress. If only I could go back in time for just a while and dress like this.

Not a good picture of it, but this dress looked like it was made of satin. Very dressy to be an every day dress.

I love this shawl.   And there is that floral fabric again.

I’m going to watch this again and really look at the clothes.

I may just get a pattern and some reproduction material and try making a Summer dress. I haven’t sewn clothes in a long time.

This book has been keeping me busy.

Sewing little 4 1/2 inch blocks. Seventy-two of them, plus I sewed nine extra to go in the center. The pattern calls for a center medallion, but I didn’t like it so I sewed eight flying geese blocks and one log cabin block and I will call my quilt, “Geese Around the Cabin.”

Here is the center of the quilt.

And here it is, almost done.

I still have a sawed tooth border to go around it and then a six and 1/2 inch border around that and then it will be ready to be sandwiched and quilted. I think I may quilt this one by hand. I have another one almost done with the same patterns in Christmas greens and reds.

This quilt has come together surprisingly easily and I really have enjoyed making it.  It’s going to have to be hung on a wall somewhere after it’s done.

Here’s to the Brontes and all brave girls everywhere. Bye.