Raising Hairs

 

Victorian Hair Art

I wanted to share a blast from the past today, Victorian Mourning hair art from a class that I took in 2014 at the Museum of Shenandoah Valley.  Yes, that my hair and some poor horse that donated his hair. It is a shame the classes at the museum do not exist on this level currently. I made so many wonderful items over the years, like a cigar box diddle bow, cold frame, and even my first quilt block. 

This post was inspired by a discussion with Judy Crim. I am pretty sure she will not be loaning me her hair. Here are some of the Hair art that was on display at the class. Many dating back to 1850.

This next piece was my favorite and you can't tell in the photo but the shades of auburn hair were rather amazing!

 

The Victorian era, spanning Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901, was marked by a heightened preoccupation with death, grief, and remembrance. This wasn’t just a cultural undercurrent—it was a full-blown aesthetic. Mourning rituals were rigidly structured, and one of the most intriguing and personal expressions of grief came in the form of mourning jewelry and hair art.

These objects weren’t just sentimental keepsakes. They were wearable symbols of loss, love, and the permanence of memory in the face of death’s finality.

I mean let’s face it we will die one day!

Thai Cooking Class

 Wordless Wednesday

Thai Cooking Class

September Walk

 

Wordless Wednesday

Come Fly Away with Me.

 

Up Up and Away

Recently, I attended a foundation paper-piecing class at my local quilt store, Boxer Craft House. Our project was a Hot Air Balloon. This was an interesting process because you stitch fabric pieces to a foundation paper with the marked side of the paper facing up and the fabric pieces layered underneath. The resulting pieced units will be mirror images of foundation papers. It is almost forcing you to have a different perspective. 

Much like a Hot Air Balloon, your perspective changes when one has distance. 

Really Happy with my pillow and mug rugs that I made.

Did you know that Hot Air Balloons are actually very difficult to fly. You cannot steer a hot air balloon. The balloon follows the path of the wind and you must go along for the ride. All that you can control is going up or down! Geez, this is life! We can only control how we react, not the wind or others! 

And just a change in fabric is a different perspective.

There is so much we cannot control in life. Like a hot air balloon, we cannot control the direction of the wind and if we struggle against it, we will only waste our energy. When we allow ourself to accept the current situation, we may notice the things around us in a different way.

Yep, even I need to be uplifted when writing a difficult journal!

 Brianna Z. Kauer, M.S., BCBA states this best, “When we are flying low to the ground, everything seems large and appears to be moving quickly. When you are flying high in the air, everything seems small and appears to be moving slowly. We can’t control which direction the wind blows us, but we can choose to rise above the struggles of the day to see them from a distance. When we create distance from our negative thoughts or feelings, they don’t seem so big; mountains become foothills, houses become toys, people become ants.”

No matter what’s happening in our lives, we always have the potential to rise above, accept the current situation, and adjust those inner burners (our emotional and physical reaction). Moreover, we have the choice to rise out of our negative thoughts, our limiting beliefs, and our comfort zone. What a great “life lesson project” and a great reminder for myself. I hope this post lifts you up and inspires you for the ride of a lifetime.