Lord, my sins, they are many, like the sands of the sea,
But Thy blood, O my Savior, is sufficient for me;
For Thy promise is written in bright letters that glow,
“Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them like snow.”

Yes, my name’s written there,
On the page white and fair;
In the book of Thy kingdom,
Yes, my name’s written there!

- from the hymn, Is My Name Written There?

“And you have forgotten one matter of joy to me,” said Emma, “and a very considerable one–that I made the match myself. I made the match, you know, four years ago; and to have it take place, and be proved in the right, when so many people said Mr. Weston would never marry again, may comfort me for any thing.”
Mr. Knightley shook his head at her. Her father fondly replied, “Ah! my dear, I wish you would not make matches and foretell things, for whatever you say always comes to pass. Pray do not make any more matches.”
“I promise you to make none for myself, papa; but I must, indeed, for other people. It is the greatest amusement in the world! And after such success, you know!”

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CharacterSketch… My poor little Etsy shop! I started it up months and months ago, and not a single sale have I made; which is no doubt partly my own fault, as I’ve neglected updating, promoting…all those online-business necessities. All right, that’s it! In a desperate attempt to do something with those miniature drawings I made, I’m going to hold a Blog Giveaway! Here’s your chance to own an Original Work of Art…albeit a very small Work, indeed. I spent a very pleasurable half-hour sketching the twinkling eyes, playful smile, and muslin Regency gown; as near the Miss Emma Woodhouse of my imagination as my artistic talents would take me! The drawing is the size of a baseball trading card (2.5″ x 3.5″), and is done in pencil on heavy watercolor paper. It will arrive in a protective clear plastic sleeve, specially designed for cards this size.

Here’s how you enter:

1. Use the comment form to leave your name and e-mail address (and a sentence or two) in reply to this post. Entries will be accepted for one week, from now until Thursday, November 6th, 12:00 noon, Central time.
2. Wait with baited breath until the deadline has passed. Boy, I hope you’ll be able to sleep at night!
3. Come back here (*Janna chuckles evilly, envisioning the hit-count for her website soaring to new heights!*), and find out whether you’ve won or not. I will send the winner an e-mail requesting their mailing address, so I can send Miss Woodhouse on her way. Dear, dear! She’ll be travelling “Post”, and by herself, too! Lady Catherine de Bourgh would find that highly improper, I fear…

We woke up Sunday morning to a little hint of what’s to come. Puffy, wet flakes of snow were tumbling down, melting into little wet puddles almost as soon as they hit the ground. On the way to church, we had to run the defroster in the van; and, I found that my black wool jacket wasn’t thick enough to keep me warm. It must be time to bring up the winter coats from the basement.

Autumn, thy doom is near.

A note on my outfit: I made the dress, using the “1912 Shawl Collar Dress” pattern my good friend Amanda Kastner designed and published herself. Such a fun gown to wear–and surprisingly easy to sew! Heh; if I can do it, you can, too.

Ah, Saturday! Dad’s home from work all day, and we enjoy our time together as a family, working first and playing afterward. Today, we spread straw around the bases of our apple trees and over the strawberries, to protect them from the icy-cold Minnesota winter that will be here very, very soon. Already, the daytime temperatures struggle to climb to the mid-fifties. I donned a warm sweater for doing our outside work; not a very wise choice, I soon discovered. The straw seemed to be magnetically attracted to the knit yarn, and it poked through and scratched me awfully. *Siiigh* All in the name of WIFD.

After yesterday’s brief respite of cheering sunshine, today it was back to the heavy grey skies and persistant patter of raindrops. I spent the day indoors, mostly. Venturing outside for my [theoretically] daily walk in the woods, the overhanging tree branches kept me safe from the majority of the precipitation. All the same, I was decidedly damp when I got back inside. But that only made warm, dry clothes feel all the better!

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Want some more “Wifdee”? Click on these links… and enjoy!

Tiffany
http://ahighcalling2007.blogspot.com/2008/10/wifdee-friday.html

Emma, Johanna & Grace
http://abannerofcrimson.blogspot.com/2008/10/week-in-feminine-dress-day-five.html

Shannon
http://maidenoftheking.blogspot.com/2008/10/week-in-feminine-dress-friday.html

Today was an Etsy Day! I added three new items to my vintage shop, and spent way too much time staring goggle-eyed at other Etsians’ mind-bogglingly imaginitive creations. I hope you won’t mind if I share a few of my favorites…

Soft Merino Bracelets, by easternsky

Orchid SCARF with lilac Flowers, by tijusai

Trio of Neckwarmer Patterns (Crochet) in PDF Format, by BellaMcBride

Lavender Love Locket, by wiyomu

It’s a good thing my money’s not burning a hole in my pocket…

P.s. Katelyn took the photo today. My, what talented sisters I have! *Proud grin*

Today was grey and cold and rainy. A housework-and-reading sort of day. So I alternated between washing dishes and curling up in bed to enjoy my new copy of The Maiden’s Bequest. I admit, Maiden’s Bequest claimed more of my time than the dish-washing did… But I’ll make up for it by refusing to read a chapter more before I’ve tidied the coatroom and got my bedroom into a semi-presentable state. So, I’m off to conquer the hordes of shoes left in a jumble on the entryway rug, and the piles of clean clothes I find it so hard to place inside their proper drawers. Until tomorrow then.

P.s. Want to see more WIFD? Visit these ladies’ blogs!

Shannon at A Maiden’s Musings

Kara and Christina at Sewing Sisters

Keri and Quaint and Quirky

Mom and I spent the day in town, running errands and paying our obligatory visits to the local thrift stores. I found another black skirt to add to my growing collection; a new blue shirt (This one had gathers on it! I didn’t have one with gathers on it!); and a few free books, some of which I hope to trade on PaperBack Swap.

When we got home, half-starved and weary with our labors (Hey, there’s a lot of walking involved in a trip to town!), the dinner table was set, and Erica served up a delicious meal of chicken enchiladas slathered in melted cheese, with sour cream and salsa and corn on the side. Oh, that steaming-hot meal sure hit the spot after the chilly car-ride home!

P.s. Erica is the one taking these photos. And I don’t even have to beg. She’s willing! Such dedication to the Art.

Four times a year–once every season–the members of the Sense and Sensibility message forum play a lovely game called “Week in Feminine Dress”. The rules are simple: 1. Make a resolution to wear pretty, feminine, modest clothing each and every day for one week, and, 2. Try your hardest to take a photo of each day’s outfit to share with other players.

After a failed attempt at playing along last autumn, this time I am determined to record seven separate outfits, in seven separate blog posts. Notice I didn’t say the posts would be made on seven consecutive days. We’ll see about that. I’m already one day behind everyone else at S&S–WIFD began officially on Sunday. I didn’t remember that until ten-thirty Sunday evening. But, actually, I’d prefer working from Monday to Sunday, with things reaching a climax at “My Sunday Best”.

Here’s what I wore today…

… On a work-a-bit, laze-a-bit Monday…

In loving-kindness Jesus came,
My soul in mercy to reclaim,
And from the depths of sin and shame,
Through grace He lifted me.

From sinking sand He lifted me,
With tender hand He lifted me;
From shades of night to plains of light,
O, praise His name, He lifted me!

Now on a higher plane I dwell,
And with my soul I know ’tis well;
Yet how or why, I cannot tell,
He should have lifted me.

- From the hymn, He Lifted Me, by Charles H. Gabriel (1856-1932)