Friday, February 21, 2014

Now For Something Totally Different: Literary Heroine Blog Party


Hey Fellow Sewists!
  Forgive me while I deviate from normal blogging to participate in something that has been with me longer than my love of sewing, my love of books and reading. I spent the day with my local sewing group making muslins of Grainline's Maritime Shorts pattern, and while it was very productive; it doesn't make good blog posts at this point. So I'm taking this chance to do a little light question answering. Besides how can you pass up these great heroines?

Source Can you name them all? Love all these ladies.



  • Introduce yourself!  Divulge your life's vision, likes, dislikes, aspirations, or something completely random!
  • Wow, what a huge question! My mother read to us as children. I would crochet while she read stories to us in the evening. My life's vision is to live creatively, helping people and being with those I love. 


  • What, to you, forms the essence of a true heroine? 
  • Sticking to what is right graciously, no matter the personal cost.


  • Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to. 
  • Kirsty Barclay from The Shepherd Girl's Dream 
    Jane Eyre
    Mary Marston from A Daughter's Devotion


  • Five of your favorite historical novels? 
  • Define historical...
    The Peasant Girl's Dream by George MacDonald
    The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
    House of Love by Elizabeth Cheney
    Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
    The Scarlet Pimpernel by Orczy


  • Out of those five books who is your favorite major character and why? 
  • Kirsty Barclay from The Shepherd Girl's Dream. She drew me in with her actions and kept me with her character until I prayed that I could become a woman like her.


  • Out of those five books who is your favorite secondary character and why? 
  • Hard hard choice... especially since I haven't read some of these in awhile... Probably Percy from The Inheritance because he so quietly does the right thing and is perceptive.


  • If you were to plan out your dream vacation, where would you travel to - and what would you plan to do there? 
  • All of Europe and Asia! Especially Scotland & Wales because of my roots and South Korea because I'm learning the language. I want to see what people of the world do, live and eat. I especially want to see how other cultures sew..


  • What is your favorite time period and culture to read about? 
  • I'm not particular as long as it's a good story with a bit of the fantastic.


  • You have been invited to perform at the local charity concert. Singing, comedy, recitation - what is your act comprised of? 
  • Probably singing. 


  • If you were to attend a party where each guest was to portray a heroine of literature, who would you select to represent? 
  • Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing or Lizzie Bennet. I'm pretty loud and outspoken. I guess I could be Emma too...


  • What are your sentiments on the subject of chocolate? 
  • Love the stuff but must eat it in small quantities because of Type 1 Diabetes. Chocolate and mint, Dark Chocolate with GF pretzels and Peanut Butter and some of the best... chocolate and caramel too!


  • Favorite author(s)? 
  • George MacDonald
    Louisa May Alcott
    C. S. Lewis
    Victor Hugo
    Charles Dickens
    Thomas B. Costain
    All the old fairy tale writers...


  • Besides essentials, what would you take on a visiting voyage to a foreign land? 
  • An empty trunk to bring back fabric, notions and trim from all the foreign places.


  • In which century were most of the books you read written? 
  • I don't know... I have vast tastes in books.


  • In your opinion, the ultimate hero in literature is… 
  • The Beast. Yes the title one from the fairy tale in all it's many versions and incarnations. He recognizes his faults, doesn't use his strength to hurt people and grows into a better person throughout the story.


  • Describe your ideal dwelling place. 
  • A spacious tree house.


  • Sum up your fashion style in a short sentence. 
  • A comfortable happy crazy mess involving many shades of red.


  • Have you ever wanted to change a character’s name? 
  • No


  • In your opinion, the most dastardly villain of all literature is... 
  • Sauron. Creepy, almost omnipresent, disembodied eye. That's all I got tonight...


  • Three favorite Non-fiction books? 
  • Grey Matter by David Levy
    R. G. LeTourneau: Mover of Men and Mountains
    Whatever latest sewing book or magazine I own


  • Your duties met for the day, how would you choose to spend a carefree summer afternoon? 
  • Depends on where I was and who I was with, but swimming sounds really good.


  • Create a verbal sketch of your dream hat - in such a way as will best portray your true character. 
  • One of those wide brimmed straw hats that droop elegantly down in the front with the sheer rose print scarf as the hat band drifting in long tails down the back. I don't know what this says about my character. :)


  • Share the most significant event(s) that have marked your life in the past year. 
  • What has marked my life the most this past year is the lack of significant events and keeping faithful and upbeat in the midst of the monotony. 


  • Share the Bible passage(s) that have been most inspiring to you recently.
  • 1 Samuel 2:2 (NIV)


    "There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

    Malachi 1:11 (NIV)


    My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.

    If you read through all of that, thanks for indulging me sewing peeps. If you're part of the Blog party, Hi!!! Hope you enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to discovering some new titles.
    Next week it will be back to business as usual so hang on to those sewing machines!

    10 comments:

    Donna said...

    Those are some very inspiring women!

    Jessie said...

    Beauty and the Beast was my favorite Disney movie growing up - - I love that you chose the Beast for your ultimate hero. He spends so much time paying the price for his faults and he couldn't fix them on his own. He needed Belle to show him that one mistake doesn't have to ruin your life.

    EmSewCrazy said...

    Thanks Donna, I think so!

    EmSewCrazy said...

    Yeah... I think he's pretty cool...

    Hamlette said...

    An empty trunk! That is the perfect thing to take along on a vacation -- why didn't I think of that?


    I picked Sauron as the ultimate villain last year. Isn't he just horrid?

    Gjeometry said...

    Hey Em, thanks so much for your comment on my Sew Grateful Giveaway post! I tried looking up The Shepherd Girl's Dream but could not find it! I did find the Peasant Girl's Dream, could this be the same book? I am excited to get a list of all the woman (real or fictional) that have inspired by sewing friends!

    EmSewCrazy said...

    Oh dumb me! Yes it's the Peasant Girl's Dream by George MacDonald edited by Michael Phillips. Thanks for pointing that out. I can't believe I typed my favorite book title wrong! You'll have to blog about the list because I'm sure it will be very interesting!

    EmSewCrazy said...

    He is horrid. I couldn't think of anything worse that late at night.
    Glad you like my packing strategy.

    Gjeometry said...

    Oh, I shall for sure! When I put up the winner of the giveaway post (that Kitty will graciously officiate), I'm thinking to have a chart (CHART) to appease all the science geeks (of which I'm one). :)

    EmSewCrazy said...

    I like reading charts just not enough to put them together scientifically! :) Can't wait to see what Kitty chooses!