Guest Post By Aimee of Aimee’s Victorian Armoire!

A few months ago we were lucky enough to discover Aimee and her delightful blog. We have already indirectly introduced Aimee since we have shared two of her posts with you.  Aimee is a wonderful seamstress designing her own patterns, usually based on the vintage styles she loves.  She then sews the beautiful garments she imagines.  She has generously agreed to collaborate with us over the next couple of months and will be writing posts featuring Les Belles Bouclettes and Hand-Crafted Delights (my bath and body-care product line) on her blog.  She kindly agreed to write a guest post for From Goats To Soaps, and in it she shares a little about herself and her inspirations.  Even her descriptions convey a sense of the tranquility, she treasures, as well as the deep satisfaction she takes in the process of creating.

So, without further preamble it is my pleasure to turn the page over to Aimee!

A love of simple things has guided my life since I was a child. Food, clothes, music, and even my room decorations growing up, were all clean, easy, and well, simple.
Add this love with a determined mind, and I have set out to create a life for myself that has been driven by both my passion and my need for an uncluttered life. I craved activities and things which were made by hand and had a past attached. I, in no way, have led an austere life, for I too love beautiful and ornate, and at times expensive things, yet I knew in my heart that they were not enough to make me happy. Over time, I became drawn to stories, people, and hobbies that reflected the past, which to me, was a simpler time. Spinning yarn, canning the abundant harvest, or melting and pouring wax for candles, spoke to me of peace and true living.

The process didn’t need to be simple, but the mood and the way things were made, did. I suppose this is why crafting became so important to me. Nothing felt purer or more right than spending my time creating something beautiful with simple items. The realization that I, not the ingredients, could form something unique, calmed me and set me on a journey to fill my life with beauty and simplicity. I wasn’t all that good at drawing, had little patience for pottery making, and couldn’t figure out how to crochet to save my life, but, for some reason, I could sew. At nine, I started making doll clothes. Sad little creations that I lovingly and proudly dressed my dolls in and… well, sewing just caught my soul.

Sewing gave me a purpose. It gave me an outlet, and it gave me a mode to connect with others. But what to sew? That always seemed to be the question. I wasn’t a quilter. I wasn’t a curtain maker. I couldn’t cover a chair, nor can I be bothered with things that required three different types of sewing feet. So I started with simple items like aprons, handkerchiefs, and simple frocks. These pieces laid the groundwork for my true passion of reproduction clothing. An 1850’s
gown, a Regency era bonnet, or a 1930’s sheer dress, occupied my sewing needle. Eighteen and in the days before the internet, I didn’t think anyone else was interested in clothes from fifty to even a hundred years ago. But, I preservered. I didn’t care if it was a secret hobby that no one saw. It felt right and it simply made sense to who I was.

Fast forward many years and my world has been expanded. I have meet so many amazing individuals who showed me that it doesn’t matter what you create, all that matters is that you do. Embracing this new philosophy, I have bulldozed my way through success and failure, confident and stubborn that if I worked hard enough, a creative, and simple life was within reach. I now create historical patterns that I offer through my blog with the hopes of creating a larger pattern line in the future. Does that sound simple? Heck, no! But it fulfills the promise I made to that nine year old girl, that if I ever became really good, I would help others.

It doesn’t matter what you create or how you go about the process. All that matters is that you free yourself to give in to the freeing and beautiful gift creating can offer. How simple is that!