The Victorian Archivist
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victorianarchivist.bsky.social
The Victorian Archivist
@victorianarchivist.bsky.social
210 followers 180 following 330 posts
Librarian, historical costumer, tea addict
fancymiscellany.wordpress.com
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victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Me in December: "you can do things after 6pm, you know."

Also me:
Elderly Steve Rogers saying "No, I don't think I will."
December 5, 2025 at 11:21 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Anyway, time to share some art. Finished this after letting it languish in the UFO pile on and off for 2 years. Mid-1890s, made in silk taffeta and cotton velveteen.
A blonde woman takes a photo using her phone in a mirror. She wears a floor length dark green skirt with black trim, and an 1890s bodice with purple velvet sides and big puffy sleeves, and a green silk center front and lower sleeves. The look is topped with a black velvet belt at the waist.
December 1, 2025 at 9:47 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
I'm re-reading @georgetakei.bsky.social 's They Called Us Enemy for book group and I want to scream? Why aren't we all screaming??
A panel from George Takei's They Called Us Enemy, about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, depicting an illustration of an official named Mr BOWRON at a Congressional hearing. The caption reads "testified before Congress that we were 'nonassimilable'." A screenshot of a November 27, 2025 Stephen Miller quote Tweet in which he says "this is the great lie of mass migration. You are not just importing individuals. You are importing societies. No magic transformation occurs when failed states cross borders. At scale, migrants and their descendents recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands."
November 30, 2025 at 11:50 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Everything I am learning about trouble shooting and fixing up cheap sewing machines I am learning against my will. Apparently wanting to run sewing classes means you WILL be a sewing machine mechanic.

Librarians ye be warned.
A disassembled sewing machine sits on an office table. It is in several pieces and lies on its side. Various screwdrivers and tweezers are nearby.
November 24, 2025 at 9:48 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
When I'm watching myself start to spiral as the SSRI wears off because it's almost time for the next dose.
Spongebob props himself against a cave wall with one hand. His eyes are concerned, his lips pursed, and his cheeks puffed as he tries to catch his breath. His expression can best be described as "whew, I ain't touching that." He wears no pants, square or otherwise.
November 20, 2025 at 2:27 AM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
A photo of Regina George from the movie Mean Girls. The text on the photo reads "so you agree, housing IS a right"
November 14, 2025 at 1:50 AM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Anyway, palate cleanser post. Go do something with your hands today. I'm hand sewing button holes onto this:
A burgundy Victorian-era gown on a dress form stands in the middle of a room, surrounded by sewing machine, sewing box, and other tools. The gown is made in velvet, has a long train with pleats on it, cream trim on the cuffs and collar, and gathers that cascade down the back of the skirt.
November 3, 2025 at 2:57 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Ralphie from The Simpsons wears a cardboard, taped together hat. He proclaims "I'm a engineer!"
October 16, 2025 at 11:45 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Oh, no, I'm obsessed.
A mint green Labubu toy sits on a gridded sewing table, surrounded by a spool of thread, stacks of fabric scraps, and a pin holder. He is tangled in a measuring tape.
September 27, 2025 at 7:04 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
No new pictures, where are you mentally?
Two stylized, illustrated kittens wearing bows stare toward each other, but also off into space. Orange kitten asks "How are you doing?" White kitten answers "The rage consumes me."
September 10, 2025 at 11:26 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
It's "well, you look ready for Halloween": "sir, these are just my normal clothes" season. (I wear weird stuff to work, part 6).
A blonde woman takes a selfie in a full-length mirror. She is wearing a high-low skirt in black with buttons down the front, belted with a pointed silver buckle, a black blouse, and a black wool Tudor-style jacket open in the front. A tiny black and white dog stares from the bed behind her.
September 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
"Without downloading any new images, where are you mentally?"
A still image from That 70s Show. Eric's mom smiles awkwardly. The image is captioned "*laughs uneasily* I'm just... I'm so very nervous."
August 27, 2025 at 12:32 AM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Case in point:I woke up to all kinds of posts about potential tsunamis after the Russia earthquake and then what reel does FB suggest to me? AI of a fake wave destroying fake coastal houses.
Screenshot of a FB newsfeed with suggested reels. The primary suggestion is a video of a wave, shaped backward from how waves actually break on shore, breaking into a beach full of beach houses and completely swamping them. It is obvious it's an A.I. video meant to garner views due to the recent tsunami warnings following the earthquake off the Russian coast.
July 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Bro, do you even lift? Or do you just carry two 15lb shopping baskets full of books up and down the stairs a few times a day bc the library elevator is down for replacement and these New & Popular books aren't going to process themselves into the regular stacks.
A blue shopping basket sits on a parcel scale, on a carpeted floor. The basket is full to the brim with books and the scale reads "15 pounds."
July 24, 2025 at 1:32 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
The female gaze
Frodo Baggins, looking softly at Samwise Gamgee as he says "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam."
July 20, 2025 at 4:51 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
An astronaut looks at earth from space. Superimposed on the earth is a Tweet from Donald Trump that reads "STOP TALKING ABOUT EPSTEIN!!!!!" The astronaut states "he must think we're idiots." A second astronaut points a gun at the unsuspecting first and says "he always has."
July 16, 2025 at 12:44 AM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
My dog acted like a tiny dragon and I started making a bodice out of this skeleton toile fabric.
A living room scene, depicting a couch arm, an Ikea arm chair, a side table and lamp. A tiny black dog lays on the arm of the couch. His face is turned toward the camera, and his tail curls over the throw pillow, giving him the appearance of a dragon perched upon a hoard. A partially-assembled sewing project made of black-on-white fabric. The fabric print is a toile style, but all of the human figures have skull faces. Red pen marks, blue basting stitches, and sewn boning channels are visible.
July 11, 2025 at 7:28 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Touched some grass this morning (or, weeds, which I ripped out so they'd stop choking my creeping thyme) and discovered that my speedwell was NOT actually eaten by moles and is coming back!
Beat up, 18 year old Converse All Stars sit on a rug next to gardening gloves and a small rake... thing. Two delicate speedwell stems, just beginning to develop tiny purple flowers, are highlighted by a hand in a gardening glove while the sun shines on the mulch behind it.
July 4, 2025 at 2:36 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
If you need me, I'll be the white-blonde woman in all black, handstitching in the corner at #ALA2025
A photo of a lap, clad in black, with a patterned bag and panel of fabric on top. The panel of fabric has stitchlines drawn on and a needle and thread stuck through it. A badge that reads "ALA Annual Conference" is just visible.
June 28, 2025 at 12:22 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Well since we all need to go touch grass and experience something real, here's an 1885 dress I finished today. It doesn't fit my dressform, which is most of the reason it looks a mess (but probably not the entire reason).
A light blue plaid linen dress is displayed on a dressform in front of a green wall, and standing on a blue and white rug. The back of the same light blue plaid linen dress. The back of the skirt is bustled and the fabric drapes gently.
June 22, 2025 at 7:44 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
May you know the joy of being a safe place for some creature.
A small black and white dog is curled carelessly on a person's lap. They sleep peacefully, as if they have never had a single care in the world.
May 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Let's jump into the end of #memadeMay and also make it a I Wear Weird Stuff to Work pt. 5, yeah?
Linen skirt from 1900 pattern; black wool waistcoat from Tudor-era pattern; linen blouse of my own design.
A woman with long blonde hair takes a selfie in a mirror. She wears a long black pinstriped skirt, a black blouse, and a black jacket, open at the front to reveal a linen natural-colored lining.
May 20, 2025 at 10:04 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
#bloomscrolling
#flowerreport
White azalea flowers fill the entire frame of the photo.
May 15, 2025 at 10:00 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
#flowerreport
#bloomscrolling
Light pink flowers on the tips of a sparse bush.
May 9, 2025 at 9:52 PM
victorianarchivist.bsky.social
Everyone online: "stock up on your OTC meds and stuff that has Asian-made components."
Me: *buys 3.25lbs of tea*
Two large 1 pound bags and 5 small 4 ounce bags of loose leaf tea sit on a table, arranged as if they were contraband seized by law enforcement.
April 29, 2025 at 11:51 PM