Pride and Prejudice: 200 years

 "It is a truth uni­ver­sally ac­know­ledged, that a single man in pos­ses­sion of a good for­tune, must be in want of a wife.”- Jane Austen (The opening words from her 2nd novel, Pride and Prejudice.)

Today, January 28, 2013, is the 200th anniversary of when Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was first published.

It is a delightful story and a wonderful book.

One of the most loveable and quotable movies I've ever seen.

My favorite happens to be The 1995 A&E miniseries. But I really do love them all.

 It is our most favorite "sewing movie" because we've seen it so many times that we can turn it on and sew for hours and know exactly what's going on even without looking. It's beautiful and pleasant and the costumes are so inspiring.

 I also love the music.
And of course we had the 6 VHS set which had the Main Theme and Credits before AND after each episode. So it is one that I've heard many, MANY times. =]
It has so many memories attached to it... Tea parties, sewing days and movie nights with friends are what come to mind.
And notably...
Aunt K. singing "SLUUUUUUMBER DE-A' MAAAID...." which had all of us laughing hysterically and then running out of the room when certain brothers creeped us all out by doing the Mr. Collins wave. (You know who you are.)  :)

Ha ha! I thought this picture from Old Fashioned Charm was great (and oh-so-creepy)!

One day I'd love to make a doll size regency dress, maybe even a replica of one from the movie.
I am particularly fond of this costume:

Well, I hope everyone already loves this story as much as I do and if you haven't read or watched it yet, then you are in for an unparallelled pleasure!

  There's been all sorts of fun Pride and Prejudice themed posts and events on different blogs. For instance here is one: Elegance of Fashion: 200 Years of Pride and Prejudice. It is full of very interesting articles, pictures and some very fun comparisons of the different films and the like.



Thanks for reading!
♥Miss Emaline

A question of decor...

I have a question for you. 

All of you.  Members and Readers, all.

This is technically, not just my blog and I just want to make sure that everyone knows 

I want and need your input! 

I would love to know your opinion on things and what better way than to ask? 

This blog is FINALLY letting me do polls on the side bar... 

So I am going to just post one every so often so that you will have a chance to let your brilliant ideas and your concerns about this blog come to light!

 This does not mean that you have to bother at all about it, but it does mean that you can let me know what you'd most like to see or talk about or whether I should have scones with my tea or biscuits!

So, to start off with, something simple... 

When I change the background and header next...

What should be the theme?

1.Nature

2.Fashion

3.A particular era

4.A style...as in Victorian, Bohemian, French Country, Nautical, Royal, etc.

5. Literary..as in a particular book, story or character etc.

6. Anything you can think of!

These are just ideas or guidelines.
If you want, you can just vote on the poll or just leave a comment or both!

Anyone who wants to can suggest any type of theme or idea! And please describe it as much as you like.

If you don't see it numbered, just write it in a comment.

If you don't want to.. then, that's ok too. :)

Meanwhile, I am coming up with new ideas for future polls and posts!

All my Love, Emaline

sewing, sewing...

Here's a peek at what I've been sewing...  I'm making a late 1840's afternoon dress.

I've had the fabric for a long time and I've always known exactly what I wanted to make with it... So, I finally started it. The skirt is finished. *sigh*... :)

Besides my love of this era of fashion, my inspiration came from a paper doll book I have.

(Which you can find here on Amazon.)

The dolls and dresses in it are the original drawings from the magazines and so completely historically wonderful!

I was also inspired by this dress from Cranford worn by the inimitable Miss Pole.

 And the dresses from Martin Chuzzlewit.

And because I couldn't resist this picture.. My two favorite characters in Martin Chuzzlewit. =]

Sarie Gamp and Betsy Prigg

Oh, so funny! Elizabeth Spriggs is one of my most favorite actresses in the world. (She's on the left -- you probably know her as Mrs. Jennings from Sense and Sensibility -- but might not recognize her with that "..'eavenly dispogition..." as she would say.)  She is so brilliantly funny!
And that Mr. Dickens.. I declare!

I am busily working on my dress and am happy to say it is coming along nicely. I can't wait to show it to you!

Please tell me...

What have you been sewing?  

or even... 

been wanting to sew? I'd love to know!

I hope you are all well and happy!

All my love,

Emaline

happiness

"Come let us have tea

and continue to talk

about happy things."

~Chaim Potok

a place to rest and visit

Hello my merry friends!

I just wanted to let you know...

If you'd like to come to tea...

Here is a place we can sit, talk and knit.

 All of these amazing finds my Mother gave me for Christmas (Thanks Mum!).

Except for the Windsor Chair above and the lantern in the first picture (Thanks Sister!).

This. is. the. real. thing.

 A hand colored picture from an 1850's Godey's Ladies' Magazine.

Isn't it beautiful? It is now hanging in my bedroom so I can just gaze at it. =]

 Here's another gem from my Mum.

The

Well-Bred

Doll

A book that first came out in 1819, the year Queen Victoria was born.

I cannot wait to read it! It has the most darling illustrations!

Love to you all,

Em

The start of a new year...

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is having a happy time so far! 

We wont go into too many details but on the morning of New Year's Eve, the entire entry and dining room of our house was in about 1" of water.. so we had to clean that all up. Then the next few hours of our New Year's Eve were simply lovely... However the next morning our sewer system backed up and we spent several hours cleaning that up and our great Brother came over and had to dig our lawn out with the backhoe so he could figure out what happened and fix it. That also took several hours in the FREEZING cold. Meanwhile, we were all trying to get ready for our New Year party we had planned for the evening. Thankfully, he got it fixed and we somehow got dinner ready even though the house was in a state of disorder, and then had a splendid time with our family celebrating the New Year. =]

So, now that we have a few days to relax and I don't have to work on Christmas presents or clean the showers again (hopefully!), I am planning on doing some sewing and drawing and drinking tea. =]

What are your plans for the next few days? hmm? 

A Happy New Year to all, and I hope that this year brings joy and peace to your hearts!

Love, Em