Thrifted Lately

It's never too soon after Christmas to buy more Christmas music.

Just what I wanted - more Bing, and more choral music.

The piano CD will be good for my students.

One of my advanced piano students can use this book,

she is playing a Chopin Nocturne for 8th grade piano.

 

Laura will like playing from this one.

This book of sonatas is for me ... or perhaps one day for someone else.

Emily has this sax book already,

I might sell this on ebay,

to make another parent glad of a bargain!

I can probably make back the cost of all the

books I bought in that visit to the op shop.

I love that some days I can go into the op shop 

and find great sheetmusic for just $1.00.

I know for a fact that some of these books cost around $30.00 retail.

(This week I had to buy a certain saxophone piece.

No second-hand copies available,

No time to order in from the States, 

I had to buy it new in Australia

so that Emily can perform it in a few weeks.

$27.95 plus postage

for one piece, just 4 pages long!)

* * *

But the most exciting thing I found that day at the op shop

was something I've been looking for, 

and waiting for,

for about 17 years:

My very own copy,

for just $1.50,

and enjoyed just as much now

as when I read it once on loan in 1996!

(When I was too much of a 

cheap-skate to buy it new for $29.95)

* * *

What have you found at the op shop lately?

Jane Austen Curls

Laura requested "curls at the front" the other night, and so headed off to school the next day with quite the Regency look. So cute, but not quite right with her sports shirt ... I still couldn't take my eyes off her!

Jane Austen Dress

At last I am getting round to posting more about my Jane Austen Party. Here I am in my dress!
I bought the dress at an upmarket sort of thrift store (op shop) for $15.00. I was so excited because it fit me and was almost full-length crushed silky looking fabric, with a sheer layer above. With a few alterations it would be perfect! With inspiration from here I began my transformation.

I wish I took a "before" photo, but I forgot until I was part way through cutting! This is what it looked like at that point:


You can see that the neckline was very high and plain. I cut a square neckline with my rotary cutter, and sewed over it to finish the edges. Then I sewed on top some lovely braid (given to me in a bundle of goodies by Linda). The moment I saw this braid I was hoping to use it for this purpose. It was perfect, because it meant that the dress and my bonnet from last year could coordinate - the colours of the braid matched the bonnet perfectly!

I stitched some strips of matching ribbon at the sides just under the bust and threaded through more braid, which I tied at the back to create an Empire line. I also gathered in the sleeves a little to look more "puffed". My dress was complete!

Here I am on the night of the party:

I bought a peacock feather and stitched it onto side of my bonnet, but it doesn't show in the photo. The colours of the feather matched the dress perfectly, so I ended up with coordinating bonnet and dress. I found some jewellery I already had, and my fan and shawl I used last year, plus some flat pink ballet-style shoes to complete my outfit. I actually find an Empire line dress very comfortable, and would love to wear it all the time (except I would look continually pregnant LOL!)

Jane Austen Party gifts.

I was completely spoilt at my Jane Austen 40th birthday party with the most beautiful gifts. Earrings were a favourite choice (which I am very happy about!) and I hope to photograph them soon. Some gifts were particularly appropriate to the theme of the party and these are the ones I am sharing in this post.

My good friend Marianne embroidered my "name" on a handkerchief. This in itself was a beautiful idea, then I looked inside.


Around the edge of the handkerchief she had embroidered "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." - the opening sentence, of course, of Pride & Prejudice. Inside this precious parcel was a pair of beautiful pearl and silver earrings.


Some of the girls in my bible study grouped together and gave me this gorgeous tea cup and saucer, handmade and handpainted, from T2. I feel completely elegant drinking from it, it is such fine bone china. They also gave me a selection of T2 teas, a lovely gardenia candle in a jar and the DVD of Bride & Prejudice- lots of Bollywood fun! Lovely gifts from them all.

Jacqui gave me a most beautifully wrapped gift. Because their was no wrapping paper in the Regency period, she wrapped my gift in fabric and lavender.

Inside was a most unique gift which also seems to fit the theme very well, in a rustic old-fashioned kind of way, a lovely garden stake.

We used it today to mark out our new vegetable plot, and it was perfect for the job.
(I did the fun marking out with the stake and Steve did the actual digging!)


This lovely little mirror case from Anne looks like something Jane Austen would have loved:


I think without a doubt the cutest gift I received was from Amy, who sewed me this gorgeous Jane Austen doll.


How cute is she? Amy told me she was very fiddly to make, as I can imagine. I appreciate so much her hard work and creativity - it's not often I am given handmade gifts (except from my girls, of course!)

So you can see that I was very spoilt and how much I love these gorgeous gifts.
My friends are good to me.

Pride & Prejudice Puppets

Meet Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett:

They will be making an appearance at my Jane Austen party tonight.

Until very recently Mr Darcy looked like this:

... but a night with felt, needle and thread soon put him to rights.

Elizabeth just needed a new bonnet.

They are both looking forward to their outing tonight - it's not often they get to come out of the wardrobe these days.

How to make Marzipan - tutorial

Today I learnt how to make marzipan. I never realised it was so simple!

For my Jane Austen birthday party tonight I mixed up a batch and coated it in chocolate. Here's how:

Combine in a bowl:

1 cup ground almonds
1 cup(or a little over) icing sugar (confectioner's sugar?)

Then add gradually, checking how much liquid you need:
2 egg whites
about 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

Stir until they form a dough. Refrigerate for 30mins and then use as desired.

I desired to make Chocolate Coated Marzipan so this is what I did next, with Laura's help:

Shape teaspoons of marzipan into balls.

Melt some dark or cooking chocolate in a small pyrex jug in the microwave.

Dip the balls in the chocolate (using small tongs) and stand to dry on waxed paper.

Decorate with a flaked almond or other decoration.

Enjoy!

Jane Austen Party - let the fun begin!

In about 10 days I will have a "significant" birthday, and to celebrate I'm holding a Jane Austen party! Last year I had a Pride & Prejudice Party with some friends just for the sake of it, and it was so much fun I'm going to do it again, bigger this time, for my birthday. Over the next 2 weeks I'll be showing you what I'm doing to plan and prepare.

These are my invitations, stamped with the gorgeous Stampin' Up! Brocade Basics set (retired). I love how they turned out. Especially when I see them en masse like this!

A School Excursion & Another Bonnet

Today Laura sets off on a school excursion to a couple of historic homes, dating from the 1820s (that's about as historic as things get in Australia). She had to dress up, so on Friday night, just before our (hugely successful) school fair, I quickly threw together a Regency bonnet similar to this one I made last year. Only this one wasn't made from a handbag!

I cut a large circle of fabric and gathered the edges with a large running stitch, and then attached half a hat (left over from my bonnet), stitched over the gathering stitches with some stitches to hold it together, and attached ribbons on the side. It's pretty wonky but time was of the essence and it will have to do!

I must say there is something incongruous (and distracting!) about making a bonnet while the intended wearer is watching High School Musical 2 in the background!

Anyway last night we curled her hair and this morning, before rushing off to band practice snapped these photos of the finished result.


She is wearing a white blouse under a white sundress - I considered sewing a dress specially, but have been so busy the last few weeks that I didn't have time, and I know she wouldn't wear it again if I had sewn something, so this was a good solution. The dress is a good length and the overall shape is almost right for a Regency era costume. Of course she is supposed to be a convict so she is a very well-dressed convict, I should have dressed her in rags ...

In a few minutes I'll go and pick up her flute and make sure she gets on the bus ok ... unfortunately it is a miserable raining day here, but I'm sure they'll have a great time. We visited the same house a couple of years ago, so I can picture her in this cozy 1800s kitchen:

I know I could spend a couple of hours there quite happily!

Oops better go and get her on that bus ...

Pride & Prejudice Night: Activities

I realised that I never finished my series of posts on my Pride & Prejudice night 2 weeks ago. I thought you might like to hear what we actually did on the night.

This was the program:

On the visitors' arrival we had punch and admired each others' costumes. The girls had all gone to so much trouble with their dresses, even those who chose not to come in Regency dress had worn pretty dresses. They were also kind enough to bring me flowers, chocolates and some contributions to the food, which was nice. I had planned to have hot apple cider, but it turned out to be a hot day and night so I sent my long-suffering husband out in the afternoon to buy drinks for punch.

Here's a photo of me and my friends. Of course in real life they all have beautiful faces but I thought I should protect their privacy! You can see that some of them are wearing lovely Regency-style dresses, some of them bridesmaids dresses.

Then the fun began. I divided the girls into 2 teams – the Bennets and the Bingleys
and we did this quiz on Jane Austen, I read out the questions and they discussed the answers in their teams. Since I had recently read a book about Jane Austen I did well on this test but the Bennets and Bingleys had more troubld on the night!

One of the main things we did on the night was to watch segments from the 1995 BBC production of P&P, so at this point we watched the opening, where the Bennets are excited to hear that Mr Bingley has moved to Netherfield, and we learn a little about class in England at the time.

Then we played a game I called "Know Your Place" I printed out names titles and ranks of Regency society (using this as a guide) and the teams had to put them in order of rank from the King to the Poor. This was pretty tricky but both teams did well.

Then we watched some more of the video - the ball scene, the part where Jane catches cold at Netherfield and she and Elizabeth stay there for a few days.

While there, Elizabeth has an interesting conversation with Mr Darcy and Miss Bingley about what constitutes an "accomplished lady" and this led to our next quiz "Are you Accomplished?" where ladies had to select from a list of possible accomplishments and add up their scores, which would show whether they were good enough to marry someone like Mr Darcy, or instead would have to live a spinster. I took the questions from Miss Bingley's list and also some of the other accomplishments mentioned in P&P.

The quiz began ...

Have you ever
Painted a table?
Covered a screen?
Netted a purse?

Trimmed a bonnet?
(at least I could tick that I have trimmed a bonnet now!)

Then we watched Mr Darcy have a bath, Mr Collins arrive, and Elizabeth and Darcy dance at the Netherfield Ball.

Then came one of the highlights of the night, where we actually learned the dance that appeared in the movie (well actually, we simplified it for the sake of not spending the whole night learning it) and danced it with our resident violinist playing the tune used in the movie! So much fun. The girls loved this and this is what they were all talking about at church the next morning!

Then we watched in agony as Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth. Thank goodness I never received a proposal like that!

I read some production trivia from the making of the BBC version we were watching.

We watched the section where Mr Darcy arrives at Rosings, and then when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth.

Then it was time for Supper which was enjoyed by all.

It was fun then to watch other Mr Darcy proposals - Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and then Matthew Macfadyen and Keira Knightley.

We returned to the BBC production to see Elizabeth visit Pemberley, and then I had some Regency paper dolls for them to take home and cut out. (these are lovely if you want some yourself)

The rest of the plan for the night was to see Bingley & Jane become engaged, and then to play a game called " Ready for Mr Bingley" where the ladies have to sloth about doing not much but when someone sees Mr Bingley coming they quickly have to find their needlework, or moral reading, compose themselves and stand with dignity when the servant announces their visitor. Unfortunately it was a bit late by now, and one of my Regency ladies had to go home to feed her baby, so that was the end of the night. Those who had not watched the video before had to take our word for it that Darcy and Elizabeth did finally become engaged!

So that was my Pride & Prejudice night. It was lots of fun! It was funny when we got to church the next day, to hear my friends' husbands (who weren't at the party) telling me what a good party it was! They were all a bit tired, their wives had kept them up all night chattering about the party.

Maybe I'll do Emma next. LOL

Pride & Prejudice: My Costume

When planning my Pride & Prejudice night one of the first things was to work out exactly what I would wear. I would have loved to attempt something from here, but there was not enough time, and who knows how it might have turned out?

Working on a cotton/muslin day dress sort of idea I looked at what I already owned and managed to find a costume in my wardrobe!

A cotton blouse with lace, embroidery and puffed sleeves

+ white cotton skirt

+ a pretty cotton nightie with embroidered yoke

+ a bolero style cardigan (later changed to a shawl because it was a very hot night)

+ a few metres ribbon

= one Pride & Prejudice costume!

I wore the blouse under the nightie (they turned out looking identical in colour), the skirt as a petticoat (since the nightie is very fine) and a ribbon tied under the bust for an empire waist. The shawl was recently given to me by Mum, she didn't want it and it turned out to be perfect for the costume. I had gloves for dancing (from the $2 shop) and a wooden fan (also the $2 shop) and my bonnet I made last week, and some pink ballet-style flat shoes.

So altogether my costume cost me only $12.00, which I was pretty happy about.

Pride & Prejudice: Regency Desserts & Delicacies

These are the desserts I made for the Pride & Prejudice Party.

For each dessert I made a label explaining about the food and its history, which were on the table on the night.

Chocolate Cream (pictured above) (really just like chocolate mousse - soooooooo rich and yummy) This is an original Regency recipe:

"Take a pt of cream with a spoonfull scrapt chocolate boyle them well together mix with ye yolks of 2 eggs & thicken & mill it on ye fier then pour it into your chocolate cups"

But I used a regular recipe containing dark chocolate, butter, eggs and cream - pretty similar.

Bakewell Tart

The Bakewell Tart was supposedly invented at The Rutland Arms in Bakewell. It is claimed that Jane Austen stayed there in 1811 and she based Lambton in “Pride and Prejudice” on the town.

It contains ground almonds, jam and lemon - delicious. I even made this in a gluten free version and it still worked! My icing came out a bit wonky though ...

Trifle

Original recipe from Jane Austen's sister-in-law Martha Lloyd:

"Take three Naple biscuits. Cut them in slices. Dip them in sack. Lay them on the bottom of your dish. Then make a custard of a pint of cream and five eggs and put over them. Them make a whipt syllabub as light as possible to cover the whole. The higher it is piled, the handsomer it looks."

Instead of following that recipe (having no "sack") I made a cake (gluten free - usually I buy a jam roll) and used bought custard, jelly, peaches and cream.

Cheesecakes (top tier)
"Our journey yesterday went off exceedingly well; nothing occurred to alarm or delay us... At Devizes we had comfortable rooms and a good dinner, to which we sat down about five; amongst other things we had asparagus and a lobster, which made me wish for you, and some cheesecakes, on which the children made so delightful a supper as to endear the town of Devizes to them for a long time."

—Jane Austen writing to her sister Cassandra, Queen's Square, Friday (May 17) 1799

These little cakes don't actually contain cheese. They are a pastry tart with cake mixture spooned on top (plus a little raspberry jam). On top of that you make a little cross with 2 twisted pastry strips. These looked very effective and charming, but on the night they tasted a bit dry.

Eccles Cakes (lower tier)

"In 1793 James Birch’s shop on the corner of Vicarage Road in Eccles began selling small, flat, raisin-filled cakes. They sold, quite literally, like hot cakes!
Although traditionally made in the town from where they get their name, Eccles cakes are now famous throughout the world. As early as 1818 they were said to be sold "at all the markets and fairs around and are even exported to America and the West Indies".

Eccles cakes are like fruit mince pies made with puff pastry. I really liked these, and will make them again, maybe even at Christmas. The filling is currants and mixed peel. Yummy and so easy.

Besides all this we had Marzipan Strawberries and real strawberries. Strawberries feature in Jane Austen's Emma, particularly.

And here are my elegant guests surveying the feast and reading the little labels before helping themselves:

Pride & Prejudice Party: Getting the house ready

Last night I hosted the Pride & Prejudice Party. It was so much fun! I thought I'd write a few posts describing how I prepared for the party, what I wore etc.

To make our living room ready first we moved the furniture around a little to make more space, and I packed away all the girls' stationery, papers, books etc. which are normally (unfortunately) on view, as they don't have a proper desk of their own.

Then I cleaned and dusted, and packed away some photos and things, and then the fun part began. I used LOTS of candles, but I haven't taken photos of them all.

I found all my candlesticks and used them for old-fashioned ambience, and then I had some pretty tealight lanterns and holders scattered around.

On Friday night I held a concert for my Recorder Group (with another lady and her recorder group) - yes it has been a busy weekend! A lovely lady organised for her daughter and another girl to present us each with a bouquet of stunning roses, which we are still enjoying, and which were perfect for a centrepiece on the table last night.

I dug through my (extensive) doily collection and found an assortment which I used on every available surface, and put an old white damask tablecloth on the dining table.

I found this website and printed out some old illustrations of Regency ladies, and put them on the wall near the dining table, along with some other suitable postcards and cards I had.

Next post: Regency Desserts and other Delicacies

Regency Bonnet Tutorial

or ...

How to Thriftfully Turn a Reticule and Straw Hat into a Bonnet fit for Eliza Bennett

Should you find yourself with a spare hour or two, a velvet handbag and an old straw hat, you could try the following project, which was inspired by this tutorial. (and the instructions are much more detailed than these, but she didn't make hers out of a bag!)





My bag is made of (cheap) velvet and lined with a patterned cotton (op shop $4). When I saw it hanging in the opshop it already looked like a bonnet to me (but then I did have bonnets on the brain at the time. At first I thought perhaps I could cleverly manipulate the bag without cutting it up, by placing it just so, on my head. Loud guffaws of laughter from other members of my family told me this was not to be the case. So I preceded to do the following:


1. Cut the bag apart along the seams and remove lining. (If you look closely you will see by the little bits of red fluff everywhere that I had, in fact, cut the bag before taking the photo ... ah the dilemmas of blogging - to create first, or to photograph?)


As you can see my bag was already gathered, so I made this part the back of the bonnet. I handsewed a gathering thread along the opposite length of the fabric so now I had a piece of fabric gathered at both ends.


If you don't have an old bag to use then use a piece of fabric as in the original tutorial, and gather both ends, one loosely and one tightly.
Join the two remaining sides with a straight seam.


2. Now for the hat. Try tipping the hat back on your head and seeing how much of the hat you want to use.

Then mark and cut your hat (that's the scary bit)

If I was to make my bonnet again I would use over half the hat to make it. But now I have enough left over to make another bonnet, should the need arise. LOL

Now attach the fabric over the hat, sewing the larger gathered end right over the crown of the hat, and onto the brim, leaving as much brim as you desire. Again I handstitched this, stitching right through the fabric and the straw hat. At the back of the bonnet you can cover the other gathering (in my case the top of my bag) with a circle of fabric.




Cut the handles of your bag and attach them to the inside bottom of your bonnet as a bonnet ribbon, if desired, or use some thick grosgrain ribbon.


Decorate with little flowers made of grosgrain ribbon and a button. My hat ($2 at another op shop) was coincidentally trimmed with the right colour to match the rest of the bonnet but you could trim the edge of the hat too if you needed to.

The finished product.

A Regency bonnet for a total of $6 plus a bit of ribbon.

Now I just need to incorporate a lint brush into my costume so as I can keep it looking good on
the night!