Daughters of Longbourn: Part 2

Getting from this…

… to this took about two hours.   This is the other “ME” project (besides the Civil War Bride quilt) I am currently working on.  It was fun to add a few more stitches to my Jane Austen sampler.

I know it’s corny, but Pride & Prejudice is my all-time favorite fiction.  I read that book regularly.  I opened up my Windows Explorer the other day, and saw that my technical support guy (aka husband) has re-named my hard drive.  I thought it was pretty cute:

“Jane’s Fame” by Claire Harman is a great read if you are interested in an analysis of Jane Austen’s work…

I stumbled upon “Following Jane” – Discovery of Jane Austen from a guy’s point of view:

Going back to my sampler, this is what I am striving for:

Thanks for stopping by.  I wish you lovely day! :)

Daughters of Longbourn: Part 1

This is a meager showing of my progress on Daughters of Longbourn. But I have had a great time stitching it, and I feel like doing a Jane Austen post! :) I am not using the charted Crescent Colors threads. I am using DMC to substitute as best as I can:

Pride & Prejudice is one book I read over and over AND over again. I normally would randomly flip to a chapter and just read for leisure. I love the wit in this book.

“Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develope. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.” (Pride & Prejudice Chapter 1)

Who is your favorite Longbourn character, my dear readers?

Here are a couple of favorite Austen links [Warning: they can be addictive]:

Republic of Pemberley

Jane Austen Today

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your visit. Have a good one.

Happy Birthday, Miss Austen!

Today marks the 233th birthday of Miss Jane Austen! I think I am more a Pride and Prejudice fan than a die hard Austen fan. But I do greatly admire Miss Austen for being the author of my all-time favorite fiction, and for making a mark for herself as an acclaimed novelist during her life time, and continues to do so posthumously.

Though probably less known for her other womanly pursuits, Miss Austen was by no means a wimp when it came to quilting and needlework. The famous Austen quilt in Chawton House is a quilt many quilters aspire to accomplish. I think Miss Austen would definitely make Mr. Darcy’s notion of an “accomplished woman”, don’t you?

So, to celebrate Miss Austen’s birthday, I will be working on my “Daughters of Longbourn” today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Miss Austen! Before you leave, I thought you might enjoy some of these Austen quotes:

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”

“Nothing is more deceitful than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast.”

“My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.”

“What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.”

“What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned! How sure to be mistaken!”

Austen Book Talk

Having been brought up and trained in Science, I am by no means a literary person. I am not schooled in classics, but I am most definitely a Pride & Prejudice fan! I came across “Just Jane” by Nancy Moser that I can’t wait to crack open:

I had thoroughly enjoyed “Washington’s Lady”, and am anticipating a great read in “Just Jane”. So, with a cup to tea, I shall proceed to the nearest chair to start on the book! I love to hear from you if you have read “Just Jane”.

Thanks for popping by! I hope you are having a splendid day!

Getting ready to start…

… on another quilt using the PARK LANE fabrics by RJR. The quilt will be featured in “The Quilter” later this year:

Meanwhile, I finished Book 4 of “The Chronicles of Pemberley”, and started on Book 5. I was told Book 5 is the last one. I am a little sad because I will surely miss following the lives of the Pride and Prejudice-inspired characters as I have in the past few weeks.  I have truly enjoyed the wholesome and uplifting Pemberley Chronicles books!

I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend.  Mine was slow and relaxing.  I need to catch up on some work this coming week.  I will be quilting the Christmas quilt — will show you pictures later!  Have a great week, y’all!

Needlework: My “McMansions” Project – Part 11

At long last, my Gameboard Sampler is looking more like a sampler in that the alphabets have finally emerged:

I try to squeeze in some stitching time everyday even though I would normally only get a few stitches in. But with every stitch I put in, I am one stitch closer to the finishing line! :) You can see that the neighborhood is sporting some new critters – a squirrel and a bumblebee:

When I get a few moments with my hands free, I have also been enjoying Book 3 of the Pemberley Chronicles, “Netherfield Park Revisited”. This book is mainly about Jonathan, the son of Charles and Jane Bingsley, and his purchase of Netherfield — the place that held sweet memories for his parents:

Have a productive day, everyone! I will catch up with you later.

Needlework: My “McMansions” Project – Part 10

I made a little bit of progress on the Gameboard Sampler last night:

You can see the construction of the fence around the neighborhood has begun:

On another note, I was able to check out Book 2 of The Pemberley Chronicles “The Women of Pemberley” from the library. I can’t wait to get started. This book picks up from where the first Chronicles book left off, and ushers us into the Victorian era. That’s as much as I know for now:

Have a Terrific Thursday, Everyone. I will catch up with you later!

Needlework: My “McMansions” Project – Part 8

Happy Monday, Everyone! I had a bit of a time to squeeze in a few more stitches on The Sampler Gameboard:

I have a bit of a “bird’s nest” on this house — as I made a boo boo. So, I am in the process of un-stitchimg to rectify the situation:

***

Also, I have an update on “The Chronicles of Pemberley”. Some of you have asked me last week if I liked the book. I didn’t know the answer back then because I hadn’t read the book. I started on the book over the weekend, and found it to be a very delightful read. So far I am into about 80 pages — my summary of the pleasantly executed plot is that the happy ending of “Pride and Prejudice” just got happier. Chronicles mainly picks up from after the marriages of Jane and Elizabeth, and focuses on their lives thereafter. The usual suspects of the original Pride and Prejudice are woven into the story with mastery, with the addition of new characters. I have also enjoyed the snippets of life for the gentry class prior to pre-industrialization in Great Britain.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope your week got off a stupendous start!

A “barely” noticeable progress…

I am still working away on my “Family Tree” fabrics – I am about 1/3 done out of the 25 blocks. I didn’t think I would have time to work on other fun things, but the opportunity presented itself two nights ago after we returned from a Memorial Day bar-be-que and after our “after-dinner” guests left…. I managed to do a bit of cross-stitching before bedtime. I was glad to be able to wield my needle for even just a little bit. I will show you the before and after the “after-dinner” guests pictures:

Before:

After:

Meanwhile, these are the books I am planning to read for the next few weeks. Reading introduces me to meet people I would never be able to meet. Reading transports me to places I know I will not be able to visit. Reading expands the horizon of my exposure. Reading is a love of my life…

“I cannot live without books.” ~ Thomas Jefferson, 1815.