Jane Austen and wise words...

In keeping with my plan to include one 'quote' pattern in every new issue of the Stitchery Club I chose to embellish a soft country garden scene around Jane Austen's wise words in an August design...

Are you an Austen reader?

Blossom and I are ardently Austen girls...

Persuasion is my favourite of her novels and has been re-read a few times but I am yet to read Northanger Abbey, though Blossom informs me she has read that particular novel three times so I'd best pull my vintage leatherbound tome off the shelf and acquaint myself with it!

After all, the novels are always better then the movie and I've seen that five times.

I've read Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion and Emma...loved them all.

Mansfield Park has not enticed me yet (watched the movie and wasn't really hankering to read the book afterwards) but it will be read eventually just so I can give it an honest appraisal.

The quote I've chosen for my stitchery is a good one don't you think, one to make you ponder your own character. It certainly has me pondering mine.

(you'll find it in Sense and Sensibility)

This pattern and a few others will be inside the August issue of The Stitchery Club. 

More info and photos over here.

Now that I have my breadmachine right near the kitchen and not hidden away in a dark corner under the sink (our kitchen is small with not much space to have appliances out) I've been veering from my favourite doughs of times past and playing around with new ones, especially those in Paul Hollywood's books.

I tend to use the breadmachine for kneading the dough and the first rise, but then prefer to punch out the dough and place in a tin for the second rise...

...before baking in the oven.

This loaf is called the "Bloomer" and was excellent!

This week I've also made foccacia, hummingbird cake, risotto and spiced apple gingerbread, and had the joy of serving a tasting of each to our lovely guests, Janice and Mick, who are on a bike trip around Australia and stopped to stay the night with Mr E and I on Thursday before hitting the highway again...

Janice and I met through blogging in 2008 but this was our first face to face meeting. 

The men talked motorbikes and we chatted about sewing, vintage things, homemaking and life.

It was a lovely evening and we hope one day to travel down to Bathurst and visit them too.

Janice had made me a lovely gift parcel, such pretty things...

...and I especially loved the gift tag. 

Isn't this enchanting?! I have it hanging in my sewing room as a reminder of our meeting. 

Janice's tag has inspired me to make my own gift tags in future (thank you Janice).

It's been quite a big week and I'm a bit depleted physically but that's given me a nice excuse to potter quietly in the sewing room over the weekend, watch a movie or two with Mr E, and perhaps start reading Northanger Abbey at last.

Oh, and as I've given the rest of the foccacia and hummingbird cake to Blossom and Ross I should probably do a spot of baking for Mr E's work lunches next week.

What are you creating this weekend?

I do hope it puts a smile on your heart...

hugs

Quilting and Austen...

Yesterday I decided that waiting for winter to arrive before basting and hand quilting "at the heart of it all" is taking too long. Almost three weeks into winter and with the air conditioner humming in the background I decided I had to make a start (I'm also an optimist so am hopeful the cool change we've been told is coming will in fact arrive this time)...

 I hand basted the three layers taped across and over my dining table in long blue running stitches in a grid of 4 inch squares, using the 2 inch squares of the quilt blocks as my guide...

It took two hours to complete the basting and my back was aching from bending over that long, so I took a morning tea break with Miss Austen...

A few weeks back Blossom and I went shopping for readable formats of dear Jane because my beautiful little leather volumes are very small with tiny font, and we like to sit back and read with ease these days.

I've started Mansfield Park and Bloss has chosen to re-read Sense & Sensibility.

Tea cup washed and cake crumbs dusted from my gold rimmed plate, I began the hand quilting with my favourite white Perle 12 thread...

An hour a day is my plan.

Until it's complete...

I think Jane and hand quilting are a perfectly genteel partnership...

hugs

Jane Austen...

 I have been taking life a little slower this week after our huge road trip last weekend, and for me there is no better way to bring 'slow' to my thoughts than a little bit of Jane Austen.

I own most of the film and BBC versions  of Jane Austen's books so each day has involved my choosing one version over another to watch while I stitched or ironed.

Tuesday was "Persuasion" and I simply had to favour Rupert and Sally as Frederick and Anne  - in fact I watched the final scene twice because it's so incredibly moving.

True love is a gift to cherish deeply...

(which is your favourite Persuasion?)

Wednesday was time for "Sense & Sensibility".

I thought I'd have a hard time choosing between these two...

...but as I carried the ironing board into the living room I realised that I simply do not like Hugh Grant. In the 2008 mini-series Daniel Stevens (later to become Matthew in Downton Abbey) brings Edward alive, something Hugh couldn't do for me.

I also prefer Hattie Morahan over Emma Thompson as Elinor.

 However, I do think Alan Rickman is the better Colonel Brandon so if I had a magic wand I'd do a little switching and swapping around and get all the actors I like best in one version...

Today it's going to be a coin toss because I love both of my "Emma" movies!

I think though, that the one on the right might just pip passed the post.

I'm pondering the idea of designing a set of Jane Austen inspired stitcheries. I wonder if I could?

What's your favourite Austen?

hugs