Elizabeth Bennett

We love Book Week in our house.  I do probably love it more given that the amazing Sister 2 takes complete responsibility for outfitting A1 and A2 for Book Week- well almost complete, this year I did make three contributions to A1's Book Week attire.  A1 loves reading- it is genetic.  Such is our excitement for Book week- we plan outfits very early on in the year.  Last year, A1 couldn't decide between Laura Ingalls and Elizabeth Bennett.  Sister 2 did some research and found a lovely child's Regency dress pattern that helped the decision along.  Unfortunately, Book Week was cancelled last year and A1 had to wait a whole year to wear the beautiful dress Sister 2 made her- and in the intervening period she started reading the Harry Potter books.  It was touch and go for a little while as to whether she would go as a character from Harry Potter, but she (wisely and correctly) thought that there would be heaps of kids dressed up from Harry Potter, so Elizabeth Bennett it was.  Luckily Sister 2 had made the dress with a decent hem, and our mother helped with some ideas for lengthening the dress so that it still fit!

A1 has read an abridged children's version of Pride and Prejudice, and has seen both the film and the BBC miniseries.

Sister 2 also trimmed this bonnet- called the Elinor bonnet- which she got from the Jane Austen Gift Shop.  It is also usually still quite chilly here during Book Week, and so she also made a Regency Spencer to keep A1 warm.  Two of my contributions feature in the Spencer- one is the fabric, a lovely wool from Addicted to Fabric, and some fabric covered buttons you can't see here- they are on the front of the Spencer.

My final contribution to the transformation of A1 into Elizabeth Bennett was the hair.  I googled "regency hairstyle tutorials" and came across a blog named Rapunzel's Resource which features tutorials for hairstyles in the movie Emma.  I adapted one of the hairstyles as A1 has quite thick hair, and when I did it in a full bun the bonnet didn't fit properly- so I did half up half down.  A1 was incredibly patient while I jammed 19 bobby pins in to her hair to keep it all up- along with the promise that she could get her hair cut short as soon as Book Week was over.

The Elizabeth Bennett dress will get plenty of use- friends have already asked to borrow it for the next Book Week parade for their daughter, and as with anything for A1 it will likely end up being worn by A2 as well.  The girls are so lucky to have such a talented auntie who has passed on her love of books and Book Week to them. 

A1 had a fabulous Book Week.  Sister 2 came to visit and we all enjoyed the Book Week parade immensely.  There were some amazing creations, some stand outs were Max from Where the Wild Things Are, and Saphira from Eragon.  And there were lots and lots of Harry Potters but I think that is fantastic- they are amonst my favourite books in the whole world.  There were even a Bellatrix, a Narcissa and a Hagrid!  And I kept my promise and A1 now has very short hair!

This month I am reading

So Bron has a bloggy book club.  I have resisted joining so far because I have the unfortunate habit of self-sabotage when it comes to reading.  That sounds odd I know, but this is how it goes.  I pick up a book, start to read, cannot put it down, and stay up way too late reading.  I get super grumpy with anyone who dares to interrupt me.  When I read, it becomes an obsession.  An obsession that has been known to end at 4.00am on occasion.  It is a sad thing that I do not have the willpower to turn this literary self sabotage into a healthy wind down at the end of the day as I settle into slumber.

I do read quite a lot when we camp.  It doesn't impact my sleep patterns as much because I get sick and tired of holding the torch up to my book.  Another reason I am resisting a kindle where I wouldn't need a torch to read...

So the long and the short of it is that I limit my reading so I can get some sleep.  But I've fallen off the wagon in the past week and finished both The Constant Princess and The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory.  Thankfully I only stayed up till midnight a couple of nights reading them both.  I will probably start the third book in Phillipa Gregory's Tudor series The Boleyn Inheritance this week sometime.  I have been really interested in anything Reformation this year after reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel at the beginning of the year.  I can honestly say its one of the best books I have ever read.  One of the reasons I am enjoying the Tudor series as the stories are told from the female perspective.

I was lucky enough to get the whole Tudor series from Chelle for my birthday, and also the television series of The Tudors on DVD.

Other reading in our house at the moment- A1 is reading The Mary Poppins Complete Collection by A.L Travers (in preparation for a special girl's birthday treat coming up soon!) and A2 and I are onto the third book in the Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton.  I know already that the literary self-sabotage gene has been passed down to A1.  I suspect A2 has it also...

Distracted

Last year I crocheted A2 a blanket for her birthday.  I usually work best to a deadline, and it was completed on time.  This blanket is very similar to the blanket that Chelle and I made and gave to our grandmother for her 85th birthday last year, except instead of using Woolganics wool, I used wool from the Bendigo Woollen Mills that we picked up on our famous road trip to Daylesford.  The blanket (known affectionately as "Snuggly") is sometimes on A2's bed,  often in A2's bed, sometimes dragged around the house, sometimes wrapping up dolls, sometimes being used as a roof for a fort- unlike Granny's blanket which is draped over the chair opposite her chair so she can look at it whenever she wants to.

I know that right now I am supposed to be completely concentrating on A2's birthday quilt, but for some reason all I can think about is crochet.  My obsession is evident by the increasing number of crochet images I've been pinning.  And not at all helped by the arrival of four balls of stone wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills last week.

I can't blame the weather.  It has been absolutely gorgeous here for the past few days.  Today is just about the best day because my real job working week finished yesterday and I've opened up the house to let the fresh air in, got loads and loads of washing dry and it feels like Spring.  I know that winter is set to return tomorrow, but this burst of warmer weather has given me the motivation to see the rest of winter out.

Anyhow, I think I must answer the call to crochet.  Maybe its because Chelle has been so industrious in progressing her own blanket that has got me all crochet crazy.  My plan is to use the leftover wool from Granny's blanket and A2's blanket to make a woolly scrappy blanket for myself.  I've gathered the leftovers together and I think it will look pretty good.

We are planning a longish camping trip when the weather warms up a bit and I think this will be the perfect camping craft to take along with me.  But for now- back to the battle with the double gauze...