Complete in Thee: Regency

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Regency

Regency Era: the years from the 1790s to the 1820s, mainly in Europe. To me, "Regency" means beautiful dresses and hairstyles, social classes, Pemberly, Hartfield, Norland, and, well, in short, Jane Austen! :-)

I love everything Regency! Mainly my love for it is inspired by the excellent books by Jane Austen, and some of the delightful movie renditions of them...

Lately I have taken up sewing (or attempting to sew) my own Regency wardrobe. :-) But you kind of have to work from the inside out, so I started with the chemise, which is like a slip, and is also called a shift... I learned so many new skills while sewing it, such as sewing gussets in sleeves, making a bias, and sewing flat felled seams! (Thank you, Mrs. Smith! :-) )

Then the short stays... which are a mild form of a corset, basically-- softer and shorter. It was a big project, and lots of fun, especially applying the boning. :-) I finished that on Monday, but haven't gotten a picture of them. Unfortunately, they were a little big on me, but fit Amanda, so either I am going to have to make a new pair or try some other option. At least, it only took me a week to make, but still... that was all afternoon every day but Sunday! :-P

Below is the basic look of the stays, only these aren't the ones I made. The pattern is from Sense and Sensibility.

Well, once I find a solution to the stays problem, I will, Lord willing, make the dress. The pattern I have is from Simplicity, but the same pattern can be gotten from Sense and Sensibility (link above.) In cutting out the pattern pieces for this dress, I have decided I like working with the Sensibility much better than Simplicity-- I say that in case you decide to buy the pattern yourself. Of course, your taste in may vary from mine. :-)

I've also tried a hairstyle inspired from the films, particularly Elinor in the new "Sense and Sensibility" (BBC). Here's Elinor:

And here's me:

Hmm... needs some improvement in the back where it wraps around. How do some people manage to make their hair (or others') so nice?

Well, I don't know whether or not to say this post was totally pointless... but it's fun for me and thought you might like to know what's going on over here in between Sundays. :-)

I hope you are all enjoying the beauty of God's creation and the joy of a blooming spring, inside and out. May the Lord "grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being..."

12 comments:

Lilly said...: O, how fun and pretty! I too very much enjoy that era and it might also have something to do with a few movies.; April 2, 2009 at 1:25 PM
Your Mama said...: What a blessing it is that the Lord has given you a desire to sew now. I rejoice in seeing you apply yourself to hours of concentrating on how to do a good job... and I know you desire to do it all to the Glory of God.; April 2, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Pure Little Ladies Ministry said...: How lovely!!! Simply beautiful!! I recently bought a regency-style nightgown pattern and was all ready to start cutting when...realized that even though it said "XS, S, M, L, XL" on the front it REALLY was the "L, XL" sizes....not the small one that I needed. =S Ack!

You know what would go really pretty with that?? Go check out my blog (HSB, not Blogspot)!! ^_^ I'm trying to make a sale for Mrs. Brown's buisness, "Bundled in Prayer" and the thought of nightgowns made me think of...*shhh*!! You'll have to read my post to find out. ^_^

Lotsa Love!!
Toria
P.S. Tell Amanda that her post about the judge/April Fools was AWESOME!! I tried to comment but wasn't sure it went through...
P.S.S. Tell Bethy I LOVED all the pics up at D.b.D. as well. ^_^ Thanks...; April 2, 2009 at 9:51 PM
juli said...: That looks so good Melanie!; April 3, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Teddy said...: Melanie! That is so cool! I especially love your hair-you'll have to show me how you do it sometime. I keep trying to do something like that with my own hair, but my hair is so heavy everything always falls out. Keep up the good work!; April 3, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Amanda said...: Fun! =); April 3, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Ana said...: How beautiful!! :) I love Jane Austen and regency outfits!; April 4, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Leah said...: I love the regency era! :) Hurray for your sewing projects! :) I made a regency dress once. I was quite happy with it, except for the fact that it cuts off the blood circulation on my arms! Hm... maybe it's a bit small....

I LOVE YOUR HAIR!! It is so beautiful...; April 5, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Melanie said...: Toria,
That is funny about the pattern! ;-) I looked at the shawls... those would go really well! :-)

Teddy,
Let's get together sometime and I'll do your hair! It helped for me to curl it at the end so I didn't have all these little sticks sticking out of the bun. :-) Your hair is a different consistency than mine though... but we can but try! We'll do each other's hair while we watch Cranford. ;-)

Leah,
What pattern did you use for the dress? I'm going to be doing the Simplicity version...; April 5, 2009 at 7:36 PM
Teddy said...: Ooo! I like your thinking Melanie-jolly good show!; April 6, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Leah said...: I used the Easy stitch n' save by McCall's #M5563 view b. It's not labeled regency but it looks pretty close to me! :); April 7, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Amanda said...: Thanks for the stays, Melanie! ;-); April 7, 2009 at 2:09 PM

PRAYER REQUESTS

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

PLEASE PRAY...

* That I would draw nearer to God every day and never allow my relationship to become stagnant ritual; particularly that I would grow in the area of submission, patience, 1 Corinthians 13 love, and wholehearted devotion

* That I might have wisdom as I edit "The Marquis' Daughter"; that the Lord would bless and work through it; and that I might find just the right publisher for it.

* That I would submit to the Lord's work in my life, whatever it may be; that I would take each opportunity He brings me (even the seemingly hard ones) to draw closer to Him and point others to Him

*That our Etsy shop might be successful and that it would be a means by which we can glorify God and share the Gospel

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

"The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go than they care about getting there?"

"God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to."

"If God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing."

"Obedience to God's will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God's will that brings certainty."

"Victory over all the circumstances of life comes not by might, nor by power, but by a practical confidence in God and by allowing His Spirit to dwell in our hearts and control our actions and emotions. Learn in the days of ease and comfort, to think in terms of the prayer that follows, so that when the days of hardship come you will be fully prepared and equipped to meet them."

"And shall I pray, Oh, change Thy will, my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
Ah no, Lord, no, that never could be, rather
I pray Thee, Blend my human will with Thine."

"A crucified life cannot be self-assertive. It cannot protect itself. It cannot be startled into resentful words. The cup that is full of sweet water cannot spill bitter-tasting drops, however sharply it is knocked."

"And as we rest our hearts upon what we know (the certainty of the ultimate triumph of good), leaving what we do not know to the Love that has led us all our life long, the peace of God enters into us and abides. And then we see our light."

[A Practicing Christian]...it means that every single act and feeling, every experience, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be referred to God. It means looking at everything as something that comes from Him, and always looking to Him and asking His will first, and saying, "How would he wish me to deal with this?"

Christ says: "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you."

"I was not born to be free. I was born to adore and to obey."

"What is saving but taking us out of the dark into the light? There is no salvation but to know God and grow like Him."

"I will not try to convince you of anything about God. I cannot. You must know Him. I only tell you I believe in Him with all my heart. You must ask Him to explain Himself to you, and not take it for granted that He has done you a wrong because He has done what you do not like. Whether you seek Him or not, He will do you justice. But He cannot explain Himself unless you seek Him."

"Sometimes a thunderbolt will shoot from a clear sky; and sometimes into the life of a peaceful individual, without warning of gathered storm, something terrible will fall. And from that moment everything is changed. That life is no more what it was. Better it ought to be, worse it may be. The result depends on the life itself and it's response to the invading storm of trouble. Forever after, it's spiritual weather is altered. But for the one who believes in God, such rending and frightful catastrophies never come but where they are turned around for good in his own life and in other lives he touches."