oliver...oliver twist!

wow. hey there! life is kind of crazy, huh? 

one of the biggest things i've been working on that i'm excited to share with y'all...is my job as costumer for "oliver!" at the artisan theater. i'm not going to lie...it was a massive job...and i still can't believe i agreed to it (but i'm so glad i did). it was such a HUGE learning experience...and i met some incredible people. 

it was my first time driving to the artisan (alone) several times a week (a big deal for me). i got my own key to the costume shop (eep!). i handled everything from taking measurements, purchases, constructions needs (i got a little help with that one), and putting ALL of the costumes together. luckily a couple of my friends (and my awesome mother) pitched in at fittings (otherwise...i would have died), costume parade, and tech week.

such a fun, rewarding, HARD experience. yay for tackling challenges!

i'll share production photos and the review the costumes got soon (so exciting)!

meanwhile...

xo,

rebecca jane :)

guest post - jane austen and sewing

i feel oh so honored to introduce a guest poster on the blog today!! shannon winslow, the author of the pride and prejudice sequel "the darcy's of pemberley" (a book i have read and throughly enjoyed) has put together a post that has to do with two of MY big loves: jane austen and sewing.

Thanks, Rebecca Jane, for inviting me to make a guest appearance here on Sewing in the Past! I’m delighted to say hello to your readers. And I never pass up an opportunity to talk about two of my favorite subjects – writing, and Jane Austen – around which I’ve built a blog and a burgeoning career as a novelist. For this post, I’m happy to add sewing to the mix. 


So, what does Jane Austen have to say about sewing? 


As a reliable source of timeless wisdom, I naturally started my research by asking her opinion on the subject, expecting to find dozens of references in answer. After all, learning needlework was part of every girl’s upbringing in Austen’s day (1775 - 1817), and I was sure I remembered it being mentioned in her writings. But when I did a search for “sew,” I came up completely empty! The term wasn’t used even once in any of her novels or preserved letters. How was that possible?


A little more digging and I had my answer. The subject is mentioned, only using different words. A maid is described as working well at her needle, for example. And whenever a lady is said to take up her “work,” that’s her current sewing project – something decorative, utilitarian, or something done for charity.


Mrs. Allen, while she sat at her work, if she lost her needle or broke her thread…she must observe aloud, whether there were anyone at leisure to answer her or not. (from Northanger Abbey)


I found this charming quote in a letter Jane wrote to her sister Cassandra in 1808: “I wish I could help you in your needle-work. I have two hands and a new thimble that lead a very easy life.” 



She also wrote a poem to accompany a gift she made for a friend when she was barely sixteen:

This little bag I hope will prove 

To be not vainly made

For if you thread and needle want

It will afford you aid.

And as we are about to part 

T’will serve another end,

For when you look upon the bag

You’ll recollect your friend.

Wouldn’t you have loved to be the recipient of such a special gift? 


From Jane Austen’s words on sewing, I moved on to my own. Sadly, I found I hadn’t even alluded to that noble occupation in my first novel, The Darcys of Pemberley, (a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, which was published last August). I had better luck when I searched my short story, Mr. Collins’s Last Supper (now available exclusively for Kindle). Therein Charlotte Collins is said to have laid her sewing aside upon the arrival of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. And in another place, she settled in the parlor to address herself to some mending. 


The reference to sewing that tickles me most, though, comes from my second Austen-esque novel, the soon-to-be-published For Myself Alone. The heroine, Josephine Walker, confesses in the opening chapter that she was a trial to her governess in her youth – not very studious and a bit of a tomboy to boot. In truth, she’s still not enthusiastic about the role assigned to her as a woman. She says with sarcastic overtones:


“Nevertheless, to her great credit and my parents’ supreme relief, Miss Ainsworth somehow managed to equip me with all the basic skills society considers essential for a lady of my station.  Thus, I can play and sing passably, hold my own in trite conversation, pour tea without disaster, and do every kind of needlework imaginable.  Still, although the word is often very liberally applied, no discriminating person would be tempted to call me truly accomplished.”  


Poor girl! Will she never learn to love sewing in all its variety as we do? Perhaps I should have made that a part of Jo’s story arc – “how a young lady comes to terms with her place in the world and finds fulfillment and true happiness through her relationship with her local fabric store.” A missed opportunity, I suppose, because instead I went with the more cliché happy ending: finding true love in the arms of a great guy. What was I thinking?
___________________
Visit Shannon Winslow at her website/blog www.shannonwinslow.com
Follow her on Twitter (as JaneAustenSays) and on Facebook

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

life is going way too fast for me right now. when you start having meetings about your highschool graduation (graduating class pictured above)...and you realize it's not that far away...there's a strange little feeling that starts creeping up in your stomach.

i took the spanish CLEP test last week and got a surprisingly good score! i officially have 6 hours of spanish in my back-pocket (and was ONE POINT AWAY from getting 12 hours). my first college test. eeek!

this weekend i have an interview for the presidential scholarship award at a college...aaaaaand a big audition for the theatre department there. i'm kind of terrified. then next month i have an audition for the music department at a different college.

by march, i'll have turned 18.....18!! is there an age past 18?? it seems like that's the last number i ever envisioned myself being...and here it is creeping up on me. april is the last cotillion (think prom...but not) at JOY as a highschool student. the theme is a 1940's USO tour...there will be much swing dancing. by may, my final JOY show (godspell) will be over and i'll be officially graduated.

cherishing these last few months and anticipating the next ones!

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

rebecca jane

p.s. i've renewed my passport...i'm ready for anything!

today.

today...i filled out 2 pages in my new journal. 

today...i started a new book.

today...i accidentally matched two of my best friends.

today...i wished my niece a happy second.

today...i discovered that my brother watches and likes "downton abbey."

today...i ate a cupcake.

today...i saw a really terrible play.

today...i saw a play that was so terrible it evoked "the ugly laugh."

today...i had starbucks with friends and reminisced about aforementioned terrible play.

today...i sang along to "on the street where you live"...in my man singing voice (it was beautiful).

today...i was so full, i made cookies.

today...was a very interesting day.

on obsessions.

i don't know about you, but i get obsessed very easily.

and when i'm obsessed...it's a really INTENSE obsession.

all i can think about. all i can talk about. all i can do.

i dream about it.

i write lists about it.

it's kind of unhealthy.

t.v. shows.

books.

food.

movies.

broadway musicals.

i'm good for nothing else until i get absolutely sick of it and unable to watch/read/eat said obsession for a very long time.

my latest obsession: sushi.

i had never tried it before and obsessed over researching a place to go get some.

i saw sushi EVERWHERE!

facebook. twitter. instagram. blogs.

and i had dreams about eating sushi.

i finally got some sushi...and i'm not going to lie...i didn't love it like i thought i would.

well...on to my next obsession: godspell (our next show at JOY).

do you obsess over things?

ta-ta!

rebecca jane

little letters.

dear new yellow galoshes...i love you.

dear sky...please rain.

dear friends...my giant reece's, mustache cup, and pretty wall decoration were perfect gifts. you know me well.

dear 2012...you're going to be the best year ever, i can feel it!

dear anthropolgie tea cup...i'm somehow okay with my sudden obsession with tea now that i get to drink it from you.

dear mom...watching lord of the rings with you is funny (his name is "saruman" not "sour man").

dear list journal...so much i love you.

dear hair...you've gotten way too long. after getting caught in someone else's teeth the other day, i think it's safe to say you need a little trim.

dear january 27th...you scare me. college audition AND interview on the same day? *can't breathe*

dear column awards...thanks for nominating the scrooge costumes for an award, this makes me happy.

dear applesauce...when all other foods fail, i know you're there for me.

dear passport...i'm ready for an adventure.

giving gifts is my favorite thing to do.

...especially when they're handmade tea bags with original tea blends made up and named after the person receiving the gift.

in love with this tutorial.

now that scrooge is over...and the holidays are over...i'm a little confused about what to do with myself. lately i've been working on my theatre portfolio, going through hundreds of pictures from 2007 to now...such memories! i've been so very blessed these last few years with amazing new friends i've met through theatre...especially this last year. 2011 was an incredible year and i'm so very excited to see 2012 unfold...it's held a special place in my heart my whole life...so i just know it's going to be swell!

xo, 

rebecca jane

p.s. HAPPY 2012!