What are men compared to rocks and mountains...?

For I have learned
to look on nature, not as in the hour
of thoughtless youth: but in hearing often times
the still sad music of humanity,
nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
to chasten and subdue. And I have felt
a presence that disturbs me with the joy
of elevated thought; a sense sublime
of something far more deeply infused,
whose dwelling is in the light of setting suns,
and the round ocean and the living air,
and the blue sky and in the mind of man;
a motion and a spirit that impels
all thinking things, all objects of thought,
and rolls through all things. Therefore am I still
a lover of the meadows and the woods,
and mountains; and of all that we behold
from this green earth; of all the mighty world
of eye, and ear-both what they half create,
and what perceive; well pleased to recognize
in nature and the language of the senses,
the anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul,
of all my moral being.
-William Wordsworth

New Project

Okay, so I have been doing some Englsih Country Dancing every other Tuesday night and I have decided to make a few Empire dresses (or Regency as they are also known) to dance in and to just plain ol' dress up in. :) To those of you who are still confuzzled, I am making a few dresses that look like they walked out of a Jane Austen movie. They may look similar to Jane's dresses in Pride and Prejudice. I sketched out my designs and I wanted to post them all to so here we go.

Here is the first one. The main dress (underneath) is a simple day dress with a drawstring neckline. It will be out of a cream of light colored fabric with a faint/small print. It will have cupped sleeves. The outer part (jacket) buttons beneath the bustline with two fabric covered buttons out of the same fabric. The jacket will be either a pale green or a ligth blue/grey. I haven't decided yet, however I will take suggestions. The back of the jacket has three sets of double pleats, (Sam, Allison: The kind on the side of my long gown), giving it a very full back.

Because this is a day dress, it can be worn with or without the jacket. It instantly becomes a dress you would wear to a dinner party with the jacket. If you don't wear the jacket, you could put a bit of ribbon around the bust line for a sash to make a whole other dress.

Dress #2

For this dress, the jacket is worn again, but we have a different day dress worn underneath. This dress is very rouched and the front crosses over, clasping with a fabric covered button. The fabric is a very light weight gauzy kind and will probably be white. The sleeves are just above the elbows. This dress can also be worn without the jacket and with a ribbon/sash. This one is designed to be a ball gown or dressier one when worn without the jacket.

So there you have it! My teo new projects for the end summer/early fall. I hope to buy the fabric soon, so please make any suggestions asap. I wanted these dresses tio be very versatile. With the jacket, I get four dresses instead of two! Let me know what you guys think!

Scratch That

Okay, scratch the whole polonaise thing. Maybe I'll get around to it someday, but now I am making a BEAUTIFUL regency gown in the rust colored linen. If you have seen the Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley, it's the dress she wears when they dine with Mr. Collins, and when she goes to Pemberly to meet Georgiana. I can't wait! I love these "princess" dresses.