Christmas 2010!!!!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas equipped with all the festivities, family and fun. I had a very blessed time with my family and I got a lot of awesome things this Christmas that I'd like to show you all :)

BOOKS
The past couple of years, I have been receiving books for the majority of my presents. I have an Amazon Wishlist and from it I received:

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Fashion in Detail by Susan North

and 

The Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail by Lucy Johnston

Both these books are from the Victoria and Albert Fashion Museum collection and are really fascinating. I love being able to see individual stitches, minor flaws (that make me feel better about my work), and simply the wonderful detailed photographs/descriptions of the garments. The only thing to make them better would be to have photos of the whole garment instead of really up close ones. The book is great though. I'm soooo glad I have them now!

The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900

and

Corsets and Crinolines both by Norah Waugh 

These books are just wonderful. I got a used/older version of the Cut of Men's Clothes and a new version of Corsets and Crinolines but I couldn't be happier. These are definitely must-haves.

After a Fashion: How to Reproduce, Restore, and Wear Vintage Styles 

and

The Edwardian Modiste: 85 Authentic Patterns with Instructions, Fashion Plates and Period Sewing Techniques

both by Francis Grimble

 I knew these would be great the moment I saw them. Last year I was happy to get Francis' book: Reconstruction Era Fashions and to say the least, It's fantastic. After a Fashion is chock full of very useful information for me since I'm quite a novice at just about everything. I was looking at some of the chapters in it just thinking "Oh, that makes sense now!" and the like. Very good book. The Edwardian Modiste is also good. I find it funny that each fashion plate has a pasted face on it. 

Heirloom Embroidery by Jan Constantine

This was a surprise book my mom happened to find. I keep telling her that I want to start embroidery so she got me a book on it :) I love my mommy.

Spencerian Penmanship by Platt Rogers Spencer

Another endeavor I would like to start on is my handwriting. I would like to write well and beautifully. I think of all my books I got, this present got the biggest reaction from me. This is something I'm dying to start on.


OTHER THAN BOOKS
Apart from all the awesome books I got the following things:

Young Victoria

This movie is superb. I seriously love it.

Return to Cranford 

How can you go wrong with a period miniseries? You can't. Especially if it's from the BBC. My brother and I bought Cranford (and other series) 

The whole show is just so darn adorable. Judi Dench plays a really caring/naive character, which is soooo refreshing compared to her role as M from 007, which is pretty rigid. The series is definitely one worth watching.

Pennywhistles!

I recently played an original arrangement of O Come, O Come Emmanuel at my church a few weeks ago. I decided I wanted more of them (they're fixed key instruments) so I got 4 new ones in keys other than D so now I can play WHATEVER I WANT :D

I also got a Yarn Carrier, Truffles, a 9-headed Dragon Incense Burner, a SnapFish photo album of my boyfriend and I, a LIGHTSABER UMBRELLA, some clothes, a springform pan, and some moneys. It was a really blessed Christmas to say the least. I received way more than I was ever expecting. OH YEAH!!! And I got a necklace that belonged to my Great-Grandmother.

Isn't it pretty?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!!