Well, not me directly, I'm taking this on for all creative parents. Let me explain.
Next month the Olympics are coming to BC. My daughters school is really getting into the spirit. Each class has picked a country; S's class is Japan. They are going to have an "opening ceremony" type parade and each class is to have flags and stuff to carry in the parade to show which country they belong to.
Mr D (S's teacher) thought that someone carrying the flag wearing a kimono would be cool. So he asked if anyone had one. One's girls cousin does but she's not sure she can borrow it because it came from Japan and it's silk (silk seems to scare people a bit, I'm not sure why). Mr D was sad :-( and said that's too bad and it's too bad no one could make one.
HA said I when I heard that. (Coming from DD with that wistful look in her eye - she knows her Mom can't resist a sewing challenge, the smart girl.)
"I can make a kimono!"
In fact I've made kimono's before, they really aren't that difficult. They are just straight geometric shapes. Now, ask me to make full court garb from the Heian dynasty? That's hard! A regular Western influence kimono? Easy peasy! Like I said, I've made them before, albiet a long time ago in Unviversity but even then I don't remember them as being hard.
So this morning I did some research, found some great websites and soon I'll be off buying fabric. Of course I'll test it out on a sheet from the thrift store first. If that works it will become the white under-kimono that's usually worn.
Can't make a kimono? HA!
Great websites I'll be using here;
Simple sewing instructions
Wonderful pictures for dressing and tying the Obi
Lovely detailed pictures on dressing and tying an Obi with lots of styles of Obi
Friday, January 8, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Schedules are like roads
I was driving to work today thinking about how the day was a little messed up because my schedule was different; I hadn't gone straight to work, I had done some work in town first.
That made me think about a friend of mine commenting on my morning schedule and how boring that must make my life. I don't think so, I find comfort in my schedule; knowing that if I do things by a certain time in the morning I won't be rushed, I won't be yelling at my kids to get a move on.
And then I started thinking about how my morning schedule is kind of like my drive to work. I've been driving to the same job in virtually the same place for 19 years now (with some time off for maternity leave of course) and some people would consider that boring. But as I drove along I saw the swans that winter in the area flying over head. They were sooooo beautiful. And I saw a little bunny by the road; soooo cute. And then a shaft of sunlight hit the top of a snow dusted mountain; breathtaking.
And all of those are things I would have missed, had I not been comfortable with my regular drive. I like to think my schedule is working the same way; it lets the everyday things become the drive and the special moment I might otherwise miss is the swans and bunny and sun; all beautiful.
I think I'll keep my schedules.
On a totally different note I found this wild yarn at Walmart last night and had to buy someto try it out. It's Red Heart Pomp-a-doodle and it's like pompoms on yarn. See it here PompaDoodle
It came with a free pattern for a scarf and I started it at work today. I couldn't help myself! I just had to see! It's great. Now I'm thinking about making some for next years Christmas presents. It's so fun I can think of lots of people who would like one. Maybe I can make scarves a theme?
No actual sewing to report today although I am planning the next thing I'm going to sew.
I need to insulate some windows in the house with reflective batting window inserts. They'd be like curtains but they will velcro into the window frame to make the best seal. I plan to do at least one window in my bedroom and some in the big living room window. Those ones of course won't be sealed to the frame all the way around because even if I tried the cats would soon "deal" with that. The living room window ledge is a favorite spot.
That made me think about a friend of mine commenting on my morning schedule and how boring that must make my life. I don't think so, I find comfort in my schedule; knowing that if I do things by a certain time in the morning I won't be rushed, I won't be yelling at my kids to get a move on.
And then I started thinking about how my morning schedule is kind of like my drive to work. I've been driving to the same job in virtually the same place for 19 years now (with some time off for maternity leave of course) and some people would consider that boring. But as I drove along I saw the swans that winter in the area flying over head. They were sooooo beautiful. And I saw a little bunny by the road; soooo cute. And then a shaft of sunlight hit the top of a snow dusted mountain; breathtaking.
And all of those are things I would have missed, had I not been comfortable with my regular drive. I like to think my schedule is working the same way; it lets the everyday things become the drive and the special moment I might otherwise miss is the swans and bunny and sun; all beautiful.
I think I'll keep my schedules.
On a totally different note I found this wild yarn at Walmart last night and had to buy someto try it out. It's Red Heart Pomp-a-doodle and it's like pompoms on yarn. See it here PompaDoodle
It came with a free pattern for a scarf and I started it at work today. I couldn't help myself! I just had to see! It's great. Now I'm thinking about making some for next years Christmas presents. It's so fun I can think of lots of people who would like one. Maybe I can make scarves a theme?
No actual sewing to report today although I am planning the next thing I'm going to sew.
I need to insulate some windows in the house with reflective batting window inserts. They'd be like curtains but they will velcro into the window frame to make the best seal. I plan to do at least one window in my bedroom and some in the big living room window. Those ones of course won't be sealed to the frame all the way around because even if I tried the cats would soon "deal" with that. The living room window ledge is a favorite spot.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Testing Testing shhhhh
Be very quiet, I'm at work, testing to see if I can post from here. Not that I should and of course we all know I would never do it on work time, but I just had to see if I could do it!
And it looks like I can. ^grin^
Bad Librarian! No cookie! LOL
And it looks like I can. ^grin^
Bad Librarian! No cookie! LOL
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Only the buttons left
Just one more step to go and my Frugal pyjama shirt will be wearable. Yay! I managed to get almost 45 minutes of sewing snuck in today between visiting and laundry and grocery shopping. Of course I had to sacrifice the last hour of the Stargate Universe marathon but hey, that's what DVRs are for, right?
Once I get another slot of time the button holes should go quite quickly I just need to figure out where to put them. The buttonhole patterns never seem to work for me so I always have to play around. What I really need is one of those magical buttonhole spacer devices to help me out.
Sadly I don't have one of those :-(
Maybe I need to start a list of sewing tools that I need (ironing ham) or would *really* like (buttonhole spacer thingy) and hand it around close to my birthday. Hmmm.
Well that's it for todays update. Tomorrow it's back to school and work. The girls are really looking forward to going back to school. I can't say I feel quite as enthusiastic but I do miss some of my work stuff. It's going to be hard to get out of bed tomorrow morning after all the sleeping in we've done lately though. ICK! ick ick ick.
Once I get another slot of time the button holes should go quite quickly I just need to figure out where to put them. The buttonhole patterns never seem to work for me so I always have to play around. What I really need is one of those magical buttonhole spacer devices to help me out.
Sadly I don't have one of those :-(
Maybe I need to start a list of sewing tools that I need (ironing ham) or would *really* like (buttonhole spacer thingy) and hand it around close to my birthday. Hmmm.
Well that's it for todays update. Tomorrow it's back to school and work. The girls are really looking forward to going back to school. I can't say I feel quite as enthusiastic but I do miss some of my work stuff. It's going to be hard to get out of bed tomorrow morning after all the sleeping in we've done lately though. ICK! ick ick ick.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
An afternoon full of sewing
Ahhh, a quiet day, how I loved it! I did some reading, some laundry (sadly real life intruded but you can't win them all) and got some sewing done! Yay!
The Frugal Pj's aren't quite done but I got a lot accomplished today.
Neck band on and facing on neckband, sleeve band on sleeves and sleeves on body, edge stitching done to hold stuff down on facing and sleeve bands and I got the side seam started. I'm still not sure about the length so I didn't sew the side seam to the bottom. I want it farther down than it is but I don't think I want it to the bottom. I've marked 12 inches from where it is now and will sew that up tomorrow and see how I like it.
My thought right now is sew the 12 and then make the hem like a curved shirt hem. I think that will suit the sort of "old fashioned night shirt' type of feeling this is giving me.
In lieu of photos of the shirt/pj's in progress here's the fabrics I'm using where they're from and what they're being used for.
From top to bottom;
2 years ago (all of us, I cut apart my pants) for one front, and one sleeve.
C's last year for the back and the neck band.
S's this year for a front and a sleeve band
C's this year for a sleeve and a sleeve band.
On the side is a cut apart pair of pj pants from quite a few years ago. I only used that for the front band facing. I needed a long strip so pants I don't use seem like a better idea than piecing a couple of strips.
Pretty this shirt will not be, but warm, functional and frugal it will!!!
The Frugal Pj's aren't quite done but I got a lot accomplished today.
Neck band on and facing on neckband, sleeve band on sleeves and sleeves on body, edge stitching done to hold stuff down on facing and sleeve bands and I got the side seam started. I'm still not sure about the length so I didn't sew the side seam to the bottom. I want it farther down than it is but I don't think I want it to the bottom. I've marked 12 inches from where it is now and will sew that up tomorrow and see how I like it.
My thought right now is sew the 12 and then make the hem like a curved shirt hem. I think that will suit the sort of "old fashioned night shirt' type of feeling this is giving me.
In lieu of photos of the shirt/pj's in progress here's the fabrics I'm using where they're from and what they're being used for.
From top to bottom;
2 years ago (all of us, I cut apart my pants) for one front, and one sleeve.
C's last year for the back and the neck band.
S's this year for a front and a sleeve band
C's this year for a sleeve and a sleeve band.
On the side is a cut apart pair of pj pants from quite a few years ago. I only used that for the front band facing. I needed a long strip so pants I don't use seem like a better idea than piecing a couple of strips.
Pretty this shirt will not be, but warm, functional and frugal it will!!!
Sometimes not sewing is satisfying too.
Not a bit of sewing got done yesterday, not even a thought of it really.
Well maybe a thought or two, after all I *did* get to the fabric store and I did buy stuff, and I bought other sewing related stuff in other places too.
Hmmm, maybe the day was more sewing related than I thought.
We got up very late yesterday, I think staying up after midnight might be at fault there ;-) I'm not even sure of the last time I stayed up that late.
At 10:30 or so we went to go pick up C from her NYEve sleep-over. Only she and her step-sister were awake when we got there and they sure hadn't been up long. They hadn't gotten much sleep either. Seems they all decided to stay up as late as they could - 6 am or so! Yikes! Ah, to be young again. I can (vaguely) remember staying up all night until the next morning; it seems so long ago.
After picking C up we headed up the freeway to do some returns. C's shirt from AD was just a wee bit too small. The XS size from the Gap works for her in stretchy shirts but not in woven material.
We had the funniest time at the Gap while the poor clerk wrestled a bit with his computer which refused to accept that the shirt was on the gift receipt. He was funny and he won in the end.
C was too bleary eyed to find something new at the store (they were sold out of the ruffled shirt in her size....actually every size but 1 in XS) so we just got a card and we'll go back when she's had more sleep. Gift cards are a great motivator for me to get out of town (not something I do a lot!)
We signed up for a new card system and notification thing from the Gap while we were there. I'm hoping we'll find out about new stuff and sales so we're reminded to go back and use the card.
Our next stop was The Body Shop. What can I say? I'm addicted to Satsuma! So we picked up a couple things and the girls in there were so fantastic they even gave me a Canadian membership thingy for free when they couldn't make my US one work. It's sad but I get to The Body Shop in Bellis Fair lately more often then the closer one down the road. Yikes, I need to get out more!
Then we wandered over to Sears to see if they had anything that might inspire me to use my gift card. Well, no griddle pans to use on the stove (I'm thinking 2nd hand store for that) but I did find a load of kitchen stuff I needed/wanted and most of it was on sale!
Plus I decided that a new set of scissors wouldn't go wrong either. I love my rotary cutter but sometimes a girl just needs scissors!
I still have some room left on my card so I'll be back for mor picture frames later (they had a pitiful selection....lots of frames for Christmas presents I think)
Then we drove home, dropped the sleepy C off and S and I headed out to the local mall to try and do an exchange for BFF. No luck there so I have another gift card in my purse. LOL
Our next stop was Value Village. I've been doing a lot of reading about vintage sewing and patterns etc and it's a good fit for me since I was already collecting vintage sewing books for fun before so I decided to see if VV carried patterns....I had no idea, as I've never looked before!
Well sure enough they do and some sewing books too!
So I picked up these 4 patterns (although I have no idea what I'm going to do with them!) and a new book for my collection.
The skirt and scarf pattern appear to still be in the factory folds from a cursory look.
I got the 1952 copy but they had a newer one there as well. 1959 maybe? I can't quite remember. If it's still there the next time I go back I might get it, just to see what the differences are. It was only $3 so why not?
After VV we headed out to the fabric store. I need buttons for my Frugal Pj's. I looked but I just don't have enough of the right size :-(
I also wanted to see what kind of deal they had going on Christmas fabric. I've been thinking about gift bags and have been reading about using fabric to wrap so I wanted to see if I could get some material for it. I didn't find a lot but at 70% off I managed to find 4 I liked.
Well maybe a thought or two, after all I *did* get to the fabric store and I did buy stuff, and I bought other sewing related stuff in other places too.
Hmmm, maybe the day was more sewing related than I thought.
We got up very late yesterday, I think staying up after midnight might be at fault there ;-) I'm not even sure of the last time I stayed up that late.
At 10:30 or so we went to go pick up C from her NYEve sleep-over. Only she and her step-sister were awake when we got there and they sure hadn't been up long. They hadn't gotten much sleep either. Seems they all decided to stay up as late as they could - 6 am or so! Yikes! Ah, to be young again. I can (vaguely) remember staying up all night until the next morning; it seems so long ago.
After picking C up we headed up the freeway to do some returns. C's shirt from AD was just a wee bit too small. The XS size from the Gap works for her in stretchy shirts but not in woven material.
We had the funniest time at the Gap while the poor clerk wrestled a bit with his computer which refused to accept that the shirt was on the gift receipt. He was funny and he won in the end.
C was too bleary eyed to find something new at the store (they were sold out of the ruffled shirt in her size....actually every size but 1 in XS) so we just got a card and we'll go back when she's had more sleep. Gift cards are a great motivator for me to get out of town (not something I do a lot!)
We signed up for a new card system and notification thing from the Gap while we were there. I'm hoping we'll find out about new stuff and sales so we're reminded to go back and use the card.
Our next stop was The Body Shop. What can I say? I'm addicted to Satsuma! So we picked up a couple things and the girls in there were so fantastic they even gave me a Canadian membership thingy for free when they couldn't make my US one work. It's sad but I get to The Body Shop in Bellis Fair lately more often then the closer one down the road. Yikes, I need to get out more!
Then we wandered over to Sears to see if they had anything that might inspire me to use my gift card. Well, no griddle pans to use on the stove (I'm thinking 2nd hand store for that) but I did find a load of kitchen stuff I needed/wanted and most of it was on sale!
(the cute little non-kitchen tool in the picture is our little tabby Zoe)
Plus I decided that a new set of scissors wouldn't go wrong either. I love my rotary cutter but sometimes a girl just needs scissors!
I still have some room left on my card so I'll be back for mor picture frames later (they had a pitiful selection....lots of frames for Christmas presents I think)
Then we drove home, dropped the sleepy C off and S and I headed out to the local mall to try and do an exchange for BFF. No luck there so I have another gift card in my purse. LOL
Our next stop was Value Village. I've been doing a lot of reading about vintage sewing and patterns etc and it's a good fit for me since I was already collecting vintage sewing books for fun before so I decided to see if VV carried patterns....I had no idea, as I've never looked before!
Well sure enough they do and some sewing books too!
So I picked up these 4 patterns (although I have no idea what I'm going to do with them!) and a new book for my collection.
The skirt and scarf pattern appear to still be in the factory folds from a cursory look.
I also wanted to see what kind of deal they had going on Christmas fabric. I've been thinking about gift bags and have been reading about using fabric to wrap so I wanted to see if I could get some material for it. I didn't find a lot but at 70% off I managed to find 4 I liked.
None are too cute or too Christmasy which I really wanted. I bought a metre of each except for the bottom one; I bought 2m of that one. It's just a plain deep red with a lot of quiet shine to it. I really liked it and with no print it's very versatile. I like that in fabric AND wrapping! LOL
All totaled my fabric trip was less than $20 and that included the buttons! I love sales.
After that S and I were pooped and headed home. We spent the rest of the night just lazing around and putting together a new "tower" (aka skinny bookcase) I had bought. It will be nice to get some more stuff organized.
Hopefully today will have more sewing!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year Everyone!
And may this year be better than the last!
I had planned to wish everyone a happy new year right after the clock ticked over to 2010 but some irritating neighbours with some (illegal here) fireworks prevented that. We had to go out and make sure the dog wasn't freaking out.
I didn't figure he would be but I'd rather be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to my animals.
All was good, and now all is quiet. Ahhhh
I don't make new years resolutions anymore, I don't like the pressure of them and I don't like the limitations either; why should I only make resolutions one day a year? So, no new year's resolutions for me to post today. Sorry.
I will say that I hope to blog regularly, to use my camera more this year and get more sewing, spinning and other crafty stuff done; maybe even some of it for me! LOL
Good night all and may 2010 be the best year yet!
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