More Kimono Jackets and Missing Buttons

I sold another jacket on Etsy. I am so pleased how well they have been doing. Here's a picture of the next lot:



I was going to show pictures of the little buttons I embroidered for a top I am sewing for Ivy. One has Chu-Toto from Totoro, one is a makuro kurosuke and one has an acorn. Unfortunately, I think Ivy took them to play with, as I had sat them next to the sewing machine and they are now gone. I am hoping she will be able to tell me what she did with them, but since she has taken to saying "not me! Me sister did it!" I am not that hopeful. It's not that bad, I am already thinking of ways to improve the embroidery, should I have to do them again.

I really like how there seems to be an illustrative affect in a lot of Japanese crafts. I don't know if that's the best way to explain it, I mean that things don't have to be perfect, they can look like a sketch. This has helped a lot with my embroidery, something I previously thought I wasn't very good at because I was trying to duplicate something that was printed on cloth. It's sort of like going out of the lines in a coloring book. Some people might think it looks messy, but it can also look original. Some of the Japanese embroidery I see in my books almost looks as though someone colored outside of the lines, but it still looks great. Does that make sense?

Most people reading this blog won't fully understand what a drastic haircut I have finally given myself. Since December I have slowly been cutting off my halfway down my back hair. It was only long because I never could find time for a haircut, and I wanted a change. After three months of standing in the bathroom with various cutting implements, I ended up with this:



So at least now you know what I look like>