Knitting While Intoxicated

Moving!

2007-06-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

This has been a surprisingly difficult decision, but I am moving my blog over to Typepad. You can continue reading about me, my family, unschooling and sewing over here

Purple Kappa

I wanted to be able to respond to comments and blogger doesn't offer such a feature. Also, when I first started this blog, I had intended it to be a knitting blog--hence the title. Now that I hardly ever knit anymore, and rarely am intoxicated, I wanted to create a different sort of blog. It's kind of odd, starting over. Rereading this one, there is a log of good stuff here, I am pleased I was able to maintain this. But I am enjoying the new space and hope you will join me over there.

Toys to Sew

2007-06-19T11:11:00.000-04:00

I was pleased to find Toys to Sew at the library last week

It has dozens of adorable toy projects, but the cloth doll patterns in the first half of the book aren't really my style so I had been resisting buying it.
Little houses--I think this is my favorite

Isn't the fabric used to make this great?

I like how the sections of the shell were pieced so they can purposely fray

The embroidered accents on the dinosaurs are a nice touch

Summer Days

2007-06-18T15:43:00.000-04:00

Shark Attack

Studying Japanese while sitting on the porch (didn't get much done, just a few paragraphs)

Cold soba noodles with cucumber, seaweed, pickled ginger and wasabi

A fairy has moved into our garden

The summer so far has refused to indulge me in one of my favorite things--thunderstorms. I keep getting little teasers, but nothing truly spectacular. Today is no exception. It must be nearly 90 degrees, just a few puffy clouds and haze. We played outside for a while, then sought refuge inside in front of the fans.

LIttle Red Rodent Hood

2007-06-17T17:12:00.000-04:00

I was actually holding this book in my hand yesterday, ready to buy it

But the line was really long and I had a four year old about to have a naptime meltdown, so back to the shelf it went. I'll pick it up on the next trip to the bookstore, we go often enough it won't be too long a wait. And it's probably best to delay the purchase, I already have enough projects going on right now as it.

This is going to be another dress for Ivy. The embroidery was inspired by a Japanese pattern for little red riding hood, but this is a mouse--Little Red Rodent Hood. She's friends with the wolf and intends to share her basket of goodies with him, so doesn't have to worry about any danger on her way to grandma's house.

This little guy needs a face.

The pattern is from this book. Still not sure about amigurumi yet. I always think it's going to be some quick little project and then it takes me the better part of a week to finally complete something. But it's the sort of thing I can work on while watching television, or take with me and work on in the car, or while the kids are playing at the playground.

Hedgehog dress

2007-06-13T23:46:00.001-04:00

New dress for my Etsy shop. Linen bodice lined with calico, calico skirt

Detail of the embroidery

Available Here

I was reminded of a funny story tonight. Coming home from Niagara Falls, we got a bit turned around in Buffalo, in a not-so-great neighborhood. We turned down a side street, and then turned again. Right on the corner was a house with a bunch of teenagers on the porch, one of them yelled something at us as we drove by. Probably something rude, I thought, especially since we were driving a shiny expensive (rental) SUV. Teenagers. I am mulling this over in my head as Brian continues up the street when I notice the signs and suddenly it all makes sense. "Wrong way! He was yelling wrong way! Pull over!

Parade the Circle

2007-06-09T18:45:00.001-04:00

Every year we attend Parade the Circle and every year it gets more and more crowded. At least this year the weather was perfect--blue skies, sunny but with a breeze to keep everything cool.

These are anemones, part of an underwater procession

Giant griffin puppet. His legs were attached to long sticks and jointed so it could look as though he was actually walking, his wings flapped and his beak could open and close.

Anyone can participate in the parade, there are children, people in wheelchairs transformed into wonderful costumes, a huge variety of performers. There's music and food and it's just a lot of fun--although I grumble about the crowds every year. We used to get food from the many different stalls but it's expensive and the lines are always very long so now we bring lunches.

Here is Ivy, decked in her finery and dancing to some steel drums. She's wearing a monkey headpiece from a Halloween costume and a sequined choli and skirt from India.

Thunderstorm and Amigurumi

2007-06-08T15:37:00.000-04:00

Bah. About an hour ago the skies got very dark and it seemed as though a perfectly lovely thunderstorm was going to come sweeping through. I could hear distant thunder and even smell the rain. But before even a drop of rain fell, it all must have blown over because it's sunny and blazing hot again.

Ooh, wait, maybe there still is hope. The wind is picking up again and I see more dark clouds.

I was out a little too late with friends last night and now, despite several cups of coffee I just don't seem to be able to get moving. We've got a pretty busy weekend ahead of us so I think I am just going to declare today a lazy day. Ivy's been talking to me non-stop since about 9AM...

Well, it's an hour later now and we did get rain, it cooled down nicely. Ivy occupied herself with a book for a while and I was able to work on a project from my new book Fun Cute Amigurumi ISBN 4415102859

Amigurumi is something it's taken me awhile to get interested in, not sure why. But look how cute these are!

I'm working on the cat in the basket for Miranda. I also like the little school pig with his yellow hat and randoseru--a backpack traditionally used in Japan by elementary schoolchildren.

The kappa and the cat dressed like a ladybug are also future projects.

And I love these little bears!

Honeysuckle

2007-06-05T16:53:00.000-04:00

When we bought our house it was late Autumn so we had no way of knowing what sort of flowers might have been planted. Turns out that the previous owners didn't do much gardening, so other than a rose bush and the small magnolia tree in the front yard there weren't any surprises. I kept hoping maybe a lilac bush or some lily of the valley would appear, but no such luck.

Between our house and the one next door is an old chain link fence. It was covered with what looked like dead vines, although I could see some green at the bottom in early spring. I cut most of the dead vine away, thinking how nice it would be if it was honesuckle. It's been growing and growing and new green growth nearly covers the fence. A few days ago blooms started to show and hurrah! It is honeysuckle!

If you've never tasted the nectar, you need to carefully pull off a blossom leaving the green bit at the bottom intact. Gently pinch off the green part and slowly pull the long stamen through the body of the flower. You should be able to pull out a tiny drop of nectar.

We were able to get some up with roots intact mostly intact to plant in the front yard. I think it would be wonderful if we could get it to climb a trellis and be able to sit on the porch and smell the wonderfully sweet fragrance. We're also trying to root some indoors to transplant as well, in case the first batch doesn't take.

Shiba Wanko no Wa no Kokoro

2007-06-04T15:45:00.000-04:00

New book from Yesasia, Shiba Wanko no Wa no Kokoro ISBN 4592760972

"Shiba-wanko, a Shiba-inu dog, and Miike-nyanko, a calico cat, live together in a classic Japanese-style house with the traditional Japanese alcove called a tokonoma . Shiba-wanko is a very gentle and hardworking soul who does all of the cleaning, laundry and cooking in the house. Miike-nyanko is a different type all together, being rather temperamental and not very good with housework. Together, these two learn the manners and customs associated with events such as the proper Japanese way to treat one's guests, preparing for a Japanese New Year and how to enjoy the kimono, the traditional Japanese costume. Each chapter covers a specific topic which has to do with living in "Wa" (the Japanese-style spirit of peace and harmony) throughout the changing seasons." read more at Japanese Children's Books

This one is Enjoying the Seasons. The pictures are just lovely. I've been wanting this book for a while, but kept putting off ordering it since there were more "practical" books I wanted to buy. I'm glad to finally own it!

If you click on the images you can see larger pictures.

New projects

2007-06-03T22:16:00.001-04:00

Here are a few things I've been working on:
detail of the embroidery on a few dresses for my Etsy shop:

Some adult-sized room shoes. I get a lot more satisfaction out of making the small ones for kids and don't know if I will continue making these large ones.

I'm rather looking forward to the next few days being rainy. I'm all caught up on laundry, the house is reasonably clean and I plan to spend as much time sewing as I can.

Niagara Falls

2007-06-01T18:31:00.000-04:00

We went to Niagara Falls last weekend. Brian was meeting a group of friends, so we all stayed at the same hotel, right by the Falls. It was fantastic to be so close, but if we ever go again, I think I would rather stay somewhere like Niagara-on-the-Lake and just make Niagara Falls a day trip. Little too much touristy carnival for me, but the girls had a wonderful time. The first day I was reeling a bit at the food prices--Brian kept saying don't pay attention, we have to eat, but man, I can skip a meal when it's 8.99 for a Burger King meal combo. In fact, when I consider the meals I skipped, it about evened out my Cotton Time purchase.

Here we are on the Maid of the Mist, in our lovely souvenir raincoats

In the ferris wheel, looking over the Falls. Brian took them up while I waited on the ground because 1. it was 9.99 each for adults to ride 2. Man, that thing was high!

My haul from the Pacific Mall/J-town venture:

There are three fruit bento, a really cute hamtaro bento for Ivy, some sauce containers, a little cutter to make hot dogs shaped like crabs, monkey bowls and mugs, and two Hello Kitty chopstick/utensils sets.

Cotton Time

2007-05-29T11:21:00.000-04:00

This is the May issue of Cotton Time I picked up on a side trip to Toronto this weekend.

bag and room shoes. Several people have asked if I can make these in adult sizes so it's good to have a pattern to work with.

apple blossom wreath with felted green apples.

I really love this style, but I fear all the layers would make me look far too dumpy.

Peach-headed panda bear

another bag and more room shoes

I really paid far too much for it, I still cringe when I think about it. It would have been cheaper to order it from Amazon.jp and pay the express shipping. We were vacationing in Niagara Falls and on Sunday drove up to Toronto to check out the Pacific Mall and J-Town. It was a trip where everything that could go wrong, did.

First, I had a bit of a hangover. Little too much vacation celebration the night before. As a result, we got off to a later start than I had hoped for. We got lost on the way to Toronto, when Brian stopped for gas and directions, he discovered he had left his bank card at the Denny's in Niagara, where we had eaten breakfast. I had my card, but I can only use it as a credit card, I can't take out money with it. I kept meaning to go to the bank and take care of it, but dragging the girls in seemed a major inconvenience, and since I could still use it to shop, I'd been putting it off. So we had about 10.00 cash on us.

We arrived at Pacific Mall, parking was horrendous. We got inside and both girls had to use the bathroom--long line. Miranda wanted to shop for toys, but in a mall with 400 stores, we had to walk around quite a bit to find any toy stores. Then, both girls had a huge food crash. We'd stopped for breakfast but they really hadn't eaten that much. I should have bought snacks, but I was figuring after eating breakfast, did we really need anything for a hour and a half trip. So now it was nearly 3 and they were both starving. And nothing looked good to them, they wanted McDonald's

At this point, I had just about had it. Nothing seemed to be going right, and I had two girls about to stage a mutiny if we didn't feed them soon. I have to admit I didn't handle things very well at this point because I was just so disappointed that neither of them were enjoying the excursion. We finally found a place that sold something they liked--Vietnamese beef on sticks, a sort of chicken salad and rice. Fortified, we set off to explore and went to a few stores, but it really was too overwhelming for them. It would have been better if I had come alone, but then that sort of defeats the purpose of a family vacation, doesn't it? And armed with only a credit card, we were restricted to shopping at stores where we were going to spend at least 10-20 dollars, depending on the store. No quick little purchases here and there.

By now it was 4:30 and I knew J-town closed at 6 so I wanted to head over there. Once in the car, I realized I didn't have the address. I had forgotten to write it down. I knew it was on Steeles, same as the Pacific Mall, but couldn't remember exactly where. We drove up and down the Steeles three times--have I mentioned how wonderfully patient Brian was through this whole thing? Finally, I spotted it. The bookstore was the place I really wanted to go to, hoping to find some kids books, but they didn't have any. They did however have magazines and when I saw the Cotton Time, I grabbed it. At that point, I didn't really care about the cost, I was just determined to have something to show for all my pains...

2007-05-25T01:40:00.000-04:00

Soulemama's lovely coasters gave me the idea for this wedding shower gift for my cousin. I showed them to my husband who said "fabric? for coasters...?" And I guess they aren't really practical, but I do like how they turned out. The placemats--look at the wavy edge! And I actually redid them after pressing them the first time and getting a bit dizzy looking at the edges. It really would help if I could sew and or cut a straight line...Artistic! I didn't intend for the edge to actually be straight

Ivy cannot resist being a ham for pictures, so this isn't the best photo of this outfit, but it's a pretty cute one of her. She's supposed to be Basil of Baker Street. The pattern for the top is from ISBN 4579107802 , I added the ruffle at the bottom. The shorts are actually from last year, but they kind of matched the outfit and I added a bit of bias trim in the same stripe around the neckline.

We are headed out to Niagara Falls tomorrow. This was not my choice for a vacation, but it has been decided that a side trip to Toronto, to visit a Japanese mall as well as North America's largest indoor Asian mall could be managed on Sunday. So with the promise of Japanese magazines and Asian sundries I have been placated, stopped sulking and am now actually looking forward to the trip. I may even be able to summon some enthusiasm for the kitschy touristy crap. But first, I need to actually get my daughters to sleep. Ivy went to bed around 9:30, but woke up at 1AM, and now she and Miranda are both wide awake. At least I am not the one driving...

Tokage and Saru

2007-05-20T11:38:00.000-04:00

Another dress from ISBN 4579107802 I wasn't too sure about this fabric--Ivy picked it out. I had a couple other ideas for it, but they were all dresses with straighter skirts and lately Ivy wants all her dresses to be "pinny" (spinny).

This is the detail on the bodice, based on characters from Aranzi Aronzo

Hikaru Dorodango

2007-05-18T22:22:00.000-04:00

Anjali at Giant Jean's Parlor wrote an interesting account of her experience making dorodango at local festival in Japan. I'd never heard of dorodango before-- beautiful shiny balls made of mud and originating on Japanese playgrounds.

Can you believe this was once a handful of mud?

I found this image online, I haven't tried to make one yet. I cannot believe the patience of children taking three hours to create one of those, but then my own kids have a pretty short attention span--though we already know they do like to play in the mud!

Anjali explains the process very well on her website but she also links to this article which is an interesting observation of preschool children making the spheres and includes very easy instructions. I'm really intriqued and would at least like to attempt my own hikaru dorodango.

Mudbath

2007-05-17T13:27:00.000-04:00

This was actually my idea:

What could be cooler than a mom that actually encourages you to play in the mud? Great fun was to be had--until it was clean-up time and they both decided that the water from the hose was far too cold. And this was sticky mud, too. I still am cleaning grit out of the bathtub...

That picture was taken on Monday when it was nearly 90 degrees. The past few days have been cooler and rainy. I finished this outfit and now it looks as though Ivy won't be able to wear it until the weather changes again

I rushed through the top a bit and the hem puckers slightly. If I press it, it's not too bad but I think maybe I should redo it. I tend to want to finish something in a hurry and then am hiding the sloppy bits. Slow down!

This is the applique on the pocket on the pants. See how the pocket isn't really a rectangle? Rushing again, although I have convinced myself this just looks artistic.

Oshikko deru

2007-05-17T01:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, my capacity to be entertained by Japanese toilet education is indeed boundless. This is a potty training video featuring Shimajiro, a character from Kodomo Challenge--a series of books and videos for Japanese kids. I have a few I bought off of Ebay and they appear to be issued monthly so each deals with seasonal things. There are stickers, activities and stories.

The drawback is the song really is rather catchy so I've been absent-mindedly singing Oshikko deru deru shi-pa-pa...

Rainy Day

2007-05-16T13:34:00.000-04:00

Bah, summer cold. Yesterday I was achy, today I feel shaky and emotional. Anyone else cry easily when you have a cold? It's gray and damp today, which is perfect. Sometimes I find it offensive that the sun is shining so brightly, it's as if it's mocking me for wanting to be a lump for the day.

Yesterday it was 90 degrees--ridiculous! There is a little soft serve ice-cream place not too far from us, one of the walk-up type so just recently I noticed the boards were off the window and menus were up. I had to go to the post office so told the girls afterwards we would get ice cream. Not too terribly long a walk--5 blocks to the post office, and then maybe another 5 blocks to ice cream. But man, it was hot. And Miranda really doesn't like walking. So I was urging her along saying "think how good that cold ice cream will taste!" "won't it taste so much better since we had to walk there to get it!" And then we got there and it was closed. Geez. They were so upset. So we went home and had milkshakes but it wasn't quite the same.

To do list:
1. Get all the stuffed animals out of my bedroom. It's one thing to want to cover your own bed in stuffed animals, but I would like a bit of room to sleep.
2. Mop kitchen floor.
3. Laundry
4. Mend all the stuffed animals lying around my sewing machine. Each one just has a short split seam but I've been putting it off
5. Sew snaps on shoes, finish up some other projects.
6. Complete yesasia order. I've had one put together for several weeks, but every time I make an order someone makes a post about this great book they bought and I want that one as well. So I've been waiting, but so far have nothing to add. It's probably better to make small monthly orders instead of one big huge one anyway.

Man, I need to get back in a routine of studying Japanese, I've really been slacking again. Watching lots of dramas though, that counts, doesn't it!

Unfair

2007-05-15T23:03:00.000-04:00

There appear to be two basic genres for Japanese doramas, light fluffy comedies and those that are so darkly depressing you are desperate for any hope. The dark depressing ones are also generally the thriller type that I enjoy. I just finished watching Unfair, a drama I had started to watch about a year ago, but only the first two episodes were subbed. Finally someone finished the series and I got to watch the whole thing. It was really good, but oh man, the ending. So sad I went around for several days brooding about it. Many Japanese dramas deal with the idea of being unable to escape your past and this one was no exception. Now I am watching Watashitachi no Kyokasho, which apparently is currently airing, so it takes about a week for each new episode to get put up. Depressing, but there's a bit of suspense as well. And while I am waiting for new episodes, I started watching Byakuyakou, but I am not sure I will be able to finish this one as it's really beating me over the head with the darkly depressing part and I am certain it won't end well.

Non-skid soles

2007-05-15T22:39:00.000-04:00

I've been searching for something to use as a non-skid sole on the bottoms of the slippers shoes I make--and apparently I was putting too much thought into it. Instead of looking for something that could be used as a non-skid sole, I just needed to look for actual non-skid soles

Jiffy Grip

It's the stuff you find in the feet of footie pajamas for little kids. Joanns sells it by the yard, it's about 15" wide, 3.99 a yard. I am not having any trouble sewing it with a heavier needle. Here are the first pair of shoes I made with it.

I hope we have another storm blowing in. I love sleeping when the rain is pouring down hard. We had a pathetic little 10 minute storm earlier, I am hoping for something more substantial. Rain tomorrow would be nice as well--I'd like an excuse to stay in the house since I am coming down with a cold--achy joints, drippy nose, scratchy throat. This happens every year. I sail though winter with nary a cough, and then the warm weather comes and I am sick. Usually it just lasts a day or two so it's not that bad.

Tiny Toad

2007-05-15T13:47:00.000-04:00

Last Friday evening we headed to a pond at a nearby park to look for frogs. We saw quite a few and even caught one for observation before setting him free. Ivy was walking along this wooden wall, when she almost stepped on a tiny toad. "I thought it was a mouse!"

That's marker on her arm, not a giant bruise. Paints, markers--all of it eventually ends up all over her body.

Childhood Books

2007-05-10T12:35:00.000-04:00

Inspired by Simmy's post at Echoes of a Dream, I've taken pictures of my own bookshelves

You may be able to identify Harry Potter, The Chronciles of Narnia and The Little House books sitting on the shelves. Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service is also sitting there, along with my very favorite books by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The colored set to the left is a duplicate of a set I owned as a child. I've been putting it together with volumes found at thrift shops. I think I may be missing a few. The Oz books and the Mary Frances books are reprints. There is also a Mary Frances Knitting book that I don't own.

Craft books and Japanese books

Some more old favorites

The My Bookhouse and the red Story Hour set with black trim are things I discovered as an adult. The orange childcraft setis similar to the volumes I would check out of the library as a child.

Old schoolbooks

The copy of Sara Crewe was probably the first nice antique book I treated myself to as an adult. Most of the children's books I own are library cast-offs, many of the libraries around here have big sales yearly. I was also an out-of-print children's book dealer for about 6 years, from when Miranda was a baby until recently. It got harder and harder to find time to scout for books, as well as simply getting harder and harder to find good books--too many people in the business these days. But the bulk of my books were found during those scouting sessions.

I read so much as a child that I would neglect my schoolwork. At one point, as punishment for bad grades, I wasn't permitted to go to the library for pleasure for one entire grading period. It wasn't too bad--I liked to read non-fiction as well, so I would make-up reports I was supposed to be working on, and take out books on that subject. I would also bribe my younger sister into picking out books I would like to read. Once I even snuck off to the library and smuggled home some books. Both my parents loved to read as well, family trips to the library were a frequent activity, as well as my dad bringing home bags of books from library sales for us. But they had a strict sense of how things should be done, and schoolwork took precedence over "pleasure" reading. I remember how much I was self-educating myself as a child, and some of my frustration over those memories has shaped my attitude in unschooling my own children. Not to mention the pleasure I still get when reading while eating--another forbidden activity when growing up!

2007-05-08T21:08:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was one of the first really warm days, so we headed out to the beach to dip our toes. Miranda and Ivy convinced me to bring along the bathing suits, even though I assured them that the water would be ice cold--Lake Erie doesn't really start to warm up until mid-June. I was right, the water was freezing--but I was impressed, those girls jumped in and lasted nearly half an hour.

There's a Witch In The Well!

2007-05-07T19:15:00.000-04:00

Last night we had dinner at the house of some friends of ours. Their children are 4 and almost 2; after dinner we went outside to play and I taught them Witch in the Well, which was a big hit. If you are unfamiliar with the games, the rules as I learned them years and years ago went like this:

There is a designated well area. One person is the witch, decide this however you like. The witch hides in the well area, so something like a tree makes a good well. Another person is the mom, again, choose as you wish. The rest of the players are the kids. The mother says to the children

I am going downtown to smoke my pipe
I won't be back until Saturday night
Don't get into the jelly and jam!

(the rest of the adults were unfamilar with the game and in hysterics over the rhyme. My husband pointed out "you know, these days they'll put you in jail for that!)

Anyway. Mom walks away, kids pretend to get into the jelly and jam. Mom returns, scolds the kids and sends them to the well to wash up. As they reach the well, the witch jumps out, kids run back yelling "there's a Witch in the well!" Mom doesn't believe them, sends them back, witch jumps out, etc. You can repeat this part as often as you like, but eventually the mom says she will come with them to prove there is no witch, and at this point the witch jumps out and chases everyone. The one caught becomes the new witch, and the old witch becomes the new mother.

At one point Miranda suggested we play Barney in the well, because that would be really scary. She'd jump out and yell "be my friend!" while chasing the kids. It was pretty frightening.

House Shoes

2007-05-05T12:49:00.000-04:00

I really am please with this latest batch of cloth shoes. The pattern is from Craft Cafe Kids ISBN 4529043320.

These are baby shoes. The next two pairs are for an older child, approximately a size 9 and a size 10. I am not satisfied with the soles--I need to come up with something that is less slippery. I read an article in Martha Stewart's magazine that showed how to make slipper socks by using fusible webbing to attach ultrasuede to the bottoms of wool socks, but that still seems kind of slippery for a child's slipper.

I especially like the little felt flower on the strap.

Satsuki and Mei's House

2007-05-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

Satsuki and Mei's house (from the movie My Neighbor Totoro) was reproduced at the World Exposition 2005 in Aichi, Japan. I don't know if it's still standing. This book shows photos of the rooms as well as blueprints and construction plans. I wish I had been able to visit, it's wonderful! Although apparently visitors were limited to only 500 per day-- and reservation tickets were balloted by national lottery, which received so many answers that the chance of being elegible were minimal.

ISBN 4835615417

Japanese Craft Books in English

2007-04-30T23:14:00.000-04:00

The other day I was at Barnes and Nobles with the girls, when Miranda spotted a copy of Aranzi Aronzo's The Bad Book--in English. A search online shows that The Cute Book is also available in English, with several others due for release in October.
Aranzi Aronzo Books
There will also be a variety of amigurumi books in English, such as Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wondeful and Amigurumi! Super Happy Crochet Cute
I hope this means that other books will be available in English! It's fairly easy for me to order books from Yesasia, but it would be great to be able to browse through books in local bookstores. On the other hand, this may be bad news for my wallet. I'm already trying to budget myself with regards to book orders, it's going to be harder if I can just walk into a store and buy the books!

Sigh

2007-04-30T20:40:00.000-04:00

This is a pair of shorts I made for Miranda this weekend

This is the cool embroidery I did on the pocket

She wore them today. This is the giant rip Ivy bit into the back of them.

She was pretending to be a wild animal, hanging onto the pants by her teeth. Guess I should be glad it was the fabric that gave way, and not a tooth. I can patch them but it's right over the butt and I think it's going to look silly. Maybe I can just darn it and put another pocket on the back to hide it.

No more wild animal games! Or at least no more wild animals that bite...

Cat and Bunny and New Spring Clothes

2007-04-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

Cat and Bunny from ISBN 4579107802. The pattern in the book is just for the bunny, I adapted it for the cat. The doll is something I've been working on for a while, and I am not quite satisfied. I thought using embroidery floss would make nice silky hair, but instead it's very messy and raveling on the ends. I stole her clothes from Ivy's bunny, who got to wear on old pinafore from the doll clothes bin. I do really like working with linen to make toys, I hope I get lucky and find some more in the remnant bin. I also should check out the thrift shop--I am sure there would be plenty of cloth in a linen dress or skirt.

Dress, also from ISBN 4579107802. Isn't this lovely? I really am glad how the pattern turned out. I found the fabric at the thrift shop several years ago--I have the vaguest memory of having an Easter dress when I was about Ivy's age made of similar fabric. It's a synthetic, and I almost didn't make the dress because I prefer cotton fabrics. But it drapes so nicely I am glad I finished it.

Hooded jacket from ISBN 457911132X. The pattern pieces for this had the hood and front part all as one piece, which was a little tricky to fit together with the back. I love the fabric--I went back to Joann's thinking if they had more I would make a skirt, but there was none left.
Miranda took this picture, you can see she takes better ones than I do--look how sharp the detail has. I'll have to ask her to explain her technique.

Oh! and we figured out the mystery flowering tree in the front yard. Thank you for the magnolia suggestions--it is indeed a Star Magnolia

Okonomiyaki

2007-04-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

Okonomiyaki is a type of savory pancake eaten in Japan. It's made from flour, eggs, cabbage and a type of yam--I can't remember it's Japanese name. You can either grate the yam or get it in powdered form. I haven't been able to find it in any of the shops here, so when I make okonimiyaki, I omit it. But when Yoshimi went back to Japan, she gave me a few food items, among them a packet of the yam powder.

I used this basic recipe and added the yam powder Okonomiyaki Recipe

In the pan. There's bacon on top.

Ready to eat! There is mayonaise, okonomiyaki sauce (a sort of sweet brown sauce. You can substitute a mixture of worcestershire sauce, ketchup and soy sauce), bonito flakes and seaweed on top. Sometimes I put pickled ginger as well. It's so good!

Learning Japanese

2007-04-26T10:52:00.000-04:00

I've been teaching myself Japanese for nearly two years now. I started because I thought it would be fun to learn with my two daughters--not realizing how unrealistic it was to think I could teach a language I didn't speak myself. I became intrigued with the challenge of teaching myself and while it is difficult to find time to study and sometimes I feel so far behind other students I meet who've been studying for two years, it's really gratifying to be able to read something, even if it is a children's book.

I used the book Japanese For Busy People I as my first textbook. I really liked it, and started on the second book--I am having a lot more trouble with. It seems as though they use a lot of kanji they don't explain. I also use Japanese the Manga Way. Initially I was put off by the manga aspect, but it does a great job of explaining grammar. And since it's been a long time since I studied English grammar, it helps a lot! For kanji study I use Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese. It's not the best resource as it uses romaji instead of kana, but it's really cheap.

For online sites, this is a fun one to start out with:
Kids Web Japan

Good grammar resource
Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar

Online dictionary
Jim Breen's WWWJDIC

Another fun vocabulary page. If you scroll to the bottom and click on Home, there are other language options
Japanese vocabulary

One of the best study aids was finding out that a local library subscibes to Rosetta Stone, all I needed to do was apply for a library card and I can now access it for free--including all the languages. A wonderful bonus, since just buying the software for one language can cost nearly 300.00 and I access all languages for free.

And of course Yesasia for Japanese language books.

Miranda isn't terribly interested in learning Japanese, although she does enjoy watching movies and cartoons. Reading the subtitles has been good practice for her reading skills as well. Ivy is more enthusiastic and has been practicing writing Japanese along with learning the English alphabet. She's getting pretty good.

Hitori de Unchi

2007-04-22T22:39:00.000-04:00

This book was part of my latest Yesasia order. Because I have the sense of humor of an 8 year old, it just cracks me up

Still working on my Japanese, I think the title is I poop by myself, or maybe Poop Alone.

Nekono mike uun uun
The tortoiseshell cat says uun uun.

nanishiteiru no ka na
What is it you are doing?

oya! tottemo iiunchi
Ah! A very fine poop!

Then there are other pictures of a dog, a baby bird and a monster (the one on the cover). Last is a little girl

yatta ne!genkina unchi!
I did it! A healthy poop! (I love how the poop is flexing it's muscles)

ISBN 4031241208

2007-04-12T14:05:00.000-04:00

Print and assemble paper bento, dollhouse rooms and much more!

http://paper.sanwasupply.co.jp/craft/index_f.html

We made a paper bento, although ours doesn't look quite like the one on the webpage--Ivy insisted on cutting it out herself

This is actually something I am learning to let go of--that projects don't have to be perfect. So often I plan an activity, and end up doing most of it myself so it will "look right". She really enjoyed cutting the pieces out, and was quite proud of herself and the finished project.

Responding to comments

2007-04-07T23:49:00.000-04:00

Since blogger doesn't have a way to respond to comments by email, I am going to start leaving responses in the comment section. So if you leave a comment, please check back, especially if you asked a question.

Dreaming of a White Easter

2007-04-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

Here in Cleveland, Ohio it's been snowing steadily since last night. There are snow boots sitting next to sandals in the hallway--it was almost 80 degrees last week! And now this.

Brian helped the girls make a snow bunny in the front yard. We've been singing "Here comes Peter Cottontail, skiing down the bunny trail...."

Happy Easter!

Girly Style Wardrobe

2007-04-04T00:24:00.000-04:00

These arrived last week, but I am only now getting a chance to post about them
ISBN 4579111362

The title of this is something about wearing textures, and that's the best part of this book. I don't like all the patterns, but the way textures and neutral colors are combined is really lovely. I especially like this dress. I am not sure if it's obvious in the scan, but the bodice has been quilted with a simple running stitch going vertically and horizontally.

Long jacket

scarf

ISBN 457911132X

I have another book by this woman, which I really loved, I made almost all of Ivy's clothes from it last summer. This one is nice, but it seems like a lot of the same projects. The other book is all summery stuff, and this one does include some cooler weather clothes patterns which will come in handy.

What a week!

2007-04-02T22:57:00.000-04:00

Man, what a busy past 7 days it's been. Mitsuna arrived on April 25th and left Sunday night. I meant to blog more regularly about it, but there never seemed to be time. And of course I took maybe 5 pictures. I'm hoping some of the other host families got a few pictures of us!

At the zoo, exploring a doctor's kit:

Coloring eggs with Mitsuna

Easter egg hunt

The Japanese kids, their teacher and the host family kids

Beautiful gifts from Mitsuna. There are bookmarks her mother made, a tiny fan that is actually a card, a notebook shaped like a kimono, and a kamifusen--paper balloon--shaped like a goldfish.

This was also a gift from her, it's a picture book of a popular Japanese folktale, Urashimatarou

We really enjoyed having her here. I didn't speak as much Japanese as I had hoped, both because I was very self conscious and because Mitsuna wanted to practice her English. It did come in handy a few times when she didn't know a word, and she said it made her feel more comfortable knowing that I did understand some Japanese. It was a little frustating for me to realize how little Japanese I actually know, but it was also great being able to listen to other people speak and see what I could understand (very little!). It's given me the boost I needed to keep up with my studies

2007-03-24T22:48:00.000-04:00

Finished up some of Ivy's Spring/Summer wardrobe. It's probably going to be a while before she can wear any of this--despite the warm weather today I suspect there is still one more snowfall due to us here in Cleveland.

This is from ISBN 4579110919. It ties in the back so will probably need to be worn with shorts or pants.

She loves having her picture taken

I don't like this book as much as I thought I would. I think I need to play around with the patterns a bit--I think I just don't like the fabrics they chose for many of the dresses and that's affecting how I perceive the style.

This is from a vintage pattern I found at a nearby antique store. I really like it--it's actually a very simple pattern but I love the look, probably from the 1920's. There are bloomers to match.

This is a blouse, pants and skirt set. The grosgrain ribbon around the bottom of the first tier really makes the skirt stand out nicely, as if it has a crinoline under it. The skirt and pants are just basic patterns, the blouse is from this book
4579107802

Mitsuna, the Japanese student who is visiting for a week, will arrive on Monday and we are busy preparing for her stay:

Sign for the airport. It says "Welcome to Cleveland" in Japanese. At least I hope it does.

2007-03-19T23:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I need to remember it really is less of a waste of time to fix something properly, then try and "fix" it. I am making a dress for Ivy, well, really a petticoat. I was at Joann's on Saturday, walking around with my 50% off a cut of fabric coupon, when I found some eyelet. Normally I don't like polyester blends, but I thought the fabric would make a great slip under a spring dress. Then I decided, why not make a full slip, that way she can wear it as a dress if she wants. Oh, I really hate working with synthetics. It frays, it's slippery, it just doesn't feel as nice as cotton. But the eyelet embroidery is pretty and it's going to look nice peeking out under the hem of a dress. I had attached the skirt to the bodice and was going to handsew the lining down, when I decided to try it on Ivy and realized it was much too long. I didn't want to redo the skirt, so tried to make a few tucks, but the fabric was difficult to work with and after redoing them several times and still having the tucks pucker in spots, it was obvious it would be easier to just redo the skirt. Which I did. And while I did waste an hour on the tucks, I know in the end I am going to be happier with the way the dress looks.

We moved into this house in the fall, and there are a number of trees on the property I can't identify. In the front yard I was pleased to discover a pussy willow tree, or so I thought. A few weeks ago I brought a few branches in and put them in water---and apparently they aren't pussy willows after all, since they bloomed. I can't figure out what it is--is anyone familiar with a tree that gets fuzzy gray buds similar to pussy willows, but bloom with a multi-petaled white flower with a touch of pink? It's really beautiful, but I kind of wish it was a pussy willow; I really love them.

Any clues?

Exercise Incentive

2007-03-17T19:20:00.000-04:00

There is a Joann's fabric a little more than a mile from my house, so today I decided to walk to it. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and even though it was cold, it was still a pleasant walk. And I felt entirely justified in buying fabric after saving money on gas and being ecologically-minded. Surely what I spent on fabric was far less than a health-club membership. Now all I need to do is walk to the Joann's at least three times a week.

Miranda reminded me of this doorway puppet theatre I made a few years ago, after seeing a similar one in the Magic Cabin catalog. I'm not sure why it's been packed away for so long--all it needed was three wooden dowels to help it hang straight. Or maybe it's just that no one really showed any interest in it up until now. Whatever the reason, they are ready to play with it now.

This is at a bad angle because there was a shelf of fabric in the way.

If I can figure out how to put together a tutorial, I will post one because it really was quite easy to construct.

The State of My Sewing Room

2007-03-13T11:26:00.000-04:00

In previous pictures of my sewing room I cleaned it up before taking the pictures. This is what it really looks like:

Pile of new fabric that has been washed, needs to be ironed.

Projects that need to be pressed. I am trying not to have the ironing board be a permanent fixture, but since I am making clothes right now I have lots of seams to press

I'm trying to keep current projects in this basket. There is a dress and blouse in there, as well as fabric for another dress

Stack of Japanese craft books, coffee mug

Pieces for a doll and a bunny, collar for a blouse

Fabric scraps. I need to find a way to store these, they are rather fiddly and odd shaped to fold, but I want to save them. I need a bin. And a piece of linen that may become a cat sometime soon. I found that linen in the remnant bin at JoAnn Fabrics, on sale for 75% the already marked down remnant price.

It's a gorgeous day, the first real Spring weather so as much as I would like to tackle the multiple projects I have going on here, I need to push myself to be a good mother and take the girls to the playground or something.

Home Couture For Girls

2007-03-08T22:29:00.000-05:00

Guess what arrived in the mail today! The post office did forward my package from Yesasia.

Craft Cafe Kids ISBN 4529043320

I think Craft Cafe is a magazine, this is a special issue focusing on kids. There are patterns for a number of skirts and tops, a few recipes, a weeks worth of bento lunches, ideas for decorating kids rooms and a short story from a well-known Japanese author.

Home Couture For Girls ISBN 4579107802

I really love this one. The clothing has a classic, somewhat retro feel. I particularly like the little plaid school dress on the cover. There are patterns for 19 different outfits, as well as a little stuffed bunny with a few articles of clothing.

Now I can start putting some of my stockpiled fabric to use!

2007-03-04T01:20:00.000-05:00

Arggh, I hate when I waste a lot of time struggling to make due with something. I am attempting to make a doll and for economy's sake, decided to use an old t-shirt (well, truthfully it wasn't that old, but Brian has tons of t-shirts and won't miss just one). It's just not working right, it doesn't have the proper weight. What I really wanted was some of this fabric but I figured I would work with what I have-- it just isn't the same.

Although I just remembered I have an old waldorf doll I was never quite happy with, but put away because I figured the cloth might come in handy...

It's been a frustrating evening in general, I have several doll projects going, I tried making one with muslin and it's lumpy and the seams are pulling. And recycling the waldorf doll isn't working either. My sewing room looks like something exploded, it's nearly 2AM and it may be time to give it a rest and go to bed.

The end is finally here!

2007-02-28T20:34:00.000-05:00

At last, the final day of February. It's over and there are only three more weeks until the Spring Equinox. I realize that living in Cleveland means it will probably be three more months until actual warm weather, but at least I know it's on it's way.

We celebrated by making cake. I used the recipe on the side of the Hershey's cocoa can. I substitute butter for the vegetable oil and cut the sugar in half--the sweetness level seems fine to me, and the girls never noticed. I think the frosting makes up for it, and is a better balance than if the cake had been sweeter. For todays cakes I cut the recipe in half. I used three miniature Wilton baking pans. They came as a set and I think they measure 4 inches across. I had some leftover batter so I used the tiny bundt cake pan that came in a child's baking set from Magic Cabin--which I don't see on the website anymore.

We frosted them with buttercream frosting and an assortment of sprinkles left over from Christmas and Halloween. The letters are alphabet cookies--the M is for Matthias and the C is from Cluny, two characters from Redwall.

I went out for a walk tonight, it's still cold but I was able to just wear a sweatshirt and feel fine. There still is muddy slushy snow piled up on the treelawns and sidewalks, but soon it will be gone (I hope). While I was walking, I heard a screech owl. I guess they are becoming more urbanized, but that's the first time I heard one here in the city. They really sound beautiful. It was a nice treat.

Oh, For Cryin' Out Loud

2007-02-27T18:20:00.000-05:00

I was checking the tracking on my much-anticipated Yesasia order--when I realized that someone my old address was still on account and the package was going to the wrong place. It's probably going to arrive today or tomorrow--I don't think the mailman will forward it since it was posted third class. I left a message with my neighbor, asking if she wouldn't mind letting the new tenants know the package was coming and would they please just give it to her to hold. But now I am worried maybe that wasn't an entirely appropriate thing to ask, she really doesn't know the new tenants--they've only been there a couple of months, and it's been so cold and snowy no one's been outdoors much. There's a fine line between quirky and an annoying pain in the ass, and I suspect I often cross the line into the latter--that she's listening to her messages and saying "she wants me to do what? I don't really know what will happen to the package--forwarded, returned to Yesasia, lost forever in the postal system. And I really want my books! They are a couple of Japanese pattern books to make kids clothes, I've been putting off starting on any Spring clothes until they arrive. I feel so frustrated and stupid for not paying attention to the address, there must have been numerous times to review it.

2007-02-27T13:04:00.000-05:00

I finished a spring outfit for Ivy, a jinbei and matching pants:

I lined both the jacket and the pants, the fabric was really lightweight. But lined it seems almost too heavy for Spring. Fortunately (or not so, depending on you look at it) Spring takes a long time to come to Cleveland and weather tends to be cool well into May, so it will probably be nice to have a Spring fabric outfit that is actually kind of warm.

This was my lunch today, inspired by the jdorama Lunch Queen. Doesn't it look deliciously unhealthy 8-)

It's rice with a hamburger on top, covered in gravy and topped with an egg. Although according to the guys at Kitchen Macaroni, it should be demi glace sauce rather than gravy, but that's all I had. And tiny cucumbers on the side for some green color.

And with this post I have now broken one of the rules of successful blogging-- No One Cares What You Had For Lunch. Although according to this list of rules (which really do make some valid points) what I am doing is not blogging at all. Links! I must have more links! and commentary! and stop writing "I" sentences!

2007-02-25T20:59:00.000-05:00

I just reread my last entry and wanted to make it clear that the Satsuki and Mei book at Yesasia includes the original blueprints and plans for making the original full size replica, not a dollhouse. I just think it might be easy to scale it down to dollhouse size.

2007-02-25T11:46:00.000-05:00

Gray and rainy, but not too cold today. We're debating whether to go to the Metroparks to see maple sugaring or to the downtown library for a Chinese New Year Celebration. The rain makes the maple sugaring not so attractive and and I am not terribly enthusiastic about struggling for downtown parking. MIranda is still sleeping so maybe we will just hang around the house today.

I've been exploring some ideas for a Japanese doll house--of which very few show up online, surprisingly enough. Surely there are other people who've made Japanese dollhouses? I did find that there was a model of Satsuki and Mei's house (from the movie Totoro) at the 2005 World Expo. There are actually a few pages about it in one of my Totoro books, but I didn't understand the Japanese well enough to realize what it was. There is also this book, which includes blueprints and plans for constructing the house. Wouldn't it be great to build a Satsuki and Mei dollhouse! I wish I had known about the book when I placed my most recent order--which should arrive sometime next week. I am trying to pace myself with Yesasia orders and really should wait a few more weeks before placing one, shouldn't I?

Phone Phobia

2007-02-22T13:26:00.000-05:00

I have a tendency to think that some of my quirks are experienced to a far greater degree than most people. For instance, I hate using the phone. Talking on it isn't so bad, although I will avoid that if I can. Making phone calls, however, can send me into such fits of anxiety that I put them off forever, sometimes just emailing people or coercing my husband into making the calls. I tell people about my phone phobia and let them know that in all likelihood it may be impossible to reach me by phone.

I read this post recently: tips for making phone calls and realized maybe there isn't anything special or bizarre about my phone phobia, that apparently many people experience anxiety over phone calls and just aren't unable to avoid the phone to the degree that I do. So, following her tips, I sat down today and made dentist appointments for the girls--which I have done before, but it still gives me fits of anxiety, and I still put it off--and called the eye doctor to see about ordering new frames.

The biggest accomplishment of the day may not seem like much--but it was. Two years ago I transfered the balance of one of my credit cards over to another one with a lower interest rate. I now had a zero balance on the Capital One card, but I still needed to close the account since I payed a yearly membership. Which I put off and put off until I got charged the membership fee. And I moaned and berated myself and paid the fee--and then put it off again, until last Spring I got charged again because I waited so long and not only that, forgot to pay it so was charged a late fee on top of the original fee. Talk about a Stupidity Fine.

That was back in June. Finally, I was congratulating myself on making the other calls when I remembered the credit card. Called them up and in less than five minutes the account was cancelled. It was pretty stupid of me to let it drag on so long but I am feeling pretty overjoyed and relieved that I finally took care of the darn thing.

2007-02-20T22:37:00.000-05:00

Today was warm enough to open windows. Well, that may have been a bit ambitious, but the fresh air certainly felt nice. And there was that cold muddy smell that means Spring may not be far off. Later in the day it started pouring rain, which means all the snow is a gray muddy mess right now. It's probably going to get cold again tomorrow, but the hope of better days is here 8-).

I accomplished some rather trivial tasks today, but they were ones I wasn't looking forward to so it felt good. We took Miranda's cat Bella to the vet--just a check-up, but she had also somehow chipped her upper left canine. It isn't exposing any root, so the vet said no worries and she's healthy--I didn't have any real concerns, but it was good to have her health confirmed. I also took a package to the post office that should have been mailed last week, and had to go to the downtown branch since the one by me was so crowded there was no parking. Downtown was crowded as well but the girls were well behaved and the line moved quickly. I also squeezed in a trip to the Chinatown grocery store--I've been craving leafy greens. We've been using mostly frozen vegetables the past few weeks and those never taste quite as good to me. And it was a bonus for me that the grocery store got new registers that print out exactly what you bought--before the receipt just read "produce"--so now I have the proper names--shanghai cabbage, tong ho and yu choy-- for the produce I bought and can look up recipes.

I followed through with my vow to complete several projects with the fabric I bought the last time Joann's had a big sale and rewarded myself with another trip (actually, I got the coupons in an email, thought "I must go to Joann's this weekend" and it was only after leaving the store with my bag of fabric that I remembered I wasn't going to buy anymore, and then recalled that I did complete the kimono for Ivy and Hello Kitty, as well as completing two jackets and four jinbei. So clearly I deserved more fabric)

2007-02-19T17:45:00.000-05:00

Lately Ivy's been bugging me to use the sewing machine, insisting that now she's four she's big enough and she'll be "really, really careful." Teaching her to hand sew hasn't been much of a consolation, especially when she decides on projects such as "a stuffed cat" or "clothes for Miranda". Last week, someone bought a felted mouse from my Etsy shop (which I still need to ship, thanks to the weather and now President's Day...) I couldn't find the one I had made, all my Etsy merchandise is in two large bins but no little felted mouse. So I got out some wool and my felting needles to make another one.

Ivy wanted to make one as well. If you have ever used felting needles, you know that not only are they very sharp, they have tiny barbs at the end. It's not recommended that children under 10 use them. But Ivy's getting pretty tired of being told no to everything she wants to do, so I came up with a solution. I gave her a lump of wool and a tapestry needle and told her to start poking at it the way I was doing. Every so often I would ask if I could have a turn and shaped it a bit with the felting needles. Eventually we ended up with a little mouse she was quite proud of.

9 more days until the end of February. I suppose it's probably a bit ambitious to think the snow might be over with the arrival of March. And it hasn't even been that bad this year, it didn't even get really cold until January, and the snow has only been here for a few weeks. But I am finished with Winter.

Lunch Queen

2007-02-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

I've started watching a new dorama, Lunch Queen. Delicious Japanese meals are a central focus of the show, and I am so hungry everytime I watch it. In particular, the restaurant is known for it's demiglace, and there is usually a shot at some point of dad stirring the large pot with thoughtful contemplation. Now I want try and make demiglace. I found a recipe here that seems fairly easy. I just need to get some beef bones at the grocery store--which sometimes can be hard to find, I've had better luck with the inner city grocery stores rather than the suburban ones.

I've been working on some more little jackets for my Etsy shop. I'm using one of my Japanese books to make jinbei, a sort of kimono top that ties at the top. Similar to the baby ones I was making, but these have a set in sleeve.

dragonfly embroidery on back

This jacket is called a chanchanko, I got the pattern from this book
Making Kimono & Japanese Clothes (which I need to get back to the library, it's overdue...)

I'm thinking about moving my blog somewhere else. I'd really like to be able to respond to people's comments through email, and blogger doesn't offer such a feature. However, I am lazy about changing, so we'll see.

2007-02-14T01:43:00.000-05:00

I have a new doll taking shape in my head and I just can't get her to come out right. I've been using the pattern and instructions at Runo Dollmaker, which I've used before but I am having problems this time. I'm using an old t-shirt dyed with tea, a medium she recommends, but I am not happy with it. I am thinking I need to splurge on cotton knit fabric, which is what I used on the three dolls I made before. But I am also thinking of going in a different direction. For me, I think there is a fine line between a doll that is not to simple and not to elaborate. I want a doll that is clearly defined as a doll, but I don't want it to veer toward grotesque--something that seems easy to do when you are trying to make a doll to realistic. I want a child doll, but not too cute. Something like what Molly Chicken did with this doll. I really need to order that book.

Birthday Kimono

2007-02-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

This is Ivy in her birthday kimono. I used this book

I think she is trying to look "fancy" here

This is the back

The pink vest type thing is called a hifu. It's sometimes padded and worn as an extra layer of warmth. They can be worn by anyone, but now it seems to be traditionally worn by young girls--maybe to eliminate an elaborate obi?

Here she is at her party, as a Japanese cowboy.

Friday

2007-02-09T15:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I really haven't been contributing much to Soulemama's photo challenge. I guess I am just going to have to show you homeschooling at its finest:

3PM, undmade bed and everyone in their pajamas. We are all involved in some long, drawn out game meshing Redwall and The Great Mouse Detective.

This was made from Making Kimono and Japanese Clothes. The book indentifies it as a Chan-Chanko, but I can't find anything online regarding this particular jacket for kids so I am not sure if that's really what it's called. I need to stitch down the collar and the sleeves and then it will be ready for my Etsy shop. It turned out a little bigger than I expected, I had some requests to make jackets in a one-year-old size and I think this is more of a 2 year old size.

Cat Food Sushi for the Gourmet Feline

2007-02-04T16:11:00.000-05:00

We discovered that Bella liked seaweed when she jumped up on the counter one day and snatched a piece of nori. Miranda wanted to try and make her some sushi--so we did.

Gathering the ingredients--rice, cat food, nori and a bamboo rolling mat.

Assembling (I realize this looks like a really bad practical joke)

All rolled up

On the plate. There is some furikake sprinkled on top.

Our server is ready to deliver the meal

Bella appears to be enjoying it, although I think she was just licking the furikake off the top.

I am not sure how much of a success this was, she left most of the rolls after eating the filling out of one. Maybe she will finish them later. Still, it was a fun experiment.

2007-02-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

We just got the exciting news that we have the opportunity to be a host family for a week to a 12-year-old Japanese girl. One of the moms in my homeschooling group used to teach English in Japan and a friend of hers is coming to the States for a visit. Yoshimi teaches English in Japan as well and is bringing four of her students with her.

I'm really nervous as well. My Japanese is still embarrassingly poor, and whle I realize most host families don't speak Japanese at all, I'm ashamed of my faltering attempts. I'm also already having anxiety over doing something rude unintentially. One of my less desirable traits (although I suppose sometimes it can be desirable) is obsessing with minute details. What should I tell her to call me? Would it be rude to ask her to call me by my first name? What if she's really bored? What if she thinks it's weird that I have so many Japanese things, watch Japanese television, use Japanese craft books? What if we aren't American enough and she's disappointed with her American experience? And the biggest one--how are we going to keep family arguments to a minimum for a week? Because honestly, I am a shouter.

Wow, that's quite a list, huh. Pretty funny when I read it over. I'm still nervous.

Happy Imbolc!

2007-02-02T17:29:00.000-05:00

It's halfway to Spring, and apparently Punxsatawny Pete didn't see his shadow, so Winter should soon be over, right? February has got to be one of my least favorite months, it drags on forever. Fortunately, I now have a daughter with a mid February birthday so planning for her celebration helps quite a bit. It seems I am not the only one who finds February difficult-- Soulemama has proposed a challenge for avoiding the February Funk. Simply post of picture everyday of something you do during your day. Of course this means we have to actually do something that warrants picture taking, otherwise you are going to be treated to parade of pictures featuring us lolling about in pajamas.

For now, here are some little shoes--some for Etsy, some for gifts:

2007-01-28T01:39:00.000-05:00

I spent much of Friday cutting out tiny baby shoe pieces from wool felt, which are now lying in various stages of unfinished-ness around my sewing machines because while baby shoes seem as though they are quite quick and easy to sew up, I had forgotten how fiddly it can be to fit the upper to the sole. I got a lot of work done on Ivy's kimono this weekend, but I keep thinking of more things to make from the kimono book--a little bag! Flower clips for her hair! I'm a little worried about the length of the kimono, I made it wide enough to put tucks in the shoulders so it can be let out, but it may be just long enough. I suppose I could add a border to the bottom if she wants to keep wearing it for a few years.

I finished the needle-felted bento. I tried wet-felting the finished food in hopes of achieving a smoother finish, but they still are rather hairy. I used one of those cardboard boxes you can buy at craft stores for decoupaging, it's about 5 inches at the widest part and not quite 2 inches high--I did cut it down so the height would be closer to the proportions of an actual bento box. I painted chou-tototo on the top with acrylic paints and finished it with an acrylic spray--which I used in the basement thinking it would be good to use it away from the kids, not thinking that there is no ventilation. After I nearly fell over from dizzyness, I moved it to the side door which I propped open. I had a moment of panic thinking I had filled the basement with fumes and it was going to explode when the furnace clicked on, but everything is fine. Sometimes I am not too bright.

The contents are onigiri, edamame, cucumber slices, carrot flowers, meatballs and strawberries.

Thank you and Welcome!

2007-01-22T01:23:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all the nice comments about our new house. We are really enjoying living here. I also want to welcome the new readers to my blog--thanks for stopping by! It's always so heartening to see the proof that people are actually reading what I write.

We had a bit of excitement this weekend. I mentioned in the last post trying to get to the library, we made it out of the house and got home around 6 PM to a street full of firetrucks and police cars. One of the firemen told Brian they were asking people to voluntarily evacuate. Brian asked if there was a problem with a gasline (I guess there had been a fire in a house the street over the day before, and he thought maybe there was some issue with gas). The guy told him "yeah, something like that"

So we went out to eat and were going to head back home and see if everything was okay, when we heard a story on the radion news--stand-off continues in Lakewood, SWAT team on the spot, guy holed up in his house with a propane tank threatening to explode it. A little bit different from what we thought was the initial problem.

So, we hung out in a few stores, but by 10PM news reports still said there was no change in the situation. Brian's dad said we could come by and stay the night. So we drove over there and I actually had some quiet time to read my library books.

By morning everything was fine, apparently the police were able to get him out with tear gas:
Story here

Scary, but still impressive the way Lakewood responded to the emergency. Anyone who didn't have a place to go was put up at the high school, the city provided cots and food. Could have been one way to meet our neighbors, I guess.

Hello Kitty!

2007-01-20T13:13:00.000-05:00

Here is Hello Kitty in her new finery. I made a matching bow--she's a Buildabear Kitty and has a velcro by her left ear so her bows can be changed

You can see the bunchiness at the shoulders. I did a deep tuck on each side across the shoulder, this is how the kimono's in my children's books were sewn--maybe so they could be worn for a few years, letting out the tuck?

Ivy instructed me to leave a hole for her tail. I just tied a plain bow for the obi, I contemplated some sort of velcro construction with a pre-tied bow but decided Ivy wouldn't know the difference and it might be best not to get too complicated. She was very happy with the outfit. I have her kimono cut out, just need to sew it up. I've been getting a lot done this week, the downside is we haven't left the house except for a post office trip on Thursday. Think we'll head up to the library in a bit.

Work In Progress

2007-01-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Hello Kitty's Kimono

It's a little big across the shoulders, it was rather challenging to work with a stuffed animal's proportions. The shoulders are narrow with a big tummy, in order to allow the kimono to accomodate her tummy it's bunchy at the shoulders. Still, I am pleased with how it's turning out.

Kimono jacket

I tend to make these in florals, I wanted to make one that might be better suited to a little boy.

Overall, I am doing a good job working on the projects I had set out to accomplish. If I keep this up I may allow myself to attend the next fabric sale, haha.

New House Pictures

2007-01-17T19:59:00.000-05:00

Finally! Pictures of the new house!

The window seat. I bought some crayons you can color on glass with, that's whats all over the window.

Front bay window

Front staircase. There's another staircase that exits into the kitchen, they meet on the landing. The other staircase is most likely a servant's stairs.

Looking into the living room from the front door

Ivy's playroom. I think this was going to be half bath on the first floor, but they never actually started it. The window is glazed like a bathroom window though.

Kitchen. Lots of cupboards!

More cupboards and a sink of dirty dishes. This didn't look so dark when I was editing it.

And the most important room of all, my sewing room

More sewing room

and more

bookcases in the sewing room.

2007-01-14T22:13:00.000-05:00

This morning I caught myself thinking, "the sale ends today, I could drive out to Joann's and pick up a few more things. Plus, I have another 50% off coupon.". Seriously. Am I just nuts? As I was putting the fabric away yesterday I realized I still actually have quite a bit from the last two sales. To be far to myself, I did use quite a bit of the stash--an apron and a dress for Ivy, pillows for the window seat in the new house. Hmm. Maybe I should have gone back out today!

2007-01-13T17:20:00.000-05:00

Jo-Ann Fabrics has a sale this weekend on calico, 50% off. I just spent 45 minutes ironing all my freshly washed, newly purchased fabric...This time I did buy quite a bit with actual projects in mind, rather than my usual stocking up because "it's such a good price". So, I solemnly swear I will not buy any more fabric until I have completed the following:

1. Two kimono jackets for my Etsy website
2. Ivy has requested a kimono for both her Hello Kitty doll and herself. I am going to use this book. As long as I get the measurements correct it doesn't appear to be too difficult, everything is constructed from long strips of cloth. Although I've already discovered that Hello Kitty's needs to be altered to accomodate her non-human proportions. When will I learn to make a muslin mock-up first when I am trying to draft my own patterns?

That should be enough to keep me busy for a bit. Joann's has really started getting some great stuff in stock.
This is for Ivy's kimono

Not sure what these will be for, maybe spring clothes for Ivy

This really cracked me up when I found it, so I bought a yard. But then when I got it home and looked it up, the description said "dogs in Chinatown". The writing is clearly Japanese, although with the little I know it's pretty much gibberish. I feel a little annoyed with myself, maybe because it's the sort of thing marketed towards someone who has no knowledge of Chinese or Japanese and wouldn't be able to tell it apart, and just buys the stuff becasue it's cool. But that's kind of why I bought it anyway, I suppose 8-)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-01-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

It's my fortieth birthday today. I've had a few flashes of Holy Crap! How the hell did I get to be 40! But overall, it's pretty good. Except for the hangover. I could do without that but it's my own damn fault--last night was an Orthodox Christmas party at my former neighbor's house, and she bought me an ice cream cake. There was also much red wine drunk.

I need to get moving because I have some stupid errands to run, taking care of my driver's license and plates renewals, left to the last minute as usual. Tonight the girls and I are going to pajama party story hour at the library, which should be fun.

I feel as though I should come up with the grand plans for my fortieth year, but so far the best I've been able to come up with is working on becoming more limber. Sounds exciting, doesn't it!

Wet Felting

2007-01-03T21:24:00.000-05:00

Why do I continue to be frustrated in my efforts to wet felt? This is so annoying. I found this book at the library which seemed to carefully explain things step by step. Except her photos result in a lovely pair of boots, while mine ended up a sodden mass of half felted fiber that separated into thin sheets. I did successfully make two squares of felt, but the boots continue to elude me. And I am not sure what I am doing wrong, I felt I was following the directions. I hate wasting the fiber as well, but I supposed I can make it into something else, it still will needle felt. But man, I feel as though I keep trying and trying and I just can't get it.

I'm feeling a bit like I did when I was 10 years old and my mother tried to teach me to knit. I ended up with a huge lump of yarn on one needle, insisting I had done what she showed me to do and bursting into tears at her insistence that of course I hadn't. There probably is something I am not doing the right way and eventually I will figure it down but for right now I am going to take a break and maybe make some of these lovely boots that Molly Chicken was kind enough to share.

New Year's Goals

2007-01-03T02:00:00.000-05:00

One of my friends referred to her goals rather than resolutions and I really liked how that sounded, because it seems to put more emphasis on the process rather than the outcome. So, my goals for 2007

-drink more water. There was a period in my life when I was single where the only thing liquid I imbibed was coffee and alcohol. I guess there were ice cubes in the vodka tonics. I had to be so severely dehydrated. Anyway, I do drink more water now, but I need to drink even more. Our new refrigerator has one of those water things, so I am going to start getting something to drink everytime I am in the kitchen.

-stand up straight. I've always been kind of slouchy, but after my second pregnancy my posture was really shot to hell. I slump my shoulders horribly, and tilt my pelvis the wrong way. It looks awful. I am going to make a conscious effort to improve my posture, and not just when I catch a glimpse of myself in a store window.

-work harder on my Japanese. I was really pushing it seriously for a while, working from a textbook, doing lesson, I've really slacked off lately. This is a goal I intend to pursue for a while, and I don't want to slack off this soon, not when I've already made some progress

--Be more patient. Take a deep breath more often. Take that little extra bit to deal with things I don't like. I get so impatient with Miranda sometimes. I am getting better I think, but I still blow up at her over trivial things. I need to pause.

This list looks so trivial. I am sure there was more. Well, if I think of anything else I will post it. Sitting up straight and drinking a glass of water.

2007-01-02T15:34:00.000-05:00

Now that Christmas is over, I have plenty of time to sew and with my marvelous new sewing room, there is no excuse not to. I've already started on curtains for the kitchen, made some cushions for the window seat and a dragon hoodie for Miranda (which just needs cuffs and a waistband). It's a lot of fun to sew when you can shut the door, or even when you don't shut the door and everyone plays quietly (or not so quietly) while you strew fabric about to your heart's content.

I have an itch to make a doll, probably one for myself. My daughters are more stuffed animal kids, the few dolls I've made them don't get played with very often. Which is fine with me, because I can be selfish without feeling guilty. This was one of my favorite books as a child, I wanted a Japanese doll and doll house so badly. Recently I've been researching Japanese dolls again and what I would love to own is an ichimatsu doll such as these but looking over ebay they seem to be a bit out of my budget. I am contemplating purchasing this e-book, it's a PDF complete with patterns, but I don't know--I am a bit hesitant about buying a PDF, it's just not the same as a book. The dolls at website are fabulous, I especially like the little girl in the sailor dress. I've used her pattern before and it's a good one, especally the construction of the head. It's got such an anime look to it thought, and I do want something that looks more traditional. I've been looking through my doll books at home, but I have a feeling I may go with the e-book.

2006-12-30T00:34:00.000-05:00

I keep composing mental posts, but never find time to actually type them up. Christmas seemed as though it was over even quicker than ever this year, we already took down the tree--the needles were really dry and I was worried about burning down our house after living in for only two weeks.

Having my own sewing room is just wonderful. As soon as I figure out how to use our new camera I will post pictures, but I am notoriously slow in such endeavors. I figure the longer I take, the more finished all the rooms will be. I've got a huge list of projects, among them curtains for the kitchen and birthday gifts for Ivy. I also got a good book on wetfelting and want to try again at making little boots.

My 40th birthday is coming up in January. I've alternated between feeling elated and panicky. At this point I am kind of ambivelent. I would like to buy myself this miniature Re-ment Pucchi Elementary School set --look at the miniature Kanji books! And the bento box! But it seems a lot of money to spend on something that really is rather useless.

This weekend we just have to clean the old place and hopefully get at least some of our security deposit back. I think we took fairly good care of the place, but there are a few small holes in the plaster where I used the wrong stuff to hang pictures and one other hole where Miranda was swinging her foot while sitting at her desk. So I guess we just do our best cleaning and wait and see. Maybe the landlord will feel the work I did putting in an herb garden and clearing the yard is an even trade.

Settling In

2006-12-21T00:52:00.000-05:00

We are about 80% unpacked and I am pretty much burned out. Last night we decorated the tree--there is a curved bay window so you can see the tree from the street, I really love that. Today I made gingerbread cookies with the girls, and oh man, it's so much easier in a decent sized kitchen. We have enough counter space that both girls could get a stool and have an area to roll out dough and cut out cookies. It was marvelous. I never used to really enjoy baking with the girls and felt like a poor unschooling mom as a result (teach them math by baking and all that) but I am looking forward to trying to do a lot more baking and cooking with them. Mostly now we are waiting for the third floor to be done (was supposed to be done a week ago, mutter mutter). The big deal about the third floor is that it's going to be Brian's office so while it's inconvenient to have all his office stuff piled up around the living room, as well as everything that's going to be stored up there, it's even harder for him to have to work from the dining room.

We did get a new digital camera, once I figure out how to use it and post pictures (takes me awhile to figure out new stuff) I will show you all my lovely new home. I'm really happy to be here, this is the sort of old home I've always wanted.

2006-12-18T01:17:00.000-05:00

I'm here in the new house, typing on my husband's laptop since my computer hasn't been setup yet. I haven't been online since last Tuesday. Miss me? I'm really tired and have a bad cold, as well as drinking a glass of celebratory champagne, so this might not make much sense. I've got a lot unpacked already--I would love to have everything done by Christmas, but that might be a bit ambitious.

The actual moving day went fairly well. There was about an hour where we were worried that no one was going to show up to help, and then my two nephews, one of their friends and my sister's boyfriend arrived. I am forever indebted to them, because otherwise it would have been me, Brian, his dad and one of Brian's friend who couldn't make it until later. We did everything in one load and I cooked a huge pot of chili for everyone.

The third floor still isn't done yet, so all of Brian's office stuff is downstairs, as well as quite a few boxes we were going to store up there. I am hoping they will be done soon, they were supposed to finish last weekend. But we can tell stuff is getting worked on, they are here every day--they were even here for a bit today and it's Sunday. So hoping it won't be much longer.
Tomorrow I am going to take the girls to see Charlotte's Web and then do some grocery shopping. I am selfishly hoping that the public school kids aren't on Christmas holiday yet so that there won't be too many people at the theatre.

The house is fabulous, I can finally be excited about it. I've always wanted to live in a house like this. The kitchen has so many cabinets, I still have a few empty ones. And we have a brand new hot water tank--the sellers had bought a year of home warranty, and the real estate company matched it with another year. Last week Brian was at the house doing some work, went to the basement to wash up and found a puddle of water by the hot water tank. Panicked, and then remembered the warranty. There's a 50.00 deductible, so fifty dollars later, we had a new hot water tank. Now I am going to have to be careful taking showers--at the other house, sometimes I would shower until the hot water ran out since it didn't take long. Here there seems to be hot water forever.

We are supposed to be getting a new camera soon, so I will post pictures of everything, especially my new craft room. I think we have a pussy willow tree in the front yard, I can't really tell because it's winter but it's been warm enough to have a few buds that look right. There are a few small trees on the side of the porch that are bare so I can't identify them--it's probably to much to hope for that they are lilacs. The backyard I swear has years of accumulated leaves on the ground, there are three big oak trees back there. I found a few acorns and snuck them on Ivy's window sill and now she thinks Totoro put them there.

And even more Yesasia

2006-12-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

I am so glad these books arrived before our change of address took effect, I'm too impatient for any delays. And this time the shipping was super quick, considering I always choose the free shipping option.

Needle and wet felting book. I saw this for sale on a US based website for 20.00. As a former bookdealer I understand mark-ups, but I was very glad to find it at Yesasia for 5.49. It's a rather small book, only 9 projects but a nice variety. ISBN 4834763994

I really love these Kuri Kuri books. Not only are there fun projects but links to some great Japanese websites. ISBN 4576052063

Another bento book. This one has wonderful kids bentos and detailed instructions on making the food and arranging it. ISBN 4834722473

Supposedly the big moving day is Saturday. One of the good things about doing your own moving is you can pack in a rather haphazard fashion so I am off to toss items into boxes.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

2006-12-07T00:32:00.000-05:00

And I realize I am late in posting this, St. Nicholas Day is December 6th and it's now after midnight and officially December 7th. We celebrate St. Nicholas Day in a widely adapted manner handed down from my dad's German side of the family. As a kid, we hung socks--not stockings, just a clean sock--on December 5th. St. Nicholas would leave a small gift and some candy. We celebrated Christmas as well, but didn't hang up stockings, there was just gifts under the tree. I've passed the tradition onto my children--although we hang up stockings at Christmas as well. My husband was horrified at the idea of no stocking stuffers (a concept which rather baffled me for a while, the concept of special things specifically for putting in the stocking. Our St. Nick gifts as a kid were simply presents small enough to fit in a stocking, not stocking stuffers.

The girls were quite happy with their gifts. Ivy got the apron, mitt and towel I posted in the last entry, along with some cookware from this wonderful website. Miranda got a Buildabear kit to make her own monkey. Both girls got Christmas ornaments--Miranda's is a wooden wolf and Ivy's a sequinned gecko. And of course chocolates and a candy cane, which are all already gone. Everyone was happy and Ivy was quite impressed that St. Nicholas knew she liked fossas.

2006-12-05T21:25:00.000-05:00

If you don't mind using a bit of imagination, you'll be able to see what I've been up to recently. All I have right now for pictures is the scanner, so I can only post portions of projects.

I was doing a bit of Christmas shopping last weekend. I had told myself it was okay if I didn't make Christmas gifts this year, what with the move and all I had enough going on. I was looking at an apron, oven mitt, towel set for Ivy to use in her kitchen set. I carried it around the store thinking, I could make this. I could make it so easily, in fabric I liked, I have some great stuff at home I just bought. But why not give yourself a break and just buy it. It's not that big a deal. I ended up putting it back on the rack because where's the fun posting a picture of a store-bought apron?

So, this is what I made. Remember, imagination.
This is an apron in the style of the others I have posted, with the criss-cross back. The picture is of the pocket on the front, with a fossa embroidered on it. You may recall my post about Ivy's love of the fossa The green fabric is some linen I picked up as a remnant, I love that color.

This is a child size matching oven mitt, the orange fabric is the same as the body of the apron.

And this is the towel. I rather like how it turned out and might make some for my own kitchen, but in different colors.

And last of all, this is the detail on a kimono type jacket I made for Ivy, it's the same pattern as the baby kimonos I have posted in the past and sell in my Etsy shop. This is wool felt applique with some embroidery.

2006-12-02T11:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the comments on my burglary post. I'm no Pollyanna, but I am realizing how much worse it could have been--another online friend was completely cleared out over Thanksgiving weekend, the robbers stole Christmas presents, their television, computer and many other things. Despite my anger, I realize we are fortunate to be a household with several computers, the thieves only took one. We have renter's insurance and will be able to easily replace the things stolen.

On a happier note, we received the keys to our new house Thursday night. Now the hell of actually moving can begin! We are refinishing the wood floors downstairs so will have to pile boxes in the kitchen and upstairs. But at least we can start!

2006-11-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

I won't be posting any photos for a while, because we returned from a weekend at my inlaws in Pennsylvania to discover someone had broken into the house and stolen my daughter's computer, the camera, the DVD player and my husband's electric razor (that one baffles me). At least they left my computer, probably because it was too big to easily cart out. This is the second time we've been broken into in the past six months and it's making our decision to move a lot easier.

Dolls' Dressmaking

2006-11-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

Look what arrived in the mail today!

Dolls' Dressmaking by Winifred Butler, c. 1962
I found it in the school library when I was about 8 and I didn't quite yet have the sewing skills I needed to create the outfits. Later the book disappeared from the library and I would search for it every time I got a chance, but it never resurfaced. I don't know if it was lost, or simply discarded because it was an older book. I actually found it again back when I first started selling books, but decided to sell it, certain that it would turn up again at a library sale but it never did. Fortunately it was fairly easy to find a copy online, it's just when I was attending library sales all the time it was more fun to try and hunt down books there rather than just ordering them.

I love that pink coatt--I had a similar one of my own in yellow that my grandmother made me for easter one year. There are even instructions for making the little button boots.

Very 1960's! These dolls would have been quite fashionable.
Another project for the neverending to-do list!

Doll book and felt bento

2006-11-22T12:41:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Mollychicken I was reminded of one of my favorite doll making books.

I remember finding it at the library when I was in high school and experimenting with different types of dollmaking. I made my sister an African doll with a baby on her back--I have no idea what happened to it, I had actually forgotten making it until I saw the picture in the book. Thanks to our great interlibrary loan system, I was able to find a copy, but I think I may have to purchase a copy of my own.

This is another great crafting book from my youth. Some of the projects are a little too eighties for my tastes (despite growing up in that era, I truly have very little nostalgia for it) but there is so much in it that I am able to find things I like.

And to add to my list of things I want to make, mr. monkeysuit linked to this wonderful website and now I want to make Ivy a felt bento.

2006-11-20T16:34:00.000-05:00

I think I resolved the issues with Ivy's dress. A big part of the problem was one of the fabrics I chose just wasn't working with the rest of the dress. I really wanted to use it, but I wasn't happy with the results. Another problem is that Ivy has a narrow torso, her ribcage and shoulders are about a size smaller than the rest of her, due to surgery when she was born for a large omphalocele. So I need to make the larger size to accomodate her height, but size the bodice down. This was a more fitted dress than I usually make, so I needed to be sure the measurements were correct. I have to confess that in general I am a sloppy seamstress, I am more excited about the outcome than the actual process so I tend to sort of try and fix sewing problems without actually taking out seams and redoing anything. This time that wouldn't work, and I had to redo the whole bodice. I'm happy with the results and Ivy likes the dress so I guess I was successful. Here it is before hemming and finishing the lining. I cannot ever get facings to lie flat, so I almost always line bodices--which gives a nicer finish anyway, I think

This started out three years ago as a skirt for Miranda, based on the beautiful skirts the women of Lapland create. There are strips of colored flannel and flowered ribbon trim. It never looked quite right to me and has been sitting on my fabric shelf. As I am packing and sorting things, it occured to me it would make a warm pair of pants for Ivy.
Please pardon the poor quality of this picture, I don't know why my pictures are sometimes great and sometimes lousy when I swear I do the same thing everytime.

2006-11-18T23:42:00.000-05:00

I am trying to pack a few boxes every day (well, every other day or so) and it just doesn't seem to be making any difference. I am however, finding cool things I had completely forgotten I owned, such as this silver thimble

I can't even remember where I got this. It's a bit bent so that it makes more of an oval than a circle, so I wonder if it might have been at the bottom of a box of books I bought somewhere. It has a number 7 and a silver crown on it. Unfortunately it's too small for my finger.

I made up some felted drawer mice and a hedgehog for my Etsy shop. I rolled lavender up in the wool before needle felting, they smell wonderful. They are supposed to be drawer sachets.

2006-11-14T21:22:00.000-05:00

Man, I am having a bad crafting day and it's making me grouchy and mean. I started a Christmas dress for Ivy using one of my Japanese books, and it's not coming out right at all. It's far too wide in the bodice and the sleeves don't hang right. I'm finding this book a lot more difficult to navigate than the other one I have, and it's really frustrating me. At this point I don't think what I've done so far is salvable, and I'm not that crazy about the print combination I chose either. But I really hate feeling as though I have wasted fabric. I suppose I will end up using it for something, but I am quite annoyed right now and taking a break from the machine.

I also am a bit disappointed in Craftivity . I almost hesitate to post this, since it's gotten such glowing reviews blogwide, which is why I ordered it in the first place. I think if I had looked through it first (I bought it off of Amazon) I probably wouldn't have bought it. The projects are fine, but I didn't see very many I thought I would ever do.

And it took me forever to get decent pictures of the newest items I wanted to put on Etsy. And I really don't like how the new Etsy looks.

Needle Felting

2006-11-14T00:43:00.000-05:00

I felted two little mice for the girls, something simple to get started. I tend to want to do something really impressive right away, this was just the right project to figure out the technique. I am going to try and felt some with lavender in the middle to use as drawer sachets.

Now I am working on a home for our gnomes based on these

Sage Dream Design

The thing I love about needle felting something like this is that it's very hard to mess it up, mistakes just become part of the "landscape". I'd like to finish it as a gift to Miranda and Ivy on the Solstice. I always intend to do a proper seasonal celebration, but Winter Solstice often gets lost in Christmas preparations.

Over the past four years, I have been somewhat obsessed with making wool boots. I tried the techniques here and Here but numerous attempts only led to lumps of wool in a vague boot form. I then tried knitting boots that were then felted and had some success with a flat pattern (I hate double-pointed needles, mostly because I can't master them) and made quite a few of those for various people and now I am thinking of attempting to needle felt a pair of baby boots. The knitted ones I felt are great, but several years ago I saw a pair of boots at a fair, they were red and pointy toed and the workmanship was just lovely, more delicate than the ones I knit, but still substantial enough to be footwear. So I may try again.

Amigurumi Friends

2006-11-12T00:23:00.000-05:00

Here is an assortment of animal buddies sitting around my computer desk, waiting for Etsy to finish the upgrade so I can put them in the shop. I crocheted these from Sugar and Cream cotton, my hands were hurting from crocheting so tightly, but you can still see spaces between the stitches. Maybe I am stuffing them too tightly? I like how they turned out, especially the bunny and the monkey, but I don't know if I will make any more. I was looking for a project I could work on while watching television and this suited that purpose, but I don't enjoy the look of crocheted stuffed animals as much as fabric ones. I was trying to make something from cotton yarn that a baby could potentially chew on. I made the arms and legs long on some of them and didn't stuff the limbs so they are floppy. They might also be a good project for car trips, or visits with my in-laws.

Books, Fabric and Wool

2006-11-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

What's the best thing to do when you can't walk through your house without stumbling over a box and you are trying to figure out how you got so much stuff anyway and how will you ever pack it up? Buy more stuff!

Bento book ISBN 4056043116. I was slightly disappointed only because someone had posted some great pictures in a bento box community, I asked her for the ISBN and she must have had several books because this one is different. The one she posted had really great lunches for kids with animal characters made out of food. I do still like this one, it's just not what I thought it would be.

Guri to Gura aiueo book ISBN 4834017958. I already have a set of Guri to Gura Iroha Karuta cards so I thought this might be fun for Ivy, who is showing far more interest in learning Japanese than Miranda.

And something for me to practice reading. I've read it in English so I am already familiar with the story. Azumanga Daioh ISBN 4840221286

A wonderful selection of wool from A Child's Dream Come True. Aren't the colors glorious? Now to teach myself needlefelting...I made a small snow leopard for Miranda a while ago.

I am not sure I will ever be at this skill level! http://yoomoo.blog5.fc2.com/
I am fairly certain I read somewhere that these dolls are needlefelted, although I could be wrong. They are amazing!

Moving Chaos

2006-11-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

This is what my dining room looks like right now

You may be able to see my sewing machine on the dining room table. This is the room I do all my crafting and sewing in, there is barely enough space right now to change the bobbin. I've just about given up on the idea of hand-made gifts for my sister-in-laws shower and will probably just pull stuff from my Etsy shop, which is a somewhat reasonable substitution. But I had wanted to make Ivy a dress for a wedding at the beginning of December, and that might be a bit of a challenge. I am not sure what is worse--trying to work amidst this chaos, or just giving up on it for a while and losing that creative outlet. I have been working on some amigurumi for my shop, since that is something I can do at my desk while watching my lastest jdrama, Kekkon Dekinai Otoko.

And I finished two of the toddler backpacks/knapsacks, they are for sale at my Etsy shop.

New House

2006-11-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

We are first time homeowners of a lovely old house. I am not sure if it's Victorian, but it's at least 1920's. Beautiful woodwork, wood floors, gas fireplace. And a wonderful large kitchen. It was all rather sudden, at least to me, and I am walking around in a bit of a daze thinking good god we have a lot of stuff to pack up. We close at the end of November, there is a bit of work that needs to be done before we can move in so we are hoping to be settled by the middle of December. I am not looking forward to doing this right before the holidays, but I figure the girls aren't going to care if everything is still in boxes, as long as there is a tree and stockings. This does put sort of a rush on making Christmas gifts. Fortunately I've been doing rather well the past few days finishing up projects, the toddler knapsacks are just about done and the pajamas only need elastic in the waistbands. I am so relieved the pajamas are done. I really didn't like the material Miranda picked up, monkeys with bright blue eyeshadow and red lipstick, and the words sweet.
It really made me rather grumpy to work with it. And this was the first time I've worked with a print that very obviously had a right side to it and I was careless cutting pieces out, so Ivy's top is upside down. I figure it will look right side up when she is looking down at herself and left it that way. Besides, they are pajamas, we are the only ones who will ever see them. Or perhaps not, because as homeschoolers Miranda has a penchant for wearing her pajamas in public, much to her dad's dismay.

Let's see, packing, baby shower gift, packing, Christmas gifts--and more packing. Need to get started!

2006-10-25T19:36:00.000-04:00

I've got about fifteen different projects going on right now. A pile of amigurumi toys for the website, several toddler size backpacks, also for the website, and a pair of pajamas for each of the girls. I also need to make a baby kimono for my sister-in-law's shower, and some Christmas present clothes for the girls build-a-bear stuffed animals. I'd also like to make Ivy a new Christmas dress with my new Japanese craft book.

We are looking at new houses, we'd like to buy one before the New Year. We're looking for something bigger than the house we are currently renting, so among other things I can have my own craft room. So maybe we can start actually eating meals at the dining room table again. The process of looking at houses is exhausting, though. I'm inclined to just take the first one that looks good, although that's probably not the best way to do it.

I just finished watching Odoru Daisousasen, which was more of a comedy, I was hoping for more of a thriller, but I still enjoyed it. Now I am watching Rondo, which is a little confusing. The subtitles are very poorly done as well, which adds to my confusion. But it's a good way to pass time while crocheting or embroidering.

Fabric Book

2006-10-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

I just finished this for my shop. I had to keep it hidden from Ivy, who was ready to claim it as her own.

Available at Purple Kappa!

Jump to Japan

2006-10-19T18:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we drove to Toledo for the Jump to Japan exhibit at COSI. Getting to ride in the Cat Bus was very much one of the highlights of the visit.

This one is a little dark and blurry, it's a replica of the giant camphor tree in the movie My Neighbor Totoro.

There was also a lot of other great things to do, including a freaky anti-gravity room that was so disorienting it gave me a headache and a bubble exhibit where you could stand inside a bubble. It was a lot of fun and well worth the trip--although I was monumentally disappointed that no one noticed the Totoro applique on Ivy's pants, but that's just because I am a huge show-off.

The Fossa

2006-10-19T18:37:00.000-04:00

As I have been telling my Ivy/fossa story to folks, I am realizing not everyone knows what a fossa is. It's actually a rather obscure animal that lives on the island of Madagascar, if you have seen the movie Madagascar, they do appear only they are referred to as Foosas.

Last year Brian found a little hooded one piece sweatsuit for Ivy at the thrift shop, it had cat ears and a tail, as well as a little button you could push so it would meow. Miranda was immensely envious. Not only that, but cats were her thing and she didn't want her little sister edging in on her territory. So she told Ivy the suit was a fossa suit, since fossas look very much like cats. Ivy was fine with this, and gradually Miranda was able to convince her that she does in fact love fossas. So now she pretends she is a fossa, which confuses people who think she is saying Mufasa from the Lion King. And then they think she is this rather bright child who knows all about fossas when she explains to them that it's a fierce carnivore mongoose from Madagascar. And that's the definition of the fossa, as well as their history in our family.

Yesasia.com

2006-10-09T10:36:00.000-04:00

The improvements to the Yesasia website are going to make it very difficult to stick to a budget. Now you only have to spend 25.00 to get free shipping and it's so much quicker, it used to take on average 5 weeks, my package arrived within 3 weeks this time.

This time I got 2 books I've seen on other blogs
ISBN 4529042049

ISBN 4579110919

as well as one I found by browsing
ISBN 4579108272

This one is really lovely, shows how to make five traditional kimonos, 4 for girls, 1 for boys. With my limited Japanese, I am pretty sure these are meant to be for the Shichi-Go-San Festival. I"m just not sure how much I would use this book, but I am going to hang on to it for a bit. It would certainly be more practical to sell it, especially since I already have a new order lined up at Yesasia...I suppose there are worse vices than too many Japanese books. I can always rationalize that they are helping me learn to read kanji.

Purple Kappa

2006-10-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

I had forgotten what a special challenge it is to write HTML by hand while holding a sleeping child in one arm. Not to mention forgetting how to code HTML altogether. I managed to summon my rusty skills and my new website is now active

Purple Kappa

Not sure how I like the layout. I like writing my own code, but there is something less polished about the look of the website. It's okay, just not quite what I envisioned. Trouble is, I am not really sure what my vision is.

Tonight's conversataion with Ivy:

Ivy: MOM, come here. I have to tell you something
Brian--mom is eating, can I help you?
Ivy--NO! I NEED MOM!

I get up and walk into the living room

Ivy--Fossas have testicles
Me--yes, you're right, they do.
Brian--(choking on laughter)

More Swap Stuff!

2006-09-21T20:58:00.000-04:00

Our final package arrived today all the way from New Zealand. What fun! Handmade coloring books--what a great idea, handmade notebooks of colored paper, laminated playboards, flower hair clips and chocolate. I think my daughters have a lot in common with two little girls in New Zealand--they both love coloring and writing in little books made of paper stapled together and two of their favorite movies are Totoro and the Incredibles. Ivy sat down at the dining room table and colored her book right away. Thank you, Spangle!

Finished four kimonos for my Etsy shop

Banner Over Me

2006-09-17T00:23:00.000-04:00

Oh man, I have just spent all day trying to figure out how to make a banner for a website. I want to make my own, I have a specific drawing I want to use and I just can't do it. I did figure out some cool features of Corel Photo-Paint I never knew existed, and I have had the software for 6 years...Geez, I can write HTML code, I can edit pictures, why can't I figure this out? I am so frustrated. I'm ready to just draw the banner, scan it and use that.

Drat!

2006-09-14T01:31:00.000-04:00

I bought this wonderful poppy print fabric at a local thrift shop and intended to make a child's kimono top out of it.

I already had it cut out and was pinning it together to sew when I noticed there is a small pinprick spot of a few pulled threads-- you can see it at the top of the one leaf.

I'm rather annoyed. If it were for personal use I would go ahead and sew it, but I was going to put it in my Etsy shop and now I am afraid it will fray and turn into a larger hole. It's too small for Miranda and too large for Ivy. I am going to put it aside and see if I can think up some sort of embroidery or applique to cover it up. This particular thrift still uses staples to attach the price tags, and not just one, they use 4 or 5 so people can't remove them. I don't buy tshirts from them because it's so hard to remove the price tag without a few small holes. I thought I had removed this one carefully, but I guess not. It's a profitable store, there are four of them in the area and they have been around since the mid-eighties, I don't know why they don't invest in a price-tag thingy.

Vacation

2006-09-12T21:23:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had a job where you thought a vacation would be just the thing to refresh you and you would return to work eager to start, and instead when you returned all you could think about was how nice it was when you were on vacation, not working. I am starting to feel that way about my daily routine, the little breaks I get aren't enough to make enthusiastic about the return. I'm being selfish, there are so many moms who have far more strenous schedules than I do, with breaks few and far between. But I am getting a bit weary of the same old thing, day after day. This summer has been particularly tedious--Brian had rehearsals for the summer Shakespeare festival, then went to Toronto a week, and now that he's finished with King Lear, he's moving straight into rehearsals for Hamlet. So it's been just me and the girls around the house a lot, all day long.

I have managed to accomplish quite a bit over the past few days. Ivy and Miranda have been relatively content to sit at the dining room table and draw while I sew.

These are for Ivy, they just need elastic in the waist. The fabric is corduroy from the thrift shop. That patch pocket on the side turned out huge, didn't it! I'll see how it looks when she is wearing the pants.

These are for Miranda, blue corduroy pants with a fox patch pocket. I'm really pleased how the fox turned out, I had a lot of trouble with it at first.

This is a smock for Ivy to wear over long sleeved shirts. I just love this pattern, it's so easy but it looks so cute when she is wearing it. It's from ISBN4579110544

This is another kimono for my Etsy website. The fabric is a cream colored flannel with a red floral print. There is Japanese kanji scattered throughout the print, but I think it's just random words. I still need to do the Sashiko embroidery around the neck and sleeves.

It's going to be a strange night, I fear. Miranda's been running a fever all day, she's been sleeping since around 7PM. Brian was feeling sleepy as well, so is taking a nap so he can be awake if she wakes up in the middle of the night. If Ivy cooperates and falls asleep soon, I will actually have a bit of time to myself, but that is a big if.

Teeny Tiny Swap

2006-09-12T16:19:00.000-04:00

The girls and I are participated in the Teeny Tiny Swap organized by Amanda at Zhinka Dinka Doo. I was so concerned with getting our package out ontime I forgot to take photos, but our own swap packages have been arriving in the mail.

This package arrived from Shannon at Sacred Waters Soaps. Supplies and instructions for a fairy house!

We put the finished house on our Nature Table for the gnomes--they appear to be quite happy to have a cozy home with autumn approaching

The second package arrived from Purlyshells. A fun package of goodies! Stickers, stamps, magnets, a crane mobile, a CD of summer lullabies and 2 bracelets.

Ivy modeling her bracelet

Thank you, Amanda for organizing such a fun swap!

Little Details

2006-09-05T23:40:00.000-04:00

I am not much of a writer, but this website is fascinating me: Little Details

About a year ago I decided I wanted to teach myself Japanese. Actually, what I wanted to do was incorporate learning Japanese into our homeschooling, but I became so fascinated I began to focus more on my own learning. A year later I really don't know that much--it's difficult to find time to study. A few months ago I found out from another homeschooling mom that as an Ohio resident I can access Rosetta Stone for free through the Columbus Metropolitan Library . All I had to do was apply for an library card online, it was mailed to me and now I just sign in to the website for free language lessons. Rosetta Stone does have some shortcomings, I do feel it needs to be supplemented but being able to access it for free is wonderful. If you are interested in learning a language, it might be worthwhile to check the libraries in your area and see if they have made it available to patrons.

I am kind of hoping tomorrow is cold and rainy so I can sit the girls in front of the television without feeling guilty. My pile of cut-out projects in getting higher and higher, I need to start sewing them. I was going to start tonight, but first Ivy and Miranda were making little books at the dining room table, and then Miranda and Brian played a game. I need a craft room!

Spiders and Butterflies

2006-09-04T18:39:00.001-04:00

There is a stack of pants and kimonos on the dining room, cut out and ready to be sewn. They've been sitting there for several days because we've been busy with other things such as observing large spiders:

This beautiful garden spider has the scientific name Miranda aurantia, much to daughter Miranda's delight. This is the biggest one I have ever seen, it's bigger than the palm of my hand. I am both fascinated and a bit repulsed. I am glad it's in the garden!

This is a weed called Japanese knotweed. It's horribly invasive, and for the past five years I have been battling it's attempts to take over my vegetable garden. But if you look closely, you will see it's now inhabited by monarch butterflies. There must be nearly a hundred butterflies flitting around and hanging off the blossoms, it's one of the most amazing things I have seen in my backyard. I don't know why there are so many this year, generally we glimpse a few but nothing like this.

We've also been playing with the new tent we picked up at a garage sale for 5.00. The girls were going to try to sleep outdoors, but after a huge slug crawled onto the quilts, all bets were off as they ran screaming towards the house. But it's a lot of fun to hang out in during the day.

It's also been hard to get sewing done when I have been socializing more than I used to. I've gotten to be good friends with my next door neighbor--given my social anxiety, this is no easy feat for me. Last night we sat in the yard and talked over beers while the girls took turns sliding down her carpeted stairs in sleeping bags. Today I had to explain to Ivy that since our stairs have no carpetting, this would not be a good idea. We'll just have to wait until we can visit Jessie again.