Purple Kappa

No pictures, just links

Yesasia has raised their prices around 3.00 on all books. Good thing I'm pretty well stocked up! Still, I did a comparison over on Amazon Japan and if I'm reading the shipping information correctly, the only option is International Express Shipping which would be around 25.00, with an additional 3.00 handling charge for each item? Even though the books are cheaper in price on Amazon Japan, Yesasia's free shipping still seems to make it a much better deal, as long as I don't mind waiting a month to get my books. Incidentally, does anyone have trouble viewing the Yesasia website in Foxfire? I have problems with everything locking up, I have to view it in Internet Explorer.

I still have some wool felt I was going to make into animals and never did, now I'm wondering about a doll like one of these. I especially like the dreadlocked hair. It would have to be for me though, neither of the girls really likes to play with dolls. And the few they do play with are plastic ones, the Waldorf dolls I labored over lie neglected.

Loose and swingy layered clothing Coton Clothing

 

Dreadlocked Lion's Mane

This is a project that's been taking shape in my head for a few years and I've been putting it off. It's part of a winged lion costume for Miranda

The dreadlocks are made of wool yarn, attached to a piece of elastic. I've interrupted her World of Warcraft game and was taking a quick picture, I see now that I need to move the dreads a bit to cover the elastic in a few places. It was tedious to make, but really quite easy. I've included a tutorial with photographs. The wood floor probably wasn't the best contrast for taking the pictures, but I didn't realize that until I'd already felted the mane.

You need to use 100% wool yarn in order for it to felt properly. I used some scrap pieces I had lying around. I wound it around my arm and elbow to get pieces that were about 30 inches. You want the hanks of yarn to be about 1 1/2 times as long as the finished piece, because they will shrink.

Attach the hanks of yarn using slip knots to a length of elastic long enough to make a comfortable headband

You can make the hanks as thick or thin as you want, but each hank will make a dread, the thickness of the hank will determine how thick the dread is.

Continue until most of the elastic is covered. You can stretch the elastic some while covering it, but it isn't necessary to fully stretch it.

When you have the elastic covered, knot the ends together. Now you are going to felt it in the washing machine. Put the mane in a pillow case--I have a zippered one that works great, otherwise tie it shut or use a rubber band. Don't omit the pillowcase, or you will just get a knotted mess that wraps around the agitator. Use the smallest load setting, hot water. Add a little detergent--I just use dish detergent because it's cheaper and I'm not trying to clean anything, just aid the felting process.

I've always been able to get the dreads to felt by running one load. The hanks pretty much make individual dreads all on their own, although some stick together and you can pull them apart, others kind of stuck but the effect was still okay. It could probably use a few more dreads, but Miranda likes it the way it is.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments section!

I spent the morning at the hospital while Ivy completed the last of her tests--a glucose breathe test to see if there is bacteria in her intestines. This involved getting up very early, not eating any breakfast (no food or water after midnight for Ivy, I snuck a cup of coffee and a banana before I woke her up), drinking a glass of sugary warm orange soda and then breathing into a tube every fifteen minutes for two hours. She did much better than I expected--I was really dreading this one, it helped that they had a collection of Pokemon videos she could watch. The results were negative--which in a way is bad news, as it means she does need surgery now. She's actually rather excited about staying at the hospital, although after seeing this video about going in for surgery that La Mammina posted in a blog entry about her own daughter's upcoming hospital visit, she's decided she'd like to fly to Australia for her surgery. Unfortunately we'll be staying here in Cleveland but I think I've managed to convince her that the Cleveland Clinic is every bit as cool as Sydney Children's Hospital.

After a busy morning it was nice to come home to this package

Two back issues of Cotton Friend and some decorative tape--Little Red Riding Hood, hedgehogs, robots and cars. There is a super duper sale going on at Superbuzzy and things are going fast, especially the back issues of magazines. After missing out on the Spring 2007 of Cotton Friend, I quickly placed an order for these two. I'll post more pictures later--I'm trying to convince Ivy that she (meaning me) needs a nap.

ISBN 4579110609

I've been finishing up a lot of projects which is great, but what I'm really doing is procrastinating on a project I've been wanting to start for a while. This is sitting in my sewing room

3 yards of linen and a new book, Homspun ISBN 4579110609.

I first spotted the book at Berlin's Whimsy and then after seeing  this dress from the book made by Sara at The Small Object I really wanted to make one for myself. (click on the image to see the one she made)

But as I'm several sizes larger than the book patterns I need to make a muslin. Well, not really a muslin since I'm using some fabric I'll never use for anything else. Still, it's going very slowly. I've never done this before--adjusted a pattern. And it needs to fit properly, even it it is a loose-fitting dress. Kids clothes are easy, if they are too big you can roll them up, or push up the sleeves, or take in a tuck and it still looks fine. I'm just very hesitant to start cutting into the linen, I don't want to screw it up. So I keep starting on other things, so it seems as though I'm busy but eventually I need to take the plunge.

There are a variety of projects in the books, some with simple, classic lines that I would like to make for myself along with the dress.

Others are a bit--unusual. Such as these "window shirts"

and this doll. Folksy or just a little creepy?

 

Signs of Spring and Topstitching

Finally, Spring is starting to come to Northeast Ohio.

The Star Magnolia tree in our front yard. I'm hoping it will get bigger now that I cut down the hedges that were crowding it. The lanterns are from our Winter Solstice celebration (maybe time to take them down?) and the pieces of yarn are in hopes that birds will take them for nests.

It was in the mid seventies today, so I walked to the small Joann fabrics shop, it's about a mile and half away from our house. I needed thread and after reading this great post at Pink Chalk Studio I bought topstitching needles.

I'd been frustrated with how slopping and unprofessional my topstitching always looks, and I didn't realize that using the correct needle made such a difference. In fact, I must confess--I didn't realize there was such a thing as topstitching needles. I didn't even realize there were different needles for different projects. I knew they came in different sizes for different weights of fabric, but I thought the "universal needles" on the packages I bought meant they could be used on any sewing machine. After all, I'd seen needles in packages marked "Singer".  I also bought the more expensive Gutterman thread, and it seems to work a lot better on my machine, I'd been having annoying problems with tension. 

I also stopped at a little antique store where I found this lovely cotton lace slip

It's in very nice shape, and of a sturdier cotton than some of the other stuff I've bought, so I'm hoping I can wear it. It has some yellowish stains so I'm soaking it in vinegar and water using this guide at Catherine's Vintage Style. I'm going to need to alter it a bit as well--I held it up to see if it would fit across my chest, and it does but the armholes are too tight. I'd like to shorten it as well so I can wear it as a summer top. Isn't that lace wonderful?

Preparing for Your Baby

I found this book at the main branch of our library by doing searches on Japanese words--in this case it was "fuku". which means "clothing". The book came from the stacks, which is why I never saw it when I'd browse the Japanese language books. It's from 1981 and the ISBN is 9784829200803 but it appears to be out of print. The clothing is a bit dated, but there are some basic things, especially in the baby wardrobe, that would be easy to adapt.

The title in Japanese is Akachan O Mukaeru Junbi 3 Sai Made No Fuku Kisekata Tsukurikata which I believe translates to something about Preparing For Your Baby Until 3 Years Old. The book appears to include instructions for diapering, swaddling and includes a pattern for a sling

There are instructions for both sewing and knitting clothing

as well as altering clothing, such as using an adult shirt to make a child's smock

It's really a charming book--I wish it will still in print and I think I will be making good use of our library's online renewal function.

Wishbooks

I've been reminiscing over childhood Christmas gifts at this website: Wishbookweb.com. There are two 1970's ones, the one I remember best with regards to toys is 1976, by 1979 I was nearly 13. I found the fancy doll my grandmother bought me, I thought it was so elegant with long dark hair and a sheer dress decorated with red ribbon and appliques. There's also a drink and wet baby doll with blond curly hair, a craft kit where you could make the tackiest silver and turquoise jewelry ever--I remember I gave my dad the bolo tie but I don't think he ever actually wore it. And a pair of leather moccasins, they were pre-cut and you just laced them up. I wore them everywhere I was allowed--they were really more like slippers so I wasn't permitted to wear them to school, although I probably tried.

I finished an outfit for Ivy and it really gave me a lot of trouble. For some reason I decided she was now a size 120cm in Japanese patterns--which is around a size 7/8 in American sizes. She wears about a size 5, no wonder everything has been so huge...Fortunately I only made a few items before I discovered my mistake. I guess it was because she's been size 110 since she was three so I figured she was ready to move a size up? I don't know. So I had to alter the top a bit, by gathering the neck. It looks fine, except the gathers are a little wonky. I suppose it shows my true character I decided since it wasn't something I'm going to sell I'm just going to leave it the way it is.

And since I've done such a good job working through my list, I've bought more fabric. This is a selection of 1930's reproduction prints from Abigayle's Quiltery.

Speaking of buying fabric, Joann's has all their linen 50% off until May 3. I bought some chocolate brown, but I keep thinking about the lovely sort of variegated black with little slubs in it.

Dish Towels

I found these at the thrift shop last week and I can't tell if they are something special--actual feedsack? Or just plain ordinary dish towels. They seem to be cotton, with a sort of herringbone textured weave

Remember this dress?

The underskirt doesn't show as I originally intended, but that's okay. It's available in the shop. I wonder if I should try and come up with catchier titles for my etsy listings? I've seen where people give names to their clothing--The Lucinda Dress, The Garden Smock, things like that. I don't know if it would really attract more people to my shop or not.

I also finished these pants--most of my garments are for girls, these could be worn by a boy or a girl.

This is a closeup of the safari fabric on the pocket, available at Fabric Tales

Pants are available here

Etsy Gift Guide

I made it into the Etsy Gift Guide for baby--Etsy staff picks items to be included in the gift guides. I suspect finally taking some halfway decent pictures helped quite a bit in getting my item selected. It's the bonnet, top and bloomer set in the third row.

Yesterday we received the rather sobering news that it's highly likely Ivy will need surgery. We'd been relieved that all her tests weren't showing abnormalities, other than the expected organ malrotation. But the pediatric surgeon is concerned she is experiencing adhesions due to her intestines not sitting in the abdomen properly--very common for people with an omphalocele. He'd like to perform a surgery that will arrange the intestines (that sounds like a strange phrase) in  a better position. The adhesions can develop into something quite serious, leading to portions of the GI tract needing to be removed, so it's important to get it taken care of. He's hoping to be able to use laparoscopic surgery to minimize her recovery, especially since her abdominal muscles are already compromised by the surgery she had at birth

I'm actually feeling pretty calm about this. I have an  tendency to get distraught and anxious over little things--but they are generally things I feel I have no control over, and no way of knowing what's going to happen. With this, there's a pretty clear cut plan to follow, we just need to do it. She has one more test at the end of April and depending on the results, she'll have the surgery some time after that.

Linda Linda

Doesn't the subtitle of my post say "trying to teach myself Japanese"? Am I still doing that? Sadly, I've been slacking quite a bit. Every so often I pull out a book and try and review, and recently I tried to write some song lyrics in hiragana (a good review, I was dismayed at what I'd forgotten). But overall, I'm doing very little and it's disappointing me when I remember how I was doing a lesson and study for a couple hours every week.

One thing I'm still doing is watching Japanese movies and dramas. Recently I saw Linda Linda Linda What a fantastic, fun film. I'd never heard of the Blue Hearts before seeing this movie, but I'm still humming their infectious songs. The plot is really rather simple, and compared to American movies that generally use a plot line where there is a major conflict and then a resolution, it may seem that nothing really happens--and actually, nothing does. It's just the story of three girls trying to put together a rock band to perform in the annual Holly Rock Festival at their high school. A fourth member has broken her hand, and they need to find a replacement. They ask Son, a Korean exchange student, to step in and she agrees--even though she doesn't speak Japanese that well. With only  a few days until the festival, they manage to pull off a cover of Blue Angel's Linda Linda.

There's a funny bit where one of Son's classmates tries to confess to her--an challenging even in high school life. It's not just asking someone out, but confessing your true feelings.  Another scene has the four girls grocery shopping so they can make a meal together, Son picks up a package of four garlic, the other girl tells her it's too much and to only get one. Son looks doubtful--Korean cooking uses much more garlic than Japanese cooking.

This is a clip from the end of the movie, when the girls perform