Friday, I glued a big purple spider mum and some leaves to a headband. It's a bit huge, but I liked the color and wore it on Saturday anyway. I also decorated my computer with some decals from the Dollarama - some pretty plant branches and birds in pinks and greens with a touch of orange and some fake crystals.

I played with the Planets and SkyViewer apps; they're fun. I also determined that I like reading manga on the iPhone. Mangafox has a ton of titles! I wasn't much of a manga reader before, but maybe now I will read more as I can read it when on the bus or waiting for something or whatever. I just didn't like reading it off a computer screen for some reason, but on the iPhone it's fine. Weird.

Saturday, I slept in a lot. Mmmmm! Made pancakes from scratch for breakfast, then ran some errands in the afternoon. I enjoyed the potluck in the evening and came home with some yummy leftovers. It was good to see people again and just talk about stuff and play some homemade Apples to Apples and some Scrabble.

Today, we got to spend some time with darthmarysue on her way to Barrie, which was nice as we don't see her often. Following that, we did some stuff around the house and decided to go check out the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Fest at Bruce's Mill Conservation Area. I've never been to the sugar bush before, whereas it seems to be part of the Ontario education system or something, as Sunny professes to going many times while in elementary school. It was a bit expensive to enter the conservatory ($9/person), but we didn't have to pay for parking, which we would have had to do at Kortright . We took the guided tour and learned about the birds in the area, maple trees, how the pioneers would have tapped the trees, how the First Nations would have tapped the trees and made syrup, how the trees recover, how they boil it down and that different temps make different products, etc. So much sap is needed to make a small amount of syrup, it's crazy! Most interesting was that the sap usually only runs from 10-30 days this time of year. I had no idea.

I really wanted to buy some maple sugar candies, but they were all out. *sad face* We got some maple suckers instead, but they just weren't the same, and to be honest, weren't very good. We did buy some cinnamon honey, though, which may make up for the lack of maple goodies.

This was followed by tea and watching the entire first season of The Walking Dead while doing laundry. I also took the sleeves off a cardigan and turned it into a vest. The sleeves had been too short (probably from the dryer) and now I can continue to wear it. I'm pleased. It was just a bit of hand sewing. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a before picture.

I also stitch-ripped the sleeves off one of Sunny's old dress shirts (black with very thin red & white stripes that kind of look pink). I am going to add some darts and take it in a bit, and turn the sleeves into slightly puffy ones like a white shirt I have to make it more feminine. Again, I was to into the ripping, and forgot to take a before pic. Suffice to say, it was a men's dress shirt and you can probably all picture that.

Dinner was nachos. We were still rather full from brunch (a scrambler with peppers, eggs, bacon, potatoes, and some cheese). And now it's time for bed.

Oh, and if anyone's interested in Reptilia tickets for less than half price, they're on at groupon. See my previous post for a referral link. :)

Kimono
A while ago, I went and helped kazahaya clean up her kimono pile and sort things out, and also ogle her collection. As a thank you, she gave me this obi she brought back from Japan with her. She didn't like it, but I did. Maybe it's my jimi sense. XD

It's a golden, ochre-based hakata Nagoya obi with reddish and blue-grey weaving details. Only about 6" of the end is sewn, so I might unstitch it. I can't decide. I think it's kind of got an older feel to it (though it's not really that old) and will make a good turn of the century-ish outfit with my casual blue komon for everyday wear. I wanted to have the outfit put together with this obi to share it, but I'll save that for later.



No flash and flash; shows off the truer colors.

Detail:


Tried to get the colors here to show up. All pics are thumbnails, as usual, and can be clicked to be larger.

~~~~~~
Crafting
Okay, a bit of a misnomer, as it wasn't crafting, more of a quick sewing job to mod some clothes I already had, but it sounded better with 'kimono'. This project has been sitting around since I worked at Fabricland in 2006/2007, so it's really old. lol

Backstory: As pants lowered, tanktops didn't always keep up. I had a black one that was too short but still in good condition, and someone at work suggested I sew some lace to the bottom. I picked out a basic stretch lace and then forgot about it. I found it again when cleaning the spare room and sorting stuff out, and figured I'd just do it as it was a short job. So I found the tanktop, pinned the lace, and sewed it to the bottom hem (two rows of stitching about 1cm apart) and sewed the edge together. This made the tanktop about 6-8" longer. It went from about 16" (to the top of some pants, which doesn't help give coverage) to 23"-24", which is long enough for me to wear on top of pants to show off the lace, or I can tuck it in. I'm pleased with it and my hubby even said he liked it, too. :) The top of this tank is fairly high, but you could add lace at the neck as well if you wanted extra detail.


Tanktop before (sharp eyes will notice I took this after I'd sewn the lace because I forgot to take one before) & after:



Tanktop worn ('scuse me looking silly and the messy room):


~~~~~~

What's your favorite clothing modification?

In lieu of spamming your FL by posting multiple posts, this will just be a catch-all for the past week or so.

Nature Trails in the City
When I was walking to the chiropractor the other week, I noticed there's a reservoir and creek nearby, so I went for a walk a few days later and took a few photos. It's a lovely quiet area; I want to live in a neighbourood with this kind of thing when I have kids so we can have nice family walks. I enjoy the little bit of nature in the city.

A few pictures (all pics in this post are clickable thumbnails):



Crafty Time
We have a ton of plastic bags, and I wanted to make something crafty with leftover fabric, so once I was done cleaning the spare room I used some fabric and made a bag holder. I'd do it differently a second time around, but it was easy to make and I had all the materials on hand so it was basically free. XD

I used a pebbly-feeling kingyo (goldfish) printed cotton and used a matching orange for the bottom elastic and the hanger. It's hanging on a wire frame shelf; the hanger is safety-pinned so that I can remove it later. You can also see our dried garlands from the wedding on that shelf, too. :)



Closeup of print:



If anyone needs directions, I can easily write some up. I just googled "grocery bag holder" and found a TON online.

I also have another sewing project that I'm almost finished, so I'll share that later once it's actually done.

Bonfire!
This past weekend was a bonfire out at montyollie's place. Sunny and I went out there with elizard100 and we had a good time. It was my first time meeting Montyollie, and she was just as cool as I figured based on her LJ posts. We had a blast eating burgers and meeting people and roasting marshmallows, and were amused by the size of the frankenmallows from the US. It was a great way to kind of end the summer!

( Random pictures under hereCollapse )


OMAKE:

When you decide to scrap a costume and use it for fabric, do you A) just fold it up or shove it in a bag or something, but leave it whole, or B) Stitch-rip/cut up the costume bits so that the fabric can be put in the fabric bins?


I'm having this issue right now. Tossing Okuni (Samurai Deeper Kyo) and Suzuka (Outlaw Star) into the "to use for fabric" pile, as I figure if I'm ever going to do them again (which I doubt, Suzuka is a maybe) I'd just remake them. Easy enough now, and I know a lot more about kimono and hakama and have way better resources at this time than I did some 7+ years ago. Just no motivations at this point (though I know I could do Suzuka justice now).

The fabric bits are pretty big from most of the costumes, and possible reusable. Anything too small I just toss.


Opinions? What do you do with old costumes/fabric?

AUGH, I have been trying for the past 20 minutes to get my sewing machine working. I just wound a new bobbin, and put it in, but found the bobbin case dirty, so I took out some of the pieces (I have done this before, they just pop out) and put them back in, and put in the bobbin and tried to get the bobbin thread up through the top so that I could sew.

It's not catching. I did it many times; it's still not catching. I took the pieces out, put them back in. Tried again. No luck. I just don't have a clue as to what's wrong; I've done this tons of times and never had this result.

:U(#*$#( I am TRYING to be productive costume wise, and what do I get? Malfunctioning sewing machine. *sigh*


Don't mind me. It's not even that time of the month, but I just have no clue - none! - as to why the machine is doing this. So I'm taking a break and going to read a book (I've had enough of this tv show talking about crystal skulls and Atlantis).


EDIT: After a break of watching Toy Story, it somehow started working again. I just don't get it. Maybe it was telling me to do something else.

Several things, not necessarily of note...

Congrats to Hico for getting moved safely! If I were near TO, I would have helped. Too far away to hang out with you guys as often as I'd like.

New Job
I start a new job tomorrow. Gave in and I guess I could call myself a "Tekker". No, not trekker, but Tekker. I don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but I'm sure I'll blather more about it once I know.

Leaving the Old One
Telling my boss at Inspiration World that I could only work evenings and weekends for September, and then my last day would be early October kinda sucked. I know that she's been relying on me and the other girl hired at the same time, since we've both gone from part time (~20hrs/week) to full-time, meaning she gets trained people to work more hours and doesn't have to hire more.

However, timing was bad, as another girl was reducing her hours, and another was quitting. She wasn't pleased. At least she's currently in the process of hiring, and I gave her a month's notice, so she should be able to hire more people. From her perspective, I think it would suck - needing to hire more people, who are all untrained - but I guess that's life. I just keep reminding myself that it was just a minimum wage job with no benefits, and the new one will pay more ($10 compared to $8) and get me health benefits, so that's all that matters right now.

Weddings Galore!
Brother's wedding is over (I still call her "my brother's wife" instead of "sister in law"), but in October, I've got one for a friend from high school and then Lyn's the weekend after. Wow, shall be busy! I'm quite excited, though, for both of them, even if I don't get as much time at home in Alberta as I'd like due to new job training. I hope I get placed at Oselle's table at that wedding, seeing as I think we shall both be sans dates (though my mom is probably coming, which will be nice).

LOL, Mr. E-sok
Watching Heroes for a while, since nessun, sariannastar and stripedpetunia came over the other night. Got to expose the first two to the fun that is Heroes (we all enjoy Hiro's eagerness) and one and a half episodes in, Nessun decided she was going to buy the series. I'm glad I got it as a surprise for Sunny the other day, though I don't think he's watched as much as I have. He's seen the entire series, actually, but I meant that I've probably watched more of the discs from this set than he has.

Sewing Rant
Working on a dress for work (been working on it for a while) and it's tedious. I've been working all afternoon, and it's just not going as planned. Way more involved than I thought. It had better fit when it's all said and done! I'm just hoping to get it done soon so that I could maybe fit in one more display before I leave, even if it has to be on display after I leave. I want it for Halloween, that's why...

Not even thinking about Montreal right now. Too many things between now and then, and chances are, I won't be able to go anyway. Isn't stopping me from coming up with original designs, though... and we have the perfect trim at work, too, and I want it, but can't justify buying it. D'oh!

Anyways, back to eating and watching Heroes, and sewing the dress. Have a bunch pinned, just have to sew it. Then pin and sew and pin and sew, and cut out more pieces for the lining (stupid dress has a layer, an underlining, and a lining). Gah.

OMG, I can't stop looking at cute little Lutz ANI! AUGH! I CANNOT afford a doll, let alone dress it in Kimono! Perhaps if this kimono thing goes well, I'll have enough funds to buy the cute little girl...

I was visiting it for dimensions, to make sure I could make a proper sized yukata since viewpoints has a doll with the same body and I want to dress it up. Turns out the measurements are nice and easy, even math, no calculator needed, and the doll seems to be in proportion (I was worried about the arm length). Torture of the cute kind!

Favor, viewpoints?
If I get my English done early tomorrow, I can do a bit of sewing, and I'm coming over to TO on Sunday for the AN meeting - if I'm done the yukata (enough to put it on the doll, at least, which means most likely no hemming) could I see her for a little bit? I do believe I'm picking up Louise for the meeting (do clarify, hon, I'm confused!), and probably hanging out for part of the day after the meeting, so I should have time.

On the topic of AN meeting this Sunday, anyone in TO up for brunch again at... what was it, Denny's or something?...the place near the Doubletree. It was fun last time! We'll try to be there around 11am (Sunny thinks he's coming for brunch, since he'll drop me off for the meeting and costume babble and stuff and go shopping for geeky boy stuff). Takers?

Now, I really just wanna iron my fabric and start sewing it, but I have to go to bed. It's late! I'll post a pic of the fabric I chose later, and maybe I'll have people vote on the obi color (since a few match). It's SO CUTE, I just can't wait to sew it.

I actually didn't wear my kimono today. I spent most of the time sewing on my collars since they were taken off when it was time for cleaning. I figured I'd have to practice tomorrow after dancing (maybe before?) to make up for it. I need to get back into the speed routine in less than a month. Again, starting really late. >.<

( So, I took photos as I worked on the sewing, and here they are, with explanations (it's not really all that hard to do):Collapse )

( Also for those curious, here's a shot of the back of my juban.Collapse )

General stuff
The kimono girdle I wear that has the slit for going to the bathroom is a Sodo kimono item, which would be why no one else seemed to know what I was talking about. They're more expensive than I remember - 6800en about. But it's been super handy, and if you wear kimono often, worth the price.

I asked sensei about the overlap for kimono, but I don't know if she understood me. She said any overlap was ok, even if it was small. I guess all I can say is wear what you are comfortable with. I find I can only sit seiza with my komon because otherwise it falls open and my juban shows. It's ok if I'm standing, though. I'm totally fine in my furisode. So, I really can't say.

I also got Sunil in for helping with Japan Day on the base. I think he might have to bring his kimono stuff and wear it, though, in exchange. And he'll have to stay behind and help with the luggage, just like last year, since he's not coming to Tokyo. I'll be having my hair done that day, but the other girl is going to wake up early Sunday and have her hair done the morning of the taikai. Turns out everyone is going to come back Sunday evening, so I guess I didn't have to worry about that.

My subject comes from the wrapper of a Wagon Wheel-like chocolate thing. It was delicious.

It was snowing really heavily when I left kimono today, and I stopped at Lawson to pay my phone bill (yes, you can pay bills at convenience stores). So I set everything down (my furoshiki-wrapped box, kimono bag and bag for other stuff), and the girl behind the counter just reaches out and grabs my hand lightly and asks in a concerned voice, "daijoubu desu ka?" I don't know what made her ask, perhaps my amount of luggage, or maybe the melted-snow tears on my face... it was just really surprising.

And soon, it's time for bed.

Right after I eat another "choco cake" with Engrish on the package. It made me laugh.

I have resumed sewing my yukata again. It's still bloody hot, so I should be able to wear it once or twice (provided I finish soon) before it's too cold.

I am getting busier and busier. Coaching a student for a speech contest at lunch and for half an hour after school, and starting conversation with another girl.

I have 4 days to decide if I am going to attempt the JLPT 2kyuu exam. I can't decide. It's sorta making me study, which is good, but I don't think I shall know enough to actually pass. It's expensive. But ever since finding out my mark in Japanese 200 wasn't as bad as I thought, I've been thinking of taking 300 when I go back to school to redo a different course. But what to actually DO with Japanese? I'm only learning as an interest. But 2kyuu is a bigger thing than 3kyuu...but if I DID pass, I'd feel bad, since I know I wouldn't have actually *learned* anything, only memorized it, you know?

Anyway. ( Read an entry in the Annual JET Journal. I shouldn't read that thing, it makes me feel so... so...Collapse )