Uncategorized Archives - Page 122 of 177

Plain and simple

04/02/2011 8:12 am \ 16 Comments \ Carolyn

I was thinking of calling myself Plain Jane today; but didn’t want to offend any Janes out there. I’m sure Janes have suffered enough, having a phrase like that readymade and just waiting to be lobbied at them whenever they care to step out looking minimalist and unadorned. In fact, the existence of the plain-Jane tag, whilst handy for the English teacher to demonstrate assonance, has probably caused a lot of Janes to go to great lengths to ensure they look fabulous and decidedly un-plain on a daily basis. An example I look to is my own friend Jane who is one of the most glamourous women I know. Sorry, Janes, I shouldn’t have even mentioned it…
When I put on this top this morning I was determined to wear it the other way around, with the buttons at the front. After all, it is designed to be worn both ways, and I wanted this versatility when I made it. But I decided I don’t really like it that way, and switched it around yet again. I really should force myself to wear it the other way around more…
Once upon a time, I would not have made nor worn something like this top, because I had a thing that a loose-fitting garment would not flatter my figure. But really, what does that matter? And what does it mean? Looking through the pictures in this pattern book I could see that the girls modelling looked lovely in the loose comfortable clothes, and so I went ahead and made them up. And the important thing here should be about how you feel in your clothes, as much as about whether you look nice or not. If not, we may as go back to the days of the corset…
So, maybe today is a bit plain and minimally coloured and embellished, but essentially I am cool and comfortable. In this kind of scorching heat; these are my priorities!

Details:
Top; top “b” from Unique Clothes Any Way You Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, white cotton
Skirt; my own design, charcoal jersey knit
Sandals; Vincenza from Soletta shoes
Necklace; from the surf shop on Rottnest Island (another souvenir of a great holiday!)
Bag; Gucci
Nail varnish; Revlon Crimson Sparkle
Sunnies: RayBan

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: daily outfit, shape shape, skirt, top, Unique Clothes Any Way You Like

Rainstorm socks

03/02/2011 8:24 am \ 19 Comments \ Carolyn

There has to be an upside to spending hours and hours in cramped transportation going halfway around the globe, right? (Well, apart from the obvious one of ending up in some glorious exotic destination, such as Japan, natch!)
Now the airlines have seen common sense and allowed knitting needles back into the plane (only some types, mind you) one can be supremely productive whilst travelling. During our recent travel time I completed one whole pair of socks, and one and a bit socks of a second pair also. Yowza!!
I’m sure some of my fellow travellers looked on in amusement at the whacky lady knitting with thin thin yarn on weird skinny little needles… but hey, at least I wasn’t wasting my time watching inane movies, or heaven forbid sleeping, or some other such unproductive activity, yeah… I got something done!
Every time I put up my latest pair of socks here I’m sure to get comments expressing thinly veiled incredulity that I can be bothered knitting socks, which are so cheap and readily available commercially, and so (relatively) expensive and time-consuming to produce oneself… Well I can’t explain my passion either. I just love knitting socks, it is really my preferred knitting project above all others…
If you had met me five years ago, and told me I would be knitting socks, five-year-ago me would have firmly denied I would ever get mired in such silliness… well fast-track forward said five years and here I am. When I first saw my mother knitting socks (truly thank you, Mum, for passing on that particular virus) I was a little incredulous and disbelieving myself. Feeling a bit of an idiot, I decided to give it a go and visited the yarn shop. The lady in the shop told me I would get addicted, and I half didn’t believe her… But now I too am thoroughly hooked… All I can say is that you have to try it to get it. It is such a very satisfying pastime. A very easy project, mindless even… which is the kind of knitting I actually like to do. I can very easily carry on conversations and watch (not very complex) movies at the same time as producing a pair of yummy handknit merino socks of a quality you never see in the shops. Socks are loads quicker than a jumper or cardigan, and feel a more worthwhile project than a scarf… And since I have big feet, I can make the socks to fit me… not a couple of inches too short, which is usually the case with store-bought.
So, in my book, it is well worth it.
Re knitting on planes: I checked with the airlines first, as I didn’t want my needles confiscated. The short skinny double-ended ones used in sock-knitting are OK on the airlines we used. To further ensure they would be OK, I went out and bought some new bamboo ones, just in case some overly sensitive official got funny about my metal ones… and no one was concerned. The guidlelines I was given were; nothing bigger or thicker than a ballpoint pen. One of my new bamboo needles snapped (my bad!) but luckily the packet I bought had included an extra, so I didn’t have to cease knitting!
I took this photo above in our apartment in Hirafu, Hokkaido. Now, in looking at this photo I’m sure you’re all wondering what is the view out of the window casting that light from stage right, right? Yes, I’m sure! I’ll satisfy your curiosity; here it is below, Mt Yotei: (sigh, missing that view already…)

Details:
Socks; made using Morris Superwash Merino 4 ply in Rainstorm (col 420) and Beluga (col 430), using a pattern adapted from the Ladies Sockettes from Patons Knitting book C11, a circa 1960’s publication

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Knitted, Patons knitting book C11, socks

Some new stuff

02/02/2011 10:12 am \ 17 Comments \ Carolyn

Since I picked out some photos from Oregon yesterday, I thought it the appropriate day to wear and show the souvenirs I bought whilst there… and then I also remembered and pulled out this new top that I finished only just before we left on our holiday but didn’t get a chance to photograph for posterity.
The top is made from some of my Christmas fabric; a crushed shot silk from Fabulous Fabrics. It is woven with a brilliant orange weft onto a bright turquoise warp. It never fails to amaze me how such bright bright colours when interwoven in this way can result in such a dullish coloured surface. As well, the fabric doesn’t look as glossy as I have come to expect with silk. Because I am suspicious by nature I did a quick burn test to check if it really was silk or a synthetic masquerading as such, and it passed. So I presume the reason for the lack of silky sheen is that the crushed nature of the fabric breaks up the surface plane resulting in smaller areas to catch and reflect the light at any point of view.

The pattern is Burda 7834, a little top pattern Cassie bought and made for herself and which I snuck out of her collection to use for myself… because I liked hers so much, hehe. She had cut out an 8 for her own top, but it was a pretty simple matter to grade the necessary areas up to a 10 to fit me.
So I really should do a review here of this great little pattern… buuut I’m not. Sorry. Maybe later. Been feeling a little flat and exhausted since we got back actually… not sure whether to blame the heat or post-holiday let-down. Or just me…
And you probably can’t tell from this photo above, but it is blowing a bonafide gale here. Even standing within the sheltering boughs of this tree we are being buffeted about by insanely strong eddies… and I was really timing the photography here to coincide as much as possible with a lull between gusts to avoid looking too hilariously windswept. Man, I’d forgotten how blustery it can get on the foreshore in the afternoon…
Oh and please note Sienna’s lovely new professional do. She has had a visit from the mobile doggie beauty salon and especially wanted to show the results off here today… Doesn’t she look absolutely gorgeous?? a bit better than the hack job from before, hehe.

The pendant on my necklace is a tiny real pine cone that is encased in gold. Isn’t it beautiful? I really don’t go for accessories in a huge way, but when I do they tend to be small in scale and delicate. Large scale chunky jewellery annoys me big-time, and I have to force myself to wear the bigger pieces I do have. I once read something in a Trinny and Susannah book about accessorising, where they decreed (as they do) that women with large bones should gravitate to large scale jewellery and small-boned women will feel more comfortable with small scale jewellery. So maybe this means I have small bones; although I have to confess I’ve always thought of myself as tall and big-boned; with “child-bearing hips” as they used to say… so I don’t know really!
The earrings have stones in them that are called Mount St Helens emeralds, although of course they are not actually emeralds at all, but really made from fused ash from the volcanic eruption. So, yeah, just regular green glass … But still pretty, and uniquely from that part of the world.

Details:
Top; Burda 7834, crushed shot silk
Skirt; Skirt “m” from Unique Clothes Any WayYou Like, by Natsuno Hiraiwa, pink/grey linen mix
Shoes; Perrini, had forever
Sunnies; RayBan
Necklace and earrings; bought in central Oregon USA

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: burda 7834, daily outfit, shape shape, Sienna, skirt, top, Unique Clothes Any Way You Like

Oregon, USA; some impressions

01/02/2011 3:49 pm \ 8 Comments \ Carolyn

Americans love their cars…

We saw birds of prey, both tiny cute ones…

and iconic majestic ones…

Magnificent scenery…

Even the teddy bears in USA are on a grand scale…

When one orders a hot apple cider in a cafe, this is handed to you and you are pointed in the direction of the urn…!

The people are so nice… on my last day in Oregon Darci very kindly made time to drive out to the airport to meet me! We had a lovely spontaneous sewing chat in the airport coffee shop in the short hour or so I had before we were flying out to Japan.
Thankyou so much, Darci, it was so great to meet you! and thanks also for permission to put this photo up here!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: random life stuff

What a difference a day makes…

31/01/2011 6:01 am \ 7 Comments \ Carolyn

The day before yesterday

Today

I do have some more thoughts on fashion in Japan to talk about here, plus I enjoyed meeting another sewing and blogging friend in Oregon; just let me sort through about a thousand photos first… not to mention excavating through and washing about two thousand items of clothing and restocking the fridge etc…
Sigh.
Back to reality.

Details…
above:
Cold weather gear; Mountain Designs
Beanie; my own design, charcoal wool
Snow boots; Big KMart from the US
Gloves; ?
Sunnies; RayBan
below:
Dress; Burda 8511 with fitting variations, white synthetic stuff with printed border
Sandals; Vincenzo from Soletta shoes
Bag; Gucci
Sunnies; RayBan

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: Burda 8511, daily outfit, own design

Fabric shopping in Tokyo

30/01/2011 6:48 am \ 16 Comments \ Carolyn

Now this was something I was really looking forward to…
Fabric shopping in Tokyo with Yoshimi and Novita. We were meeting for the first time in reality, although we had met and knew each other virtually before this time. Isn’t the internet amazing? Still blows my mind a bit… I’m so grateful for this wonderful online sewing community that just over a year ago I never even knew existed.
We met in the morning and took the train together to scope out of their favourite fabric shops, took a break for lunch, followed by just a little more fabric shopping, and still later met up with a friend of Yoshimi’s for a special Japanese tea ceremony with very interesting green tea on the menu that I had never had before. It was great fun! I’m enormously grateful to Yoshimi and to Novita for coming out to see me, and for their help and guidance. Tokyo is BIG, around ten times bigger than Perth easily! Also the fabric selection there is also on a grander scale than I’m used to.
Down to specifics…
Helpfully, Tokyo has concentrated a lot of its fabric trading down into one area, one street even. The Nippori district is so famous for fabric shopping it even has its own official website where you can find a bigger version of this very useful map to download. We alighted at Nippori train station and took the very short and straightforward walk to the main street where multitudes of fabric Aladdin’s caves await. To make matters even easier the pavement twixt station and destination are marked clearly “Fabric District” and the main street itself likewise marked “Fabric Street” on the footpath. Or was it possibly Textile District/Street? Whatever, still pretty handy, right? Kudos to Tokyo for superior organisation and efficiency.
We certainly did not go into all of these shops, partly because that would have taken days for dedicated fabric enthusiasts such as ourselves. But there’s no doubt you can find an amazing selection of fabrics, all the way from cheap and cheerful cottons up to beautiful and very expensive wools and silks. I decided, after a bit of indecision re some very tempting and price-y Italian wools, to limit myself just to Japanese fabrics. After all, when in Japan…?
We spent most of our time and money in Iden (http://iiden.tanmono.com, actually two shops next door to each other, numbers 75 and 76 on the map) and Nagato (ph. 03-3806-3637, number 35 on the map). From these stores I have five new beautiful lengths of fabric; three winter-weight wool/silk blends, for a skirt, a dress and a jacket respectively, some lightweight apricot cotton denim/gabardine and a length of summery printed cotton.

Also worth a mention is Tomato, a big discount store with several outlets along the street. I think the one we went into was Tomato Notion, number 46 on the map. Visit-worthy for haberdashery and all extras remotely related to sewing, sort of like our Spotlight. A simply gorgeous selection of buttons… I could not resist these cute little things.

Something to keep in mind for the Westerner shopping in Tokyo is that streets are not actually marked in the same way that we are used to. I kept checking out the, well, what I thought were street signs, so that I could jot down addresses for later reference, but actually were not. If you do not have much Japanese the street signs can be a little confusing, and one is better working from a map like the one above with landmark buildings and train stations to guide you, rather than relying on finding a street name that is possibly indistinguishable from all the other various signs that will be around it.

An internet tip I found to be true… bring cash, as credit cards are not always accepted. Another handy tip?… 7Elevens have ATMs.

Thank you so much Yoshimi for organising a wonderful day out!
oh, and for permission to use her photograph of us, above…!

Posted in: Uncategorized \ Tagged: fabric shopping, shopping guide, Tokyo fabric

Snowfield chic, Japanese style

28/01/2011 10:19 am \ 11 Comments \ Carolyn

If, like me, you hail from a sunny snow-less place and are planning a skiing holiday, then chances are the snow gear on offer in your hometown will be of a limited range. And most probably in drab neutral tones, which may be tres chic colour choices for the city streets but somehow look uninspired and a wee bit boring when you sally forth onto the slopes. Particularly when one becomes surrounded by extremely eye-catching Japanese boarders and skiers, who employ clashing colours and patterns to really gorgeous effect.

My favourite Japanese fashion inspiration has always come from designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake; who built careers on clothing that is not necessarily colourful but derives interest from the folding and manipulation of solid colour fabric to create sculptural shapes and form through texture. An artistic extension of origami, itself a Japanese tradition.
However the outfits worn by snowbound Japanese are a completely different but equally inspiring story.
Snow-sporters here dress in the most vivid and exciting colour and pattern combinations, which of course look amazing set against the pure white of snowy slopes.

Other bonuses? As well as looking fabulous, such individual looks are a great aid to helping you spot your friends from half a mountain away.

Need a less shallow impetus to go brights? The inbuilt safety aspects of brights are another plus. “Inmate orange” really stands out in the snow and means one is less likely to blend into one’s surroundings and be bowled over by an out-of-control newbie.

Speaking of, Japanese ski schools have a kind of weird and slightly embarrassing dress code for adult, yes, these are adult, learner skiers…

I think I would just bow out of the class gracefully in this situation…

This is just a tiny sample of the great outfits I spied out on the slopes, unfortunately getting one’s camera out is a bit of a business when skiing, and what’s more some of the coolest people out on the slopes are the young snowboarders who are fast and are out of sight as soon as spotted.
Plus I didn’t want to be obviously in people’s face, taking photos, but was trying to be discreet about it here and not photograph people’s faces… but you can get the idea. I like the fact that Japanese young men are unafraid to wear shocking pink, lurid purple plaid, neon stripes or to have miniature puppy-dog toys hanging off their backpacks. Pompoms and furry animal costumes are not considered a threat to one’s manhood here.

I admire this. The girls’ ensembles are equally fun. Hmmmm, perhaps should have left the ski purchasing until we got here… now I want to trade in my boring white pants for, say, something in neon green plaid…
But at least Sam bought some really cool gloves!