Hiding in my Closet

After I posted about the yukata I made in April, I realised that this is something I've never really discussed on the blog before. Not sure how much back story to provide here, but the truth is, after living in Japan for a year in 2004, I came back with the start of what would grow to be quite a sizable collection of traditional Japanese clothes, mostly kimono and yukata. 

And I used to wear these. When I was at uni I wore them once a week for most of the time, and when I was teaching Japanese I was doing the same. Steve and I wore kimono and yukata for our engagement party even! In recent years, things have lulled - it's difficult to put on a kimono when you are pregnant (I didn't have any maternity kimono, even if one exists,) and they aren't great for breast feeding either. 

So in the last nine years, I've only worn them a handful of times and I'm only just kind of realising it now that I have a stack of people in my life that have never seen me wear a kimono, or even know that I have such a stash. I've worn them to a Japanese festival, or koto performance. Or when I celebrated traditional Japanese festivals with the day care kids. I think I even wore one to Lone Pine when the kids were little and man did that turn the heads of Japanese tourists! But for the most part, there are people in my life who have no idea that I even own a yukata, much less ten of them. 

And now, I'm no longer breast feeding, or pregnant, and even though I'm not teaching Japanese any more, the way I love Japan and it's traditional clothes is still a part of me. Also, these are so beautiful and it's a tragedy to let them languish in the storage containers under our bed. The time has come. 

The other thing to note here, is that along with having a collection of traditional Japanese outfits, I also like to make them. I had been planning on buying fabric when we went to Japan at the start of 2021, but then Covid hit, and no one was going anywhere. Luckily for me, a friend of mine from uni who had lived in Japan for ten years had come into possession of some kimono and yukata fabric. He'd got it discount from a warehouse in Japan and had too much, so he offered me some at a price too good to refuse. Since the only way to get a kimono bolt of fabric (which is only about 30cm wide, rather than the usual 112cm or 150cm like western fabric) is to get it from Japan, which is so tricky, I wasn't going to say no to this opportunity. 

Suddenly, I'm not only wishing I wore my kimono and yukata more, but I also have the opportunity to sew some. And not just for me, but for the girls as well! So much potential!

So I've been sewing. I wanted to hand sew these, because I wanted to have something to do with my hands while we were watching TV at night. I started with this yukata out of cotton for me, and then have progressed onto some kimono for the girls. I'll have to save that for another post though. 

To finish off here, I thought I'd take a little trip down memory lane and show the world some of what's hiding in my closet. Mostly the ones I've made, but a couple others as well. I hope you enjoy watching me go though nearly 18 years of aging on the journey!

Here is my first yukata, which I made in the Japanese culture club at my Japanese High School when I lived in Japan. It was taught in Japanese, and I hand sewed the entire thing on Saturdays after Saturday school. My good friend Amy wore it last May and all those wonky stitches are holding strong. 

After Steve and I went to Japan in 2006, I came back with three bolts of yukata fabric. One for Steve and two for me. This yellow one was the first one I made, on a sewing machine, which was much faster than by hand! 

This pink one was the other fabric that I got, also sewn by machine. I have never loved the pink, even though I love the flowers on it. The thing that stops me wearing it more is that I managed to put one of the sleeves on a bit wonky. You can't tell when it's being worn, but it's always bothered me, such that I neve reach for it. Maybe I should fix it, after all these years. 

Here is a shot of my sisters, Amy and I, all dressed up. I can't remember where we were going. Out to the movies? Or church? Maybe we didn't go anywhere and just dressed up for fun. It was a wild, free and happy time! 

Sarah is wearing the pink, and Amy the blue one I first made. Fiona is wearing a purple yukata, which was the first one I bought when I lived in Japan. My parents visited and we were shopping, and dad encouraged me to buy one. I'm wearing a silk kimono, which was gifted to me by my friend Yuki's mum, Michiko. I used to go to their house once a fortnight to learn how to perform a Japanese tea ceremony, and after a while, she gifted me this kimono. I will never part with it. 

Here is a very young Paula and Steve celebrating their engagement in May of 2008. Steve is wearing the yukata I made for him, and I'm wearing a kimono I bought in Japan in 2006. This is probably my favourite kimono, possibly because of this memory of wearing it. 

I'm also wearing my uchikake, which is another kimono layer, that has longer sleeves, and a padded hem. It's worn as an outer layer by a bride. I was very warm that day, in all those kimono layers and I ditched the uchikake very quickly, but it does make a great display in our house, or in a classroom, where it did live when I was teaching Japanese in the time before children. You can see a photo of it from the back in this post here. 

Here is another shot of Amy and I dressed up last May to go to a koto concert. I'm wearing a kimono and obi that were gifted to me by my friend David who I think got them from his neighbour when he left Japan in 2019. I've been pretty lucky to have been gifted quite a number of my collection, because these things can be super expensive!

And here I am with my own girls in March. They were off to school to celebrate Harmony Day (celebrating people of different cultures and campaigning against bullying), and I was off to work as well. I figured, why not? 

This yukata that I'm wearing here came from one of our numerous Japanese students that my family hosted when my sisters and I were at high school. I think it's the oldest yukata I've got! The girls are wearing (probably for the last time, since they will out grow them soon), their kids-size yukata that I got them from a Japanese boutique shop in the Blue Mountains. 

If you've been wondering this whole time what the difference is between kimono and yukata, here is a quick lesson for you. A yukata is a summer version of a kimono. It's usually made of cotton, it's more casual and you don't need to wear it with the underlayers (white collar). Much more suited to the Australian climate. Now that we are well into the cooler months, I'm looking forward to taking more of my yukata and kimono out for a spin. Thanks for coming on this reminiscing journey with me and don't think I'm too weird when you see me looking fabulous in a kimono soon!  

Peacock Dress

Every now and then, my mum gives me some fabric that she got at Spotlight that she insists "was a bargain!" I'm never one to say no to free fabric, especially when it is pretty stunning like this one. 

Stunning as it was, it took me a little while to figure out what I could use it for. It was the kind of material that needed to show off, and I didn't think one of the usual style dresses that I make would do it justice. When I was thinking about what to sew for Sew Frugal 22, finding new patterns and revisiting old ones I had saved, I came across the Nyssa Dress from Mood Fabrics, and thought I was on to a win. 

Unfortunately, I hit a stumbling block when I realised that the incredibly full skirt of the Nyssa Dress meant that I needed close of five metres of fabric and I only had about two and a half. You could still get the fabric at Spotlight, but it was outrageously expensive, so I waited until there was a sale and used the gift card that had been a Christmas present from my Uncle and got an extra two metres. 

The dress itself, being a wrap, was very straightforward to sew, and since the fabric was so fancy, I did French seams on everything for that professional look. In hindsight, I should have finished under the sleeves differently, because the French seams pull a little, but whatever. 

This dress is fun to wear and looks super with heals, which I was wearing when we took the girls to see the orchestra, but changed to flats for the birthday party we went to afterwards. 

The orchestra was fantastic by the way. So good to be enjoying live music again! Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now. 

Yukata

This is a very short post because I took hardly any photos at all and also don't know if anyone will really care that I did this. 

I turned this 12m kimono-bolt (35cm wide) of cotton fabric into a yukata. Completely by hand. In a week and a half. 

Might make another soon. 

Clear Skies and Waterfalls

Even though I know I've said that we are not a camping family, it seems I can't let it go entirely, and the girls are still so delighted with nature that it seems it would be a waste not to embrace it even a little. Steve was going to Canberra for a week with his new job, and since it was holidays, I figured what better time for a spot of mid-week camping at Springbrook.

I'd gotten rid of a stack of stuff after our last camping trip, but had kept the essentials. All I did was spend $50 at Kmart to get a slightly larger pop-up tent, so that we all had a bit more space. Last time I took the girls in the 2-man pop-up we had, we had a lot of trouble with condensation on the inside of the tent. I'm sure there were other factors, but I thought with a bit more breathing room we'd have a greater chance of staying dry. 

Not being committed campers means that the set up is easy, since all you do is throw out a tent and put up a gazebo. I guess it also helps that I forgot the camp stove, but really, that wouldn't take too long to get out anyway. We also forgot pillows and paper towel. The pillows were solved by putting clothes in the sleeping bag covers, and the paper towel was replaced with the box of tissues I'd thought to throw into the car. When I'd been sorting through the kitchen box, I'd taken out the tea towels, and discovered that they didn't make their way back into the box. Luckily I'd packed a towel, so we were ok. 

We did the Purling Brook Falls circuit, and never have I seen so much water in that waterfall! Last time we were able to paddle quite comfortably in the water in the pool at the bottom, but this time there was so much spray that we didn't spend time there at all. The girls had a blast taking photos with their hand-me-down cameras. Those bucket hats they are wearing are the reversible ones I made for them in Isolation earlier in March. 

We saw these very cool orange mushrooms, a bug that curled up into a ball when Rachel touched it, a blue tongue lizard and a stack of leaches. Thankfully, most of those leaches were just looking to be friends with us and could be relocated pretty easily. Just one attached itself to me and drank it's fill before I'd even realised. 

Day two we did more of the Purling Brook Falls and played in the water. Then the girls made lunch on the BBQ while I did some pack up at the camp site and after lunch we headed off to do the Twin Falls circuit before heading home. 

Initially we had been planning on staying for two nights, but there was rain on the way, and I figured it would be better to pack up in the dry and have solidly good memories of this trip, than to push it out and leave with everything sad and wet. When we weren't bush walking, the girls were searching for the paddymelons that live around the campsite and chasing away the bush turkeys. And also reading. Of course.  

Sometimes I wonder why I take them anywhere when they just do what they would do at home anyway. We also started reading The Secret Animal Society together which they have been very happy about. 

Here ends our April camping trip for 2022. Not sure if we'll do another this year, but I'm hoping to convince some friends to come along next time. We shall see. 

Nana Flat Update Two

 Here we go again! 

It's been six weeks since the last update, and even though things feel like they have been rushing ahead and getting ticked off, I'm a little bit sad to realise we still have a ways to go yet. I guess that's what happens when things are rained on, flooded out and people get sick with the current pandemic disease causing them to quarantine for a week. Still can't believe this is the new normal in life. 

Anyway, since we last saw the house, big outside things have changed - windows went in, roof went on, insulation everywhere and all the outside cladding was done. All of this made a huge impact and it really felt like it was taking shape. You can see the patio section of the nana flat there with it's lovely merbau posts that have been cemented in. And the scaffold up to work on our little veranda area at the front of our house where the stairs used to be. The decking was mostly down in that picture, and the roof posts and beams in, but nothing else there yet. 

Inside the house was so muddy and dirty after all the rain, but once the roof was on, our builders cleaned it up and it was ready to go. What a difference it makes when the floor is clean and clear! 

So much went on inside the nana flat that you don't really see at all. The electricians put all the wiring in and then the plumbers put the pipes in the walls before the builders started sheeting everything. Man is it so cool when you can no longer see through the walls! 

Plumbers arrived in a small army of people after the roof was on to do some more work on down pipes and drainage. There was so much muddy clay around and it was super exciting to see the pipes get connected and the water flow away from the house next time it rained. 

Not long after all of that, some more roofing stuff arrived. This was for the veranda cover and the carport. Steve's been taking daily photos of the progress, but when the carport frame went up, we realised that we would need to go further back to get it all in.  

And this is where we are now. See what I mean about not really getting everything in frame any more?

The car port still needs a roof, we still need front stairs and path, not to mention a whole lot of concrete for the car port itself. All the ceilings are up inside the nana flat though, and the plaster has been in and done his job. Painters are booked for the week before Easter, and as I type this the veranda roof is being put into place. Hopefully my next update will feel much more complete, and hopefully not another six weeks away. 

Sew Frugal 22

In my exploration around the internet (otherwise known as pointless scrolling) in early March, I stumbled across something talked about in the online sewing community called Sew Frugal 22. The idea was that in March, you sewed something with a free pattern using fabric from your stash. The point here was to not go out and spend any money. If you didn't have any actual fabric in your stash, you could look around the house for what else could be repurposed - some bed sheets or curtains perhaps. 

Anyway, since I was busy isolating, I watched a fair few videos on YouTube of sewing people suggesting patterns you could use for this task and scored a stack of new patterns for my collection. One of these was the Alejandra Jumpsuit Pattern from The Fabric Store. I'm developing quite an affinity for jumpsuits, in fact, if I could wear one every day I probably would. I think I love the fact that I don't have to think about what matches like when you are wearing a skirt or shorts and top, and I love the practicality of them compared to dresses, which aren't always my friend when I'm trying to sit on the floor with a class of preps for music. 

Mum happened to drop off some fabric that she'd picked up at an op shop for a bargain which worked pretty well, so I sewed it up. If I had Instagram, I'd be in the running for some of the #SewFrugal22 prizes, but alas, I'm not that hip and cool. 

So this is what I sewed in the seven hours that the girls played in Soft Land. It came together pretty well and the slouchy fit is very forgiving. I'd probably size down the top if I made it again - the shoulders seem a bit baggy. But otherwise it looks pretty swish and is comfy. 

Rachel took the photo for me, after I found it was incredibly hard to photograph oneself in a jumpsuit. Buttons are from the stash so everything about this project was free. Talk about sewing frugally right? 

Skirts

Gosh I made these skirts ages ago now. I don't think I'm that slack in blogging, but I guess I just made a stack of things over the Summer holidays that needed blogging and that all takes time. Anyway, this is the last of the backlog. Hooray!

I went through the material stash a few times over the holidays and saw some shot silk that my Uncle had actually bought for my mum from Thailand at least 15 years ago. He had gifted mum two pieces, one of which she had used to make a skirt to wear for my wedding, but the other she hadn't touched at all. I'm not sure why she gave them to me, or when, but they were in my stash waiting to be made into something. 

There wasn't much of the purple left, but there was a substantial amount of the greeny/blue and I decided they would be skirts. I had one skirt in my drawer that fit well and I liked wearing and I figured I could duplicated it easily enough and have another one or two. 

I ended up with three new skirts, because I had to make a draft right? And since I was making the draft, I may as well make it in wearable fabric, so if the alterations are minor, I can still wear it. Steve tells me not to push the prototype to production, but I like to live on the edge. 

I made the first skirt out of the Ikea fabric I have used before to make the girls skorts and a dress. I lined it with a pillow case from my Lorraine Lea Linen friend (maybe the last one!) which went perfectly and is super comfy. 

The thing that went wrong was the back closure going a little too far over, but otherwise it was a great skirt and the cute heart button distracts from the flaws right? 

So on I went to make another skirt out of the blue/green. This fabric is unbelievably hard to photograph with any justice, but it is really lovely. Even after I washed it (probably ruining the silk forever), it is still beautiful to me. The back closure was the right size this time, but my left and right got mixed up and it doesn't necessarily close the "right" way. Oh well. Third time's lucky right? 

Of course, both of these skirts have pockets. See what I mean about photographing it and the colour? This (below) is much truer to what it looks like in real life. 

I went on to the scraps of the purple that were left from my mum's skirt. There was not enough for a full A-line skirt that the previous ones were, but there was enough for a wrap skirt. Unfortunately with a wrap skirt, you can't really put pockets in. My solution was to add a small loop in the waistband that I can clip my keys to, so if I want to wear it to work, I'm still safe from being locked out of my classroom. 

Being the last skirt, and made out of very limited amount of fabric, the purple skirt is the most fun. I used up buttons from the stash. The top one is a feature, but the other five match and they are all gold and shiny. 

The lining is the last of the jelly fish fabric that Rachel used for her first dress. 

I'm pretty happy with it, but it's a little short to wear without tights, so it's one for the winter months. Meanwhile, both of my other skirts have been out and about already. 

I made all three of these in about a week, which is a big addition to my wardrobe of skirts. Probably won't need to make any more for a while now. 

We Were in Iso

Can't even remember how long ago now (two weeks? Three?), Steve had a sore throat on Sunday morning and took a RAT before we went out to church. Just in case. Turns out he was right to test, because he did indeed have COVID-19. 

This news, with the current restrictions, meant that everyone in the household had to isolate for seven days. At day six, the rest of us would test and if anyone new tested positive we would then reset the seven days isolation and keep going. Steve would be free at the end of the seven days, and not be able to contract the virus again for 28 days, after which he was able to get it again and would have to go through the same procedures if he re-infected. 

I was so sure that either the girls or I would get it from him, and we would end up in at least two weeks, if not three or four, of isolation. Maria was with us, but she had only just recovered from her own bout with COVID-19 two weeks earlier, so was still in the 28-day infection free period. 

I panicked about all of my classes and what on earth the students would learn (especially since this backed onto a week of cancelled school thanks to a mass rain event which caused flooding all over Brisbane). Then I spent three and a half hours on the Sunday afternoon planning the most easy to teach but still musically relevant lessons I could. 

And then we got on to isolating. 

Starting with a round of D&D, while Steve was still functioning, and then progressing on to making tents in the living room, lots of Lego, reading and lying around (mostly Steve).

By Monday lunch time, Steve was spending the majority of his days in bed, sleeping away the fevers. He still ate with us, and every time one of the girls mentioned a sore throat I dreaded what it would mean for prolonged isolation, but nothing ever came of it. 

I should explain that my dread of prolonged isolation was not because I didn't like the isolation. On the contrary, the isolating was great, aside from Steve being sick. But this term had already been so crazy, two weeks delayed at the start, and then nearly four weeks where I ran lessons outside, because you couldn't sing unless you had a 4m2 around each child. Added to that was the week that school was cancelled for nearly four days thanks to extreme weather and flooding. I just wanted to go back to school and teach kids music!

Anyway, since I couldn't and we were stuck at home, with most of us healthy, we just had a lot of fun. We taught Maria how to play Take Two. 

I made bucket hats for myself and the girls. The photo is not great, but Steve assures me this hat doesn't scream "music teacher!" too loudly, but rather "eccentric jazz musician", which I'll be happy with. The outside of the hat was the final bit of fabric I had left after making these chair bags last year. The green my mum found in a remnant bin for $2. I'd used it once before in a skirt for a friend's kid, but was glad to use up some more of it in hats. 

The girls progressed from a fort behind the couch (with tent entry way) to "soft land" after they discovered the old red rug which was stored under our bed. They pulled out all the blankets, sleeping bags and cushions and almost lived in this square of the living room for two and a half days. 

Our builders kept working and we have the beginnings of our small front veranda, which was very exciting. Even going outside this far was delightful. The girls and I being well the whole week, I made us lots of delicious lunches and dinners, thanks to Maria and my parents who did some groceries for us. 

When the girls started playing in Soft Land on Thursday, I thought I'd use the time to get some sewing done and see how much I could get done until the girls needed a break. Girls played for seven hours straight, and it turns out you can get a lot of sewing done in that time. I'll blog about that one later. 

On Friday, the girls and I all tested negative, much to my complete shock. Was isolation really going to be over with just a seven day stint? 

Sophie did complain of a sore throat again on the Sunday or Monday (can't even remember properly now!), but still negative. Steve's theory is that I actually brought the COVID-19 home in an asymptomatic way, since he pretty much never leaves the house these days, (he had even been taking a week off jiu-jitsu because of a thumb injury). We also theorize that the girls had it, but their symptoms were so mild and the RAT isn't super accurate later in the game that they never tested positive. 

I wonder if the theory is right, but without a blood test I guess we won't know. The biggest inconvenience though has been that Steve finished his previous job on the Friday before he tested positive, which meant he couldn't access any of the 8 weeks sick leave he had stored up from there. He had Monday to Wednesday off, but started the new job on Thursday, when he was still feeling pretty rubbish. He was a champion to get through most of his induction and initial meetings with everyone at his new work while still recovering. 

I made lamingtons and we celebrated being released from isolation, which really, aside from Steve being sick and me wanting to go teach kids music, had been pretty great. Chip the guinea pig enjoyed our isolation too, mostly because he got to spend lots of time in the house with us, keeping us company while we kept ourselves busy. 

Quick Makes

Summer sewing had lots of little things. Baby shorts for one of Steve's cousin's little boy, which I didn't take a photo of. Ops. They look remarkably similar to the shorts from this post (actually, maybe pretty identical to the white bee-print ones), which were made with the standard Sycamore Shorts pattern, so you aren't missing too much there. 

I also made these awesome fruit salad shorts for Sophie, made from material my mum had left over from a table cloth (exactly the right amount with a few extra scraps thrown in). I used up some apple buttons from my stash to make the belt loops pop. 

Again, Clover Shorts Pattern. So pretty. 

And two skirts for the girls. 

With some pretty swish looking pockets. I had that random lace trim in the stash and I was using up the bee fabric that I'd initially bought with the girls one Christmas and had only used a little of in this dress. 

Rachel's skirt was a similar style, with slightly different pocket designs. 

Again using up the last of that fabric that had been her Easter dress last year. Kind of glad to see the end of that fabric actually, because I was never a fan. The last few bits were made into masks for this last round of Covid outbreak. 

Mask wearing is mostly over, at least in Brisbane though, which makes me wonder what I'll do with all the masks?