Experimental Dress

Since coming back from Japan, I'm finding we are super busy, and I do have loads to blog about, but actual blogging is proving hard. Not sure what it is. It's not the busyness. Maybe because I've got a bunch of people who signed on to read all about Japan, and now that that's over, I'm feeling self conscious about returning to my usual (mostly sewing) blogging fare. 

Well, to those people, I'm not at all offended if you click the unsubscribe. I've never blogged for the number of followers, and we will still stay friends even if you don't want to read about my latest sewing make. There will be no terrible repercussion if you decide to leave. I'm good. 

That said, here is what today is all about: Experimentation Dress! 

I watched this video from The Stitchery where she made a dress out of striped fabric fit by sewing along the stripes to bring the fabric in around the waist. I was so intrigued by this, because it meant that the fabric itself could essentially be a rectangle. It seemed a really good candidate for a Zero Waste design, and the magic of sewing/pleating along the stripes for the look was so interesting. 

While I was in Japan, she also did two follow up videos on the design (here and here), which only gave me more food for thought. I knew I had a largish piece of fabric left from making this jumpsuit back in 2022 (where does time GO!?!) and the whole idea really ruminated around my head, waiting patiently until I returned to the fabric and Sally the Sewing Machine. 

To say that I wanted to try out and play with the design is true, but I was also hoping that this would end up being a wearable practice version of something I wanted to make with some fabric I bought in Japan. So I guess this is step one of a journey. 

I made a quick mock up of my idea just with some random bed sheet that I had in the cupboard. Trying to get an idea of how much fabric I wanted and then the maths of how big the sewing would be to shrink it down to fit at the waist. It was really good to have some actual fabric to practice on. I sewed it with big stitches and no back stitching, so I could rip it apart really easily and use the practice pieces as a pattern for the real one. 

When I laid out the fabric I had left, I realised I didn't actually have that much. There was thinking about things, and redesigning the shoulder/sleeves, but in the end I just went for it with a vague idea of how I could make it work. 

It was cool to see how the fabric worked with the pleated sections and how much you could "gather" to shrink the fabric down. 

Obviously my fabric doesn't have any of the colour illusions of the original dresses from YouTube, but the straight lines of the stripes did make it so easy to line up and sew. 

I was super surprised that it turned out as great as it did. The triangles from the corners that I cut off I initially feared would be too small to give enough extra to the top of the dress to reach my shoulders, let along actually tie in knots like I was hoping they would. But they turned out to be perfect, even if I did include a selvedge edge or two. 

I pieced together pockets from any small scraps I had left (and also some random bed sheet fabric), and put them in the side seams. I tacked the tops of them to the pleated fabric on the inside of the dress to help give them strength too. The only other thing I did was an extra sew up the side under my arm. I don't know why it was gape-y there, but I just folded it over and sewed it down and now the fit is perfection. 

Please ignore my crazy hair, but I do think this dress is fabulous. I'm pretty sure the whole thing could be Zero Waste, and mine was certainly very close. I was also surprised at how little fabric I needed in the end - I think the dress is only a metre in length, and because it was 150cm wide, that's all I needed. Zero Waste really is saving fabric!

Tea Ceremony

Here is a throw back to something we did about halfway through our time in Japan this year. I didn't get around to blogging about it then because we were so busy with other things, and I wanted to include some photos that I had from the time before everything was digital. Gasp! Obviously those photos were not accessible from Japan. 

When I first lived in Japan way back in 2004, I somehow found myself studying the traditional Japanese tea ceremony with my school friend Yuki and another girl called Mona. The three of us would gather, I think every second Sunday, at Yuki's house and get dressed in kimono. Our teacher would arrive and we would each have turns practicing. 

2004: Mona, Yuki, Paula and our Sensei

It was generally a pretty fun way to learn, because you got to drink the tea and eat the beautiful Japanese sweets (wagashi) that came along with it. 

I wasn't particularly great at it, but the learning was fun, and I got to pick up the skill of dressing in a kimono as well. My teacher is still teaching and when she heard that we were over in Japan, she invited us to have tea ceremony at her house. 

There are a huge number of variations of tea ceremony, and we started this one with a trip outside to prepare ourselves with this lovely water feature in the garden. It had been filled with ice cold water and there was a whole ritual of hand washing, mouth washing and then also washing the bamboo scoop before the next person could use it. 

We then entered the tea room where my friends made us tea one at a time, and we ate the delicious sweets. 

Then we had turns making tea as well. I was proud of the girls for giving it a go. 

I also had a turn. It was funny because my brain couldn't remember any of the routine phrases I was supposed to say, but my body remembered all the movements for scooping the tea, closing the box, pouring the water and mixing the tea. 

My friend Mona was practicing a different type of tea making, so we all (well, the girls opted out of the second cup) had more than enough tea and then finished with the tea ceremony went to the living room to have more cool drinks (it was hot, humid summer) before leaving. So much tea and polite Japanese. The girls were exhausted at the end, but it was a fun experience. 

Star Wars Makes

While I have so many more things to say about Japan 2025, since we've been back in Australia for a whole month now (WHAT!?) we are going to take a break and talk about sewing. 

If you are new here, sewing makes up about 80% of the blog posts here. If it's not your thing, I'm not at all offended if you unsubscribe now (though you will miss upcoming Japan stuff I guess...). For those who have been hanging out for it, even though I tried my best to keep sewing all through Japan, (see here, here and here): the sewing is back! 

Steve was super surprised that I wasn't instantly at my sewing machine the moment we got back. It took a good week before I had the fabric out. I think I was still coming to terms with being back in Australia, but my to do list of sewing is so very long right now. I really wanted to start on a bit of an experimental dress project that had been ruminating in my head, but I had to start with smaller things that actually had deadlines. 

So I made birthday presents for my nephews. These boys are both born in October. I had picked up some on sale Star Wars print at Spotlight in March just before we left with the intent to make Hugo a button up shirt. When I laid it out, I was pretty sure I could also squeeze out a pair of shorts for Archie as well. 

There was some very strategic cutting and a little bit of piecing to make it work, but I did it. As always, the Sycamore Shorts is a quick and straightforward sew. Hugo's Oliver and S button up was a little more complicated. I had the buttons in my stash and I added on theme patches to both for some extra fun. 

Fun and simple sewing to get back into the zone. And since I did so much careful cutting and piecing, this was a very minimal waste project. Got to be happy with that. 

Home to Australia

Sooner than we could have imagined possible, we found our six months over. Even though we had enjoyed our Osaka time, getting there had been a bit of a slog. I think it was the realisation that the end was near combined with the reality of packing all the stuff to leave Hiroshima. Our mood getting into Osaka had been a mix of grumpy and sad, but we'd ended up having such a great time (Expo and Sumo!) that it had really turned around for us. 

Then we really packed our bags one final time and prepared for home. The girls were happy as could be. Even a day of having to juggle suitcases and kill time before heading to the airport didn't phase them. They were ready. 

I think I was ready, but also so very not ready. I was ready to give up living out of a suitcase, and ready to have an oven again. Not ready to say goodbye to the trains though. Not ready to stop bowing to people to say thanks to them. Not ready to say goodbye to kimono in the shops, a convenience store on every corner and a ridiculous mascot for every city. 

But there we were. At the cross over point of coming and going. First thing to do at the airport was weigh our bags. They were about 10ks over. We could have juggled things around and added to our carry on, but in the end it was quicker and less stressful to pay $30 for the extra allowance. We may have celebrated that decision with our last Mister Donut of Japan. 

That job done, we killed some time by playing a round of D&D at the airport. Never would I have thought I'd be doing that in my life. Then it was lines for bag drops and security checks. Compared with flying out of Osaka in 2024, where we spent an hour and a half in the check in line and then another full hour getting through security only to have to run for our plane, this was relatively painless. We got through with about an hour to spare before departure, so Steve even had time for a beer. I had time to try to use up all our yen buying every variety of Kit Kat the airport Lawson had to offer. 

Walking onto the plane, some random Aussie students decided to join our selfie. 

Night time plane flights are pretty standard as far as things go. I think I got about four hours sleep. Rachel again, got the most, Sophie, probably the least. Brisbane airport was busy, but we were fine to take our time finding all the bags and getting in the lines to get out. I thought I'd cry when I saw Maria waiting for us (she certainly did), but no tears yet. 

We managed to get everything in the car and were off home. Appreciating the big blue sky of Australia. Perfect weather to come home to. As we pulled into our street, I could see the red flowers of the bottle brush trees in full bloom while Steve marvelled at the wide road space with actual nature strips and footpaths. I cried when I saw our neighbours out waiting to welcome us home again. So much love. 

That first day and week home passed so quickly and with a huge amount of surreal. Steve went to the doctor for a check up on his hand (all clear, praise God!) and a hair cut. We hit Aldi for the first basic shop, struggling to think of how to buy groceries for anything more than two days since that's really all we catered for in Japan. The girls reconnected with their street friends and were out of the house at the creek more than they were home. I unpacked everything and cleaned the house. We had a street party, saw family and got back to work. 

There was joy and adjusting. Lots of stories to tell (the girls go to stories are catching the puffer fish (Rachel) and beating the sumo (Sophie)) Steve and I struggle more with what to share out of so much that happened. I have had the hardest time adjusting back. There is something I just love so much about Japan. As part of our visa requirement, we can't return to Japan for six months now. We actually had to sign forms at the airport saying so. I could certainly have cried then. But we will be back. I don't know when, but I do know that. 

Thanks for coming on the journey with us. 

Osaka World Expo

I honestly don't know where to start for this post: Osaka Expo. Wow. 

Gundam Pavilion

We were there pretty late in the season; with only a month to go so many people were lining up to get in. We had booked tickets for a 9am entry slot, and were there in the line at 8:30. We could also see people there at 8:30 lining up for their 10am entry, and the 11am as well. Inconceivable! Lots of Japanese people were well prepared with portable seats they could use when they were in lines so they didn't have to stand as they waited. 

So many of the pavilions had a booking system so they could control the number of people coming through, while others just had lines out front. Some had a mix, like the Nordic Circle Pavilion, which opened a "walk in" slot at 2:30 as we happened to be passing by. Lucky I guess, but then we were pretty underwhelmed with what we saw there. 

Lanterns in the Vietnam Pavilion

What we could see everywhere else though, was fascinating and cool. Amazing to see the number of countries represented, the architecture of the site as well as all the buildings. Because we had the 9am entry, we did manage to enter a number of pavilions early on, but after about 10:30, it was lines of an hour or more, if you were lucky. 

Tree of Harmony in the Malaysian Pavilion

We knew it was going to be pretty busy, so we didn't mind it. Instead we just took our time walking around and seeing what we could from the outside. I guess I don't know what to write for this post because mostly, the photos speak for themselves. 

Expo grand ring on the right - huge!

There were several Commons buildings which housed a number of smaller countries. Walking through these was actually a highlight for me, because each country had so much culture and handicraft on display. Amazing to see! 

Resting space

Expo from on top of the grand ring

I also loved seeing so many countries of people that I now knew, thanks to the seven week long training course I'd done back in July. How great when all these countries can come together for something. That we are all unique and individual, but our differences can be celebrated and used to help each other. Oh how that is my prayer for our world today. 

I got my last round of takoyaki (octopus balls) there, which were delicious. Myaku Myaku, the Osaka Expo Mascot is possibly the weirdest thing that Japan has ever come up with. We also saw people dressed in Myaku Myaku inspired outfits through out the day, including a lady in kimono with Mayku Myaku on her obi. 

We spent some of the day making sure we spun all the Pokestops at Expo, and got the stamps for each. This was a bonus Pokemon Go feature for everyone playing at Expo which was pretty cool. 

Pokemon themed displays that were the Pokestops. Fun!

I haven't talked much about the stamp culture, but in Japan, most train station and loads of tourist sites (like the castles) have an old school ink stamp you can get when you are there. Rachel had been collecting all sorts of stamps during our stay and was so excited to get the Expo ones for each country. She was a bit bummed she didn't have an actual stamp book, but we used what we had, which was her train stamp book from Tokyo. 

Anyway, we managed to last pretty well until about six, when we decided to split up. Sophie was so tired from late nights and early mornings that she needed to go home. Rachel was keen to stay with Steve and see the drone/lights show that happened between seven and eight. 

From on top of the grand ring at night. 

When Steve was leaving with Rachel, he noticed they had the number of atendees projected onto the train station building outside. Over 240 000 people had visited just that day. When he told me I said it's no wonder there was a line for the loos. Japanese public transport still remains so superior to the rest of the world, because there was no wait for the train home and Steve and Rachel even had seats on this super cute deer theme train. 

I have to say, my expectations for expo had been pretty low, especially since my parents had been the week before and told me it was so busy and crowded and hot that they were unable to get into anything. But, we were so pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed what we did see. Hooray!

Sumo!

We were pretty keen on going to see sumo while we were in Japan. This national sport is so iconic and different that it just seemed like a must do. Unfortunately, the tournament in Tokyo only lasts three weeks and the locations in other cities (Nagoya and Osaka) didn't match our time line. We did our research and attempted to get tickets, but they sold out in about an hour of opening. 

You could get resale tickets from sites like Klook, but they were easily four times the price, and for a back row seat, it just didn't seem worth it. It seemed like our chance was over and we just had to be content with the sumo we saw back in May at a local festival. By chance, my friend David travelled around to Osaka and told me about a sumo show he saw there. 

The Sumo Hall Hirakuza Oaska put on a sumo show experience that was as good as we were going to get. We only had two and a bit days in Osaka before we flew home, but I was pretty determined to fit it in. We booked a night session that included a bento dinner to enjoy while you watched. 

The show had an introduction section (explaining the rituals and history), sumo training and a match. The training was impressive, since the sumo are so flexible. Then they had people from the audience "fight" the sumo. The whole thing was very staged, but it was oh so fun. When they announced at the start that people from the audience could sign up for the raffle to fight the sumo, Sophie leapt up immediately and joined the line of men who were putting their names down. 

We enjoyed the show thinking it was pretty unlikely Sophie would be chosen, but lo and behold, her number was drawn from the box! It was hilarious! 

Sumo getting ready for their match.

They took her and three other guys back stage to get ready (into ridiculous, puffy sumo suits) and then the competition began. The three men went first, each choosing a sumo to fight and before being thrown to the ground. When the second guy went down, I turned to Steve and said: "Sophie's going to win this." 

Sophie got up and they asked her name and where she was from. The cheer from the crowd when they heard Australia was huge. She was quite cautious at the start of the match, but the sumo she fought was so fun and great with her and the crowd was cheering so much, soon she was pushing away to try to knock him down. You can watch the video here. 

Rachel's reaction when the match ended was pretty fabulous. 

We were pretty proud of our Sophie for getting up and giving it a go. What a way to finish up our time in Japan! 

This is the story she tells everyone when they ask how was Japan and what was the highlight. 

Got to say, it was a pretty big highlight for me too. So fun! 

Wrapping Up Hiroshima

For those paying attention and playing along at home, yes, we are actually back in Australia, but I'm still wrapping up Japan posts! Bear with me, there aren't too many to go (I think).

After the week of touring around Hiroshima with my parents (I really do feel like we saved up most of the Hiroshima highlights to do with them and then smashed them out quick smart), we had about five days left in Hiroshima, and just over a week left in Japan. Most of our Hiroshima list was done, and we weren't feeling particularly energetic about trying to find new things. Even though it was our "last few days", we were also just doing life. 

Pretty much the only thing the girls really wanted to make sure they got one last go at was karaoke. I love how confident they are and how much they enjoying singing along now. I think we will miss our karaoke sessions in Australia. 

The other thing they did was a live call in to their school in Australia to compete in the Talent Show Finals with their Soran Bushi Dance. They had recorded their entry when we were in Shodoshima, and were so proud to have made it through to the finals. 

It was pretty high energy, getting the house ready and sorting out how to do the video call and sync up the music etc. They were so excited by it all, and getting to see the whole school on the other side of the video. They didn't place and were bummed to not be able to see their friend's performances, but still had a great time. You can watch their audition video from the beach of Shodoshima here. 

Steve worked late for most of the week and took Friday afternoon off early so we could go to a brewery that was just a couple of train stations down from us. The Sakurao actually do whiskey and gin. We were hoping for a sake brewery, but just had to take what we could get at this point in our trip. Steve did do a sake tasting earlier in Hiroshima, so we didn't completely miss out. The brewery tour was pretty interesting, and I did taste the gin and whisky the offered us at the end, but I'm still not much of a fan. 

We went to the local onsen (again, sans kids) for an evening which was so fantastic. I love onsen, but have never been to an onsen that was so busy! There were so many families, but also (in the girls side at least) loads of pairs or groups of friends just sitting around the baths chatting away. It was so busy and social. It was also probably the biggest that I've been to, with several indoor baths as well as a number of outdoor ones. We walked home very relaxed that night. 

All the packing that we did was less relaxing. I kept oscillating between sad to leave and (catching the girls excitement) happy to go home. Watching our bags stack up with all the stuff was so daunting too, and it made everything seem that much harder. There was lots of "Why did we book extra time in Osaka?" kind of thoughts, since the girls were so ready to just go home. Also: "Is it even going to be worth it anyway?" thinking about what we had planned and if we could find the energy to put other things in. Steve was so stoic through my emotional ups and downs, and even the girls just kept being positive about it all. 

The last night we were in Hiroshima, there was a local Autumn Yukata Festival on at the main shopping street (Coin Street). It was fun to wander up and down the busy street seeing lots of people in traditional clothes and hearing performances from a number of different groups, some on traditional instruments others not. 

I was going to include our 3ish days in Osaka in this post too, but what we ended up doing was way bigger and more action packed than we anticipated, so I'll pop it in a seperate post. Stay tuned; the end is near!