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.