Discovery
When I was walking home from yoga class a different way yesterday morning I stumbled on Cocca, a new store selling beautiful handprinted fabrics and cute vintage notions. I didn't have enough time to look properly, but I am definitely going back before we leave to get some fabric to take home. (Pictures on the left are from the Cocca website)I am going to miss our neighbourhood so much, it is my favourite part of the city... very central and convenient, and full of cute boutiques and coffee shops. For anyone visiting Tokyo, I really recommend a trip to Daikanyama and Ebisu. There are no "sights" as such, but the atmosphere is great, and there is lots of potential for just pottering around.
The moving preparation is going pretty well - we have now sold almost all the appliances, and I've been doing lots of sorting. I really miss having a Vinnies nearby - there are clothes and house things that I need to get rid of, and I feel really bad just throwing them in the garbage. It's hard to believe it's less than one week til we leave!
Christmas cards, take 2
I keep telling myself that I am just fine with organising an international move in three weeks, but obviously there is some internal stress happening because I am being even more scatterbrained than usual. The day after making the Christmas cards last week I realised that I had printed "From Mark and Suzy, Christmas 2007" on the back of them all... thankfully before we sent any out (Mark had helped me print them, and he didn't notice either, which made me feel a bit better.) So that means next year's cards are already done, but I had to make another set for this year. My iBook must be stressed too, because it stopped working for no apparent reason on Tuesday afternoon - it just wouldn't boot up and made a really loud fan noise, but after a trip to the Mac store it is back to normal now. Thank goodness for extended warranty.
But apart from things like that I think we are doing pretty well - I booked a moving company yesterday and we've already sold quite a few of the appliances and things. It's very busy, because this time of year always is even if you don't throw in a move, but I'm starting to be able to see past all the stuff that we need to do before leaving and to look forward to having some time off in Sydney when we get home.
Christmas cards
I finally made Christmas postcards, and am pretty happy with how they turned out. The "Be Merry" was a late addition - the first screen had other text in those spaces, but it wasn't printing properly so I taped over it, and then did a second screen with that afterwards. This is the 5th year I've used the gocco to print cards, and every time I do I'm amazed by what a fantastic little machine it is - so quick and so little mess. I bought mine in Sydney in 2001 - when I did art in high school they had a bigger version of a gocco that plugged into the mains and which we used to burn silk screens. I really missed it after I finished school, so was excited when I realised I could have something similar to use at home. When I first got the machine I only used it to silk screen fabrics, but since I worked out how to print cards I rarely use it for anything else. I can't believe they're discontinuing supplies, I will have to make sure I stock up on enough for many future Christmas cards before they run out!
Conquering buttonholes
There's been lots of stationary-making going on this week - thank you cards, Christmas party invitations, and labels for the coaster boxes. But I had a chance this afternoon to overcome my long-standing phobia of buttonholes and finish off a reversible baby bib. I love my mum's sewing machine, it's an old Elna Lotus that seems to do everything perfectly, and it made the buttonhole-making far easier than I had expected. Now I wonder why they ever seemed so scary, and I might even pluck up the courage to try making a blouse from this book in the not-too-distant future.Coasters from photos
I got a nice surprise when these coasters turned up in the post today - I'd ordered a few sets of them from Tokyo, printed from photos I've taken there in the past year. I wanted to get my own made after seeing Ella Doran's & some similar ones around in shops - I loved the idea, but didn't like the photos on her Tokyo range, and they seemed very expensive. Getting these made was much cheaper, and it was fun to choose the pictures. I didn't know what the print quality would be like, though, so I was relieved when I opened the package and saw them... the colour and clarity are great, and they're very sturdy, with cork backs.
I'm already plotting what I could include on the next batch!
Brown paper packages
Now the wedding is over I'm really enjoying having some time to potter in Sydney. I went into the city today to meet a friend for coffee and do a bit of Christmas shopping, and stopped by the big Dymocks stationary store. I do love shopping in Sydney, I am so much more efficient here than in Tokyo - it helps being able to ask questions properly and knowing what is sold where. I love manilla parcel tags, and had given up on finding them in Tokyo so got a pack of them, and also a roll of brown paper to decorate with the stamps I carved a while ago. Hopefully it will all look Christmassy when tied up with red organza ribbons! I'm not usually this organised with Christmas shopping and wrapping, but it makes sense to get most of our presents for here sorted out before we go back to Tokyo, to save posting them back in a couple of weeks. And another bag
This bag was 90% finished when I left Tokyo, so I stuffed it in my suitcase and finished it off in one of the moments this week that wasn't devoted to pre-wedding preparations. It's based on this tutorial and the fabric is from Yuzawaya - the stripy one one on the outside was meant for a yukata or kimono, I think, because it's only about 50cm wide. I'm not usually a big fan of anything with orange in it, but this really grabbed me - it's got a gorgeous nubbly texture too.Birdy bag
It's been a nice weekend - yesterday I visited some museums in Ginza (there was a great jewellery exhibition at the Crafts Gallery) and today we went to the Nogi Shrine fleamarket, ate lunch at Bape Cafe and did some shopping in Omotesando. I fitted in a bit of sewing too - this bag is the first thing I've made from the Amy Butler book. The instructions were clear, and it was very quick and simple to put together. I bought fabric for this a few weeks ago, so it was good to finally get it made. While I was on a roll I started another bag from this tutorial too, and will hopefully finish that tonight or tomorrow too!Finished!
I've been back in Sydney this week, and got to meet the new niece so finally finished the baby quilt. The machine quilting was tricky, there's a little bit of lumpiness but on the whole I'm pleased with it - it should be fairly durable too, and survive lots of trips through the wash. I really like the fabric we found for the back - cute little owls. Quilt in progress...
A new niece arrived in Sydney on Thursday, so apart from pottering around (Yokohama, dinner at Benoit, yoga class etc.) much of the weekend was spent cutting out and piecing together a baby quilt. I love sewing things for babies - it's a great chance to use all the cute fabrics that I find so hard to resist, and I like sewing small things! And most people seem to appreciate having handmade things for their little ones, even if they're not into crafty stuff themselves. The top is all pieced now, so it just needs to be sandwiched, bound and quilted. Yesterday ended up being really busy so I couldn't do anything else, but I should have some time tonight so can hopefully make some more progress. I'm happy with how the top looks, so I'm just hoping I don't stuff up the quilting!This morning I had my first proper cooking lesson at ABC - I was a bit scared because it was a Japanese-style menu with lots of different bits and some strange ingredients, but even though I only understood about half of it I was mostly able to work out what to do. The other students and the teacher were really friendly and didn't seem too fazed by having a gaijin there, and the finished meal was really yummy! I'm hoping it will get easier and I will understand more as I go along.
from : http://floatingworld.typepad.com/floating_world_views/sewing_and_crafty_stuff/
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