Minoru Finished!

It's been too long, I feel so disconnected from the online sewists but I am starting to be able to focus a little bit more.

I suffered my way through working with that fabric and boy am I glad that I did! There are some lessons I learned, like fusing interfacing to synthetic fibers is not the easiest thing to do and I will probably never do it again! I also learned how to use the timer on my camera! Get ready for an onslaught of photos in the coming weeks.

So here it is:

I wore it out the night I finished it and it was so warm and comfy! It was also super flattering which you can't really tell in these photos since I'm in sweats and my bangs are flying off in all directions.

I would highly recommend this pattern to others and I am definitely interested in making another one but out of canvas.

Cheers!

Amelia

Slowly Sewing Along & a Re-Decorated Bathroom

I have been slowly sewing a long with the Minoru Sew Along being hosted by Tasia of Sewaholic, very slowly. I have be slowed down mostly by work and personal obligations; I was also feeling down on my fabric choice from the time I started assembling it, after cutting, until Monday night and this only added to my lukewarm attitude of my project. I loved the jacket and loved the muslin I made but the fabric was just driving me mad.

I think I have mentioned before that I very, very rarely sew with synthetics, synthetic blends or unnatural fibers...this is because I tend to not like how they feel in my hand. In fact this is the first garment I have ever made using something that was not 100% wool, silk or cotton and I am stubborn and don't like unfamiliar things and was becoming very aggravated with this whole undertaking and regretted not using cotton canvas as I originally intended. I chose this fabric for a couple of reasons: it was on super duper clearance at Joann's, I liked the large polka dots and iridescent type look and I also thought that a light weight jacket would be great in a synthetic type material, while it isn't waterproof material it doesn't really absorb water (I tested it out). Did I mention it was cheap and I am trying to economize? I also bought the lining material out of the bargain bin. As I worked with it I started hating it and missing my natural fibers, they seem to be more forgiving than synthetics...I don't know it was bumming me out so I just sort of let myself get distracted. Well I finally got the arm and side seams sewn on and the collar/hood part attached and I am back in love with it! When I tried it on it looks really cute and will be very flattering. I am probably going to have to take the hip area in a bit since the pattern is designed for pear shapes but otherwise I didn't have to adjust the size 8 and now I can't wait to get home tonight and continue....

There is one more reason why I can't wait to get home....I am re-decorating! I am starting with my bathroom and it is very near complete.

I live in a funny late 1920's/early1930's complex of little bungalows that surround a court yard, like where the Dude in the Big Lebowski lives. It is a one bedroom bungalow with one bath, a living room, kitchen and laundry. This is not as palatial as it sounds, it's tiny, you get more than three people in my house and it feels cramped for sure. Plus I have this huge harp, an ironing board out most of the time, and I can't even use my kitchen table since it is "Black Betty's" permanent residence...my Featherweight. Despite the tinyness of my casa and the fact that the temperature is usually somewhere between 55-65 deg. in the winter...I love it! It is completely mine, with all my favorite things, projects and clothes contained within. Plus it has character! It has the original Milk Man milk deposit compartment, it's pretty cool. I'll have to take a picture and post it for all you retro lovers but if you don't know what I am talking about it is something that most homes had back in the days of the Milk Man. There is a door on the outside of the house, a little door located by the kitchen usually, the Milk Man would come, open it and put the jug of milk inside a little compartment that could be accessed from the inside of the house as well, the home owner would open the inside door and pull the jug into the kitchen and then maybe they would put the empty jug in there for the milk man to take away when he came the next day or whatever, I'm not really an expert I just think it's cool....it also has a lot of retro light fixtures; any way I totally digress.

The point is when I first moved in I was totally broke, I mean flat broke and I had very little in the way of home accoutrements, if you know what I'm sayin'? I didn't even have a couch! I had a bed, dresser, a huge flat screen TV, Black Betty, Wall Decor and that is basically it, oh and my clothes. I slowly started acquiring things and have turned my living space into a comfy spot but my bath room has not been so lucky in the almost three years I have lived in the bungalow. The day I moved in I realized I had no shower curtain or bath rug. Being broke as a joke I ran down to the Wall Mart and picked up the cheapest shower curtain and matching rug I could find, I also got a little trash can. I always told myself those things were only temporary and I would decorate it for real when I had more money but I never really got around to it, until now. I was at Target on Monday night and stumbled upon a shower curtain that I had to have, and when I saw the towels I really had to have those too and I realized how hideous and not me the stuff in my bathroom was, it was too masculine so I decided there and then I was going to redecorate! Target does something to me, it betwixts me, for some reason I never seem to have a problem pulling out my wallet here when I can barely do it any where else without freaking out...I bet they put something in the air to relax us and make us feel less guilty about impulsively deciding to redecorate our homes in the middle of the shower curtain aisle thus spending tons of money that we otherwise might not be so easily parted with. 

There are a few more things I want to do to my bathroom, I want a wall mounting cabinet since there is a really naked wall and more shelving would be very useful and I am going to make/sew a custom curtain to go around my sink. As you can see from the photos my sink is a wall mounted one that lacks a pedastal and the plumbing is on display for all to see and so I want to cover this unsightlyness up. Funny thing is that Gertie just posted on home dec sewing and I am planning to sew for my home for the first time...my redecoration was obviously meant to be. I have been so excited about my new house project that I had to share.

What about you all, do you have a home full of random items or do you match everything? Anyone participating in the Minoru Sew Along? of engaged in some mid-winter redecorating?

Cheers,

Amelia

A New Obsession, A Cold & A Sewing Project

I have been down and out with a head cold for the past several days, being sick is so demoralizing. I am finally back at work and even more behind. I was still trying to catch up from being in China...I have 200 emails! I feel like a walking, sneezing, sniffling, contagious zombie spreading disease. I think I am over the worst of it so hopefully I'll be back on my A game next week.

However, I have just recently discovered the awesomeness that is Downton Abbey. I have watched the first season and have just started watching episode one of the second season. In the states it is shown on PBS's Masterpiece Theater and the episodes are combined into 2 hour long segments, it is kind of like a mini series. It is everything I love wrapped together into one fabulous package...It is set in "olden times", there is plenty of drama and scandal, olden times drama being better than contemporary drama since the clothes are better, and the wardrobes are great. I am having so much fun watching it and as per usual I am probably the last person to jump on this band wagon...I have to thank The Girl With The Star Spangled Heart for introducing me to this series since it is her posts that piqued my interest.

I have been doing a bit of sewing and have almost finished another dress from the McCall's pattern (M#6355) that I love so much. This time I used a wool challis and inserted a lining, I am happy with the results and all that is left is to insert the sleeve lining and hem it up...maybe I'll be done tonight! I sort of need to get it together with my Minoru Jacket....I am have been completely removed from my blogging since I returned from China and haven't planned my sew along participation at all, I think I'll do that this weekend.

Here are some pictures of my Wool Dress:

McCalls #M6355, Wool Challis

Sleeves

Lining

 Cheers!

Amelia  

Hello.

So I have returned to the US. Hong Kong and China were phenomenal....I think I love Hong Kong. I had to stop blogging because China blocks Blogger and other blogging sites from their servers so I could not access my blog at all, thus you have not heard from me for about a week. I really hope I get to go back again soon. On my last day in Hong Kong, before taking the ferry into China, I stumbled upon this gem (actually I found it in the guidebook):

Western Market (Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island)

This building, called "Western Market", was built in 1844 and is one of the oldest surviving structures on Hong Kong Island. There are very few Colonial era buildings left in Hong Kong. It has served many purposes over the years. Currently there are curio shops and eateries on the ground floor, the "first" floor (what I would call the second floor) is devoted to fabric merchants and the top floor is a venue with a dance floor and banquet facilities that is rented out for weddings and other events.

Fabric Vendors

There was such a plethora of fabric on offer that I was sort of overwhelmed, each stall is literally bursting at the seams and overflowing into the aisles. I ended up buying this really lovely striped silk organza, the strips are woven in alternating pink and white, not printed, from a very friendly vendor. We talked about fabric for a long time and he showed me all his really nice stuff. Apparently he buys the excess stock from different fabric mills that make fabrics for designers, the fabric doesn't say Chanel or Valentino on it because that's how the mills can sell it for cheap. When he first tried to tell me this I was skeptical, Hong Kong being the fake Rolex capital of the world. As he started showing me all of his stuff however, I started to believe him. Some of it was just really beautiful and high quality and it wasn't like he was showing me 50 yards of each of it, more like 5 yards of this or 8 yards of that. There is a website that I buy fabric from that has limited quantities of designer fabrics so I know it is possible to get it. I hadn't allowed fabric buying into my budget, I didn't know I was going to find this place, or I probably would have come back with a lot more...next time though I'll be ready. 

I walked around Hong Kong Island and exercised my wallet for the rest of that day then hopped on the last ferry to China. We ferried up the Pearl River to Zhongshan were our business associates are located.

Taking Care of Business

Once we "alighted" from the ferry I realized how much different China is than Hong Kong. We stayed at a local hotel, the name of which I don't remember nor could I begin to try and pronounce it, that our Chinese business contacts setup for us. Next to the bed I was amused to find these items for sale:

Safe Sex...It's the same in any language.

I almost fell of the bed laughing when I realized what this stuff was. Two different types of condoms, lube and hand wipes! In all my time traveling I have only ever seen anything remotely like this once; in Las Vegas at the Wynn. It just seemed so out of place in this hotel room in a random city in China. This was a really nice hotel, not a rent by the hour room in a dingy boulevard motel. It was just too funny...at least they are encouraging the practice of safe sex. These are the types of things that are interesting to me when I travel. We are so globally interconnected that many things are very similar, the differences lie in the details. I feel like the unique details are the best way to gauge the differences and that they are reflective of the cultural sensibilities and preferences of a place.

The most startling, to me anyway, always seems to be the food! I am an adventurous eater and will basically try most things....but there are some things that just offend me because I have been conditioned to think of them as not food and I just can't emotionally overcome my repulsion. The sad thing is that I might actually like the taste, it might even be quite good but I just can't get there.

Yummy in someone else's tummy...sorry.

 

I thought Velociraptors went extinct billions of years ago?

Bird's nests and bird claws are not really my thing. I saw bird feet all over the place (I am not sure if those in the picture are chicken feet or what because the are huge) shark fins (which just became illegal to posses in California by the way) deer antlers, dried clams, mussels & assorted other seafood jerky and a whole lot of other food stuffs that are completely foreign from what I see at my local grocery store. I also came upon some very strange fruits that we do not have in the US, some good and some surprisingly bad. I always expect fruit to be tasty and awesome, I am shocked when it isn't! What I did eat though was very good and did not disappoint, except for said fruit which I think was a melon of some kind.

Anyway it was wonderful to have visited and I can't wait to go on another trip. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Now back to reality....and work.

Cheers!

Amelia  

Hong Kong Days 1 & 2

My tentative itinerary for this trip sort of fell flat on it's face...serves me right for trying to plan. I had planned to be in Hong Kong for 1 day then off to Zhongshan in Guangzhou to work for 2 days then to Macau for 2 days then back to Hong Kong for 1 more day then of to home....Now I will be in Hong Kong for a total of 4.5 days then Zhongshan for 1.5 day and then back to Hong Kong to catch a flight. We can't get out visas until the late afternoon of the 28th and the consulate has our passports so we are stuck in Hong Kong but as my dad point out there are worse places to be stuck in.

Dad and I spent yesterday, Christmas Day, on a bus tour of Hong Kong Island. I usually am not down for organized tours but I really enjoyed this one, it's like passive tourism. We didn't have to really do anything expect be led around and see the sights. The first stop was Man Mo Temple which is the oldest Taoist Temple in Hong Kong. It was neat to see but there is so much incense being burned that it stings the eyes, my sweater still smells like incense. We then went up to The Peak via The Peak Tram, our tour company has a special arrangement with the tram operator so we got to jump the line, the wait is like 45minutes otherwise. Once at the top there is a shopping center and an outdoor eating and shopping area but the real highlight is viewing Hong Kong & the Victoria Harbor, the view is incredible. We then went to the south side of the island and visited Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter which is home to the Aberdeen Fishing Village a traditional "village" of fisherman who live and work on their boats. o tour the "village" we took a sampan ride, the sampan was piloted by one of the fisherman. After that we went over to Stanley Market and got to walk around and do some shopping then we came back. I really enjoyed the bus, coach, ride over to the south of the island...it really is beautiful and scenic once you escape the "concrete jungle." Our tour guide, Linus, was really good and I learned all kinds of stuff about Hong Kong...like how superstitious the residents are and how seriously they adhere to the dictates of Feng Shui. After the tour we had Christmas dinner at the hotel, it was so good I gorged on sashimi and oysters. By the end of the day I was so exhausted I was asleep by 9 and I slept like a rock.

Communicating with the gods at Man Mo Temple

The Peak Tram (1st public transport in Hong Kong)

IFC 2 aka building Batman jumps off of

Merry Christmas from Hong Kong

Sampan Captain

Aberdeen Fishing Village

We played all day yesterday so today we did some work. I am editing the instruction manuals for new equipment so I worked in my room for several hours, after my morning coffee walk, working on that and my dad was in his room doing his stuff. I emerged at about 3:30 and headed out into the city. I jumped on the Star Ferry, the Wan Chai pier is right outside our hotel, and went across the harbor and found myself in the most dense crowd and crush of people I have ever seen. Seriously, worse than New York City at Christmas. The neighborhood is called Tsim Sha Tsui and is crazy busy. It is very touristy and reminded me in a lot of ways of New York, especially on the Canton Road with it's glitzy designer stores...Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, et al. Apparently people from all over Asia come out here to shop until they drop because not only does it have every imaginable designer there is no sales tax. I was actually caught in a human body traffic jam a couple of times I had to flee off the main roads so I ducked over to some of the side streets and wandered a bit until I found a McDonald's to go into for a respite. I just needed to sit down and regroup, look at my map and formulate a game plan.

Everybody cruises on The Star Ferry, Locals & Tourists alike

A Star Ferry on Victoria Harbor

 I decided to head up to Yau Ma Tei, the neighborhood next door to Tsim Sha Tsui so I decided to try out the MTR (subway). I got on at Tsim Sha Tsui and then got off two stops up at Yau Ma Tei. The Temple Street Night Market goes down here so I headed over to check it out. I was pretty early so the stalls were just being set up but the stuff on display was not that interesting so I wandered the streets of Yau Ma Tei, shopped around and stopped for some tea. I visited a traditional Chinese wedding stores which was so cool. There was this beautiful young woman having her traditional wedding dress fitted, all red and gold awesomeness. I also saw some seamstress working embroidery on dresses. I checked out some fabric stores and then walked all the way back to the Star Ferry Pier down the Nathan Road through Yau Ma Tei and Ysim Sha Tsui. Oh My God by the time I negotiated the mass crowds and got on the ferry I felt like I'd had a beat down. The Star Ferry back to the island at night was gorgeous and a sight to behold. My favorite thing to do when visiting a city is to find a neighborhood and meander about. I saw so many interesting people and things will wandering Kowloon and there was the added bonus of exercising off all the food and treats I've been allowing myself.

Local gents enjoying an afternoon of checkers & cigarettes in a Yau Ma Tei park away from their wives

Heritage 1881

Hong Kong Skyline at Night

Now I am going to get in bed, read and rest up for another day.

Cheers!

Amelia

Greetings!

 

Can you guess where I am by the photo? If you guessed Hong Kong you are correct. I just got in and will be here for a week. My dad asked me a few days ago if I would be willing to go with him to visit some work colleagues, and I said...of course, obviously! I love traveling and have racked up a pretty impressive list of countries and places visited  but I hadn't been to Hong Kong, a place that has always intrigued me. So here I am, on Christmas Eve, in a beautiful hotel room overlooking Hong Kong Harbor and wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. It's nice that Christmas is recognized in Hong Kong, when we checked in there was a live band with singer in the lounge playing traditional Christmas music, it helps me keep my Christmas Spirit but it is also sort of nice to be away...the pressures off.

I am exhausted so I don't have much to write at present...my mind feels slow from traveling and my eyelids heavy but I will be blogging my adventures through Hong Kong, Macua and Guangzhou in mainland China. Do any of you know these cities or have you visited? I would absolutely love to hear any suggestions you might have on which sights are must sees and which to skip, where to shop and especially where to EAT! I will eat anything and am adventurous so bring it.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve and stay tuned.

Cheers!

Amelia

PS The photo above is not actually my view, just a generic Hong Kong skyline view. My camera is ghetto and not capable of taking adequate photos of cityscapes at night...