it´s been a while since my last post (as usual), and this time I have a really good excuse:
I spent two months on a trip to Australia and Japan!
I cannot start telling you how beautiful and overwhelming it all was, you guys should definitely go there, if you´re looking for your next holiday destination!
Unfortunately I couldn´t take my sewing-machine, so there are no new makes coming from me right now, BUT I went fabric shopping during my last three days in Tokyo, and I bought a shitload of gorgeous stuff to be made into (hopefully) gorgeous clothes...
I also fell in love with the traditional garment of the Japanese women: the kimono.
After getting a little into the subject, I soon found out that it is almost a science to learn how to put on a kimono and which and how many pieces a kimono consists of. Not to mention the meaning a particular design can imply and what is considered siutable for a woman my age and social position.
I ended up buying a vintage kimono from a thrift shop (with the friendly assistance of a native speaking gentleman and a skillfull shop-assistant), but without all the undergarments, collars, ribbons, socks and shoes that normally accompany such an outfit. The kimono alone weighs over one kilogram and I couldn´t risk to have overweight in my backpack (as airlines have hefty prices for a few kilos overweight)...
Apart from that I bought lovely linens, a few Kokka-design cottons, a lovely brokade (to be made into either a box-pleated skirt or an egg-shaped 50ies inspired jacket) and some baby-jersey for a friend.
Being home again means having all my supplies and machines back into reach, but I´m strangely uninspired at the moment. Despite all the lovely fabrics I bought, I don´t feel the spark of joy I normally get when I find the right pattern for a fabric I love. Maybe I sill lack the right patterns?
Hm. For now, I blame it on the jet-lag. I still wake up at 5am and can´t go back to sleep.
I hope it will change soon. In the meantime, I will rumage through my closet and (fall-)clean it to make room for the winter wardrobe (which I sadly have to fetch from it´s storage in the cellar now) and hope inspiration will strike me soon.
I purchased a few patterns also during my stay, two at StyleArc.com, a Melbourne-based pattern company which you shouldn´t miss out on, and of course, PerfectPatternParcel#6 (which is no longer available).
Will soon present you with some makes from those,
Until then,
happy sewing
and let me know if you have questions or suggestions
Milan
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