change

while researching my upcoming trip i found out that i would be carrying around a lot of change. which seems strange in and of itself, as here i rarely ever have cash on me, and what change i do have fits into a teeny tiny pouch.

but apparently, japan is a cash country, and for denominations below 1,000 yen it's in coin form. so, i added 'change purse' to my list of needed things. and then i thought to myself, "myself, i think we should sew a change purse for ourselves." and i agreed that would be a good plan.

i had a zipper left over from a camisole which didn't need it, some lovely pale aqua piping, and two prints that went well together. one, a lime seersucker, and the other a double gauze cotton print from heather ross.

i thought about what size would be a nice fit for my purse and to carry around lots of heavy change, then i stalled a bit while figuring out what shape i wanted it to be. some fullness would be nice, a little bottom heavy perhaps, definitely easy access to see coins would be a good idea.

so after messing with pleats and the fabric i came up with something satisfactory. i like it, it's so puffy! hopefully it will be big enough.

repurpose

yes, another skirt. why never pants, you ask? too hard, i don't like them, and when i do they're jeans. but skirts, now those i adore! all the colors, prints, materials, details, lengths, waist band types, pockets, so many delicious things that make up a skirt.

i tried my hand at an elastic waist this time, and it is super comfy, and luckily a little easier to adjust with weight fluctuations. it's making me more aware of tucking in my shirt. and also realizing that most of my shirts are not the tucking in type. somehow i've been buying only loose fitting and flowy tops.

the nice thing about making ones own skirts is that you can add pockets. yum, nice deep pockets. and pockets that hide a fun print. also that you can make a-line and full skirts; especially because pear shapes look so marvelous in them. (it draws attention to the narrower waist, hides heavier hips and thighs, and shows the smaller part of the leg to advantage.)

i added a little button and ribbon detail to the back of the waistband, the color ties into the teal polka dot pockets. because this skirt is not lined i sewed the pockets with a french seam so there won't be any fraying.

in case any of you were wondering where the pretty grey linen material came from, it is apparently an antique crib blanket, with the initials j and a. though, looking at it, the j could be an f or a t. the openwork embroidery on the bottom is what drew my eye, along with the really beautiful silvery color of the linen. i'm really thrilled to be able to use this textile in a new way and to really appreciate the handwork of it as i wear it.

in the works

here's a snapshot of something i'm working on right now. two of my favorite textiles; nani iro, and linen. if the weather holds out i will be able to post photos tomorrow.

in other news, my trip to japan is progressing nicely. i'm learning more japanese almost daily as i commute the two hours to and from work five days a week. after breezing through survival phrases, i realized i would need to know more than how to order food, find lodgings, shop, and ask for a rest room; so i've started listening to the beginner lessons.

gone before i knew it

when i got home saturday, all that was left of my little snowman was a forlorn bunny rabbit who stared wistfully at a carrot just out of reach.

snow day!

so, a little after 7pm last night there was some white stuff falling out of the sky. and sticking. as in not melting right away. weird. because this is savannah georgia. snow is not in the vocabulary.

of course i needed to inspect this snow; was it the good stuff, perfect for making snow people and snow balls, or was it the light dry fluffy stuff that just looks pretty? well, it was the yummy, wet, sticky type, perfect for all things constructed with snow. so i built a snow person, complete with carrot nose.

this is what it looked like outside my window at 7:30 am this morning. it brings back memories of living in the far north, but the good ones. the only thing that really puts a damper on all this is the knowledge that i have to drive on possible black ice roads to go to work. so completely not looking forward to that.

here's meiko, who decided she absolutely had to go outside. only to play leap frog from one clear patch of the porch to another.

it took long enough

...but i finally watched metropolis. wow. the costumes in this film were pure decadence! definitely many erte inspired pieces, and such agile bodies. i loved the scene where the machine maria is dancing in the men's club wearing pasties, sequins, and a rhinestone in her belly button, and the long sequin dress with an even longer slit up the leg which she wore during the second scene at the club. brigitte helm, who portrayed maria, was so alive! the dance movements, the lowered lid during the machine maria scenes, the gusto she brought to the character, who needs vocals when one has such abilities!

one of the first things i noticed was the font used on the face of the clock, the way ones eye makes the missing connections. just fantastic! the graphic imagery used throughout is such fodder for ones imagination.

i understand now why my 20th century art professor waxed poetic about this film. ah, the golden age! but it also showed the dark underbelly of the gilded society. i could not help but see reflections of what was to come after the 1920's in germany. the flashes of things that reminded me so much of the holocaust; the stars on the doors of the inventors house, the line after line of marching workers, their shaved heads, the ghettos below ground, bared from the outside world. it's strange, sad somehow. i don't know, sometimes humanity is so predictable in its cruelties it pains me.

words in print

have i mentioned before how much i love the written works of georgette heyer? yes, i know she writes romance; but if you can't appreciate that sort of thing during the month of february when can you? before you judge, you should know that georgette heyer is not just any romance author, she was the founder of the regency romance genre, as well as an exceptionally gifted and prolific writer.

her characters are consistently charming, witty, with faults, and melodious with words. her female leads are strong, smart, brave, and sassy. her males are oftentimes humorous, be they corinthians, fops, or dandies, and always charming. she does not shy away from married couples, stutterers, or widows. it's very nice indeed to sometimes read about a heroine that is neither fair of face nor of body; but does not fail in attracting the male leads gaze. there is something to be said about humor, witty intellect, and adventurous leanings in a woman.

the corinthian, arabella, the grand sophy, sylvester, the convenient marriage are some of my favorites. i'm especially loving the new covers put out by sourcebooks casablanca, and are indebted to them for re-releasing these amazing books. due to their age, they were becoming quite scarce and hard to track down.

some spring in the dollhouse

i jaunted over to the southern women's show yesterday, and quite unexpectedly ran across a most awesome booth. it was the clay flower people, nana's clay flowers, who i purchased an orchid and plant from several years ago!

this time i added two more orchids and a charming foxglove. the craftsmanship and tiny details of these 1/12th scale miniatures is breathtaking. luckily, i nabbed a business card, so when the dollhouse is in need of more flora i can contact them!

loveliness in textile

isn't this work gorgeous?! i have a long standing fascination with ikat and kasuri, both a technique of dyeing the thread so that as it's woven a pattern appears. i'm crossing my fingers that i'll be able to take a workshop in japan that will show me how to weave kasuri. until then, i'll just have to stare at the work of ptolemy mann.

i wonder at the familiarity of these pieces, and ikat in general, when i look at the work of my favorite artist mark rothko. the modern painter's color fields and the flow of color across the textiles, both strum the same sensation across my eyes.

thoughtfulness

my mother's been feeling down lately, and there isn't really anything i can do to fix it. however, on my way home from work the other day i stopped in at madame chrysanthemum's, a local florist, and got her a spur-of-the-moment bouquet. she felt much better for a little bit at least; and look there's a giant heart in it!