Nihon Yuushi

Ibaraki

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 02:08:00 +0000

Long time no see!
I haven't had any trips to share with you lately, and my sewing machine has been quiet as I've been knitting things for cold weather. Now that Spring is thawing us out, my other half and I decided to cross off another prefecture on our list and go to Ibaraki.

We stayed in Mito, a decently sized city, to go see Kairaku-en, the last garden of the 3 Great Gardens in Japan list we hadn't yet seen. Also, our timing was to see the Ume Festival (plum blossom) there.

We weren't disappointed. Usually the plum blossoms bloom right before cherry blossoms, and so I have a hard time telling the different between the two.

We were a little early for all the flowers to be in bloom, but to see the first signs of them warms your heart after a long Winter.

This trip was not complete with me trying some plum ice cream. I don't care for plums in their sour, pickled versions, but in sweet ice cream... divine! We also spent a day at the local aquarium, Aquaworld Oarai.

I'm not usually excited at the idea of seeing an aquarium, but this one had a sight I really wanted to see.

I have a thing for Ocean Sunfish, or Mola Mola. I can't explain it. Maybe it's the "it's so ugly it's cute" sort of thinking. They're unique compared to other fish in their size and shape.

The Capybara were cute too, even though they couldn't be bothered to pose for me. They were too busy napping and taking in the morning sun.

On the shinkansen I tried a hamburger rice ball from 7-11. It looks as appetizing as it was. The plum ice cream was better!

Ibaraki may be grossly overshadowed by nearby Tokyo in things like sightseeing, but it's a nearby getaway from the busy metropolis.

Summer Crafting Leftovers

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:15:00 +0000

I promised I would share my odds and ends of summer crafting, and I'm finally getting around to it. It's nothing spectacular, I warn you.
My "let's get back into knitting" project I previewed ages ago. It's a simple bow headband you can make with only the skills of casting on, knit stitch, and finishing off. It's called the It's a Cinch Head Wrap and Collar and the pattern is free and easily done in a day (even for slow beginners like me).

Here I am modeling it in my then newly made Archer shirt. With the heat, it's a goofy combination. For some reason, I think I look flapper-esque wearing it.

Over the summer I discovered a yarn shop in Fukuyama that dyes and winds custom yarns for you. They're a bit pricey, but worth it if you want something unique. I bought this pre-made skein because I loved the colors. I haven't picked a project for it yet. I had one in mind, but I'm fickle.

Towards the end of summer, I attended a community class done by the vice principal at one of my schools. He showed us ladies how to do some basic woodworking to create necklaces and brooches. I really struggled with designing mine, because all my ideas were too elaborate and required too much work for a 4 hour class. My VP told me to go natural and organic in shape, so I tried to aim for a leaf-like shape, but it looks more like a tooth, doesn't it?

I never knew woodworking was so tough. All the time went to sanding and polishing. Some ladies chose wood blocks that looked like shiny gemstones when they were finished, but mine turned out pretty plain. Adding the small gemstones added a little pizazz. I'm not in love with it, but it was a fun experience and it's neat to say "I made my necklace."

With the transition from summer to fall being a long one this year, I've been struggling to plan out what I want to sew. Right now, I'm working on a navy twill Beignet skirt from Colette Patterns, and I have a Grainline Scout Tee I want to make up before it gets cold. I'm moving so ridiculously slow that I should change my blog name to Slow Sewist.

What are you all working on and keeping busy with as it turns chilly?

Nagano and Gunma

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 05:42:00 +0000

Howdy strangers, how are you enjoying fall? I won't apologise for my long absence because life happens, but I promise you I haven't abandoned this blog or the sewing/traveling journeys. I thought the transition from summer to fall would be relaxing, but I forgot all the events and goings-on there are. Sports day and culture festivals are back-to-back, along with English speech contests. On top of that, Japan's been whacked with typhoons, one after another. The area I'm in hasn't had any problems except for the occasional nail biting over the cancellation of events and classes. Luckily, my schools' festivals had great weather.

This past weekend was a 3 day weekend, and I was ready to get back on the horse and travel after my unfortunate stomach bug in Yokohama. This time, my hubby and I took a gruelling 8-9 hour road trip to Nagano and Gunma prefectures. We left the still permeating summer (and maybe typhoon related?) heat to go into the mountains, and we weren't disappointed.

Our first stop was the city of Matsumoto, which has 1 of the 12 original Japanese castles that is not a reconstruction.

To our luck, there was a soba festival going on around the castle while we were there, and we ate the most delicious soba (buckwheat noodles) ever. Food stands made soba in the many regional flavors from all over Japan, but we partook of the local Shinshu soba. They say "simple is best," and that's exactly how I would describe the local soba of the Shinshu region. It was spectacular. Don't let the plastic dish I ate mine from fool you.

The tall mountain range that Nagano and Gunma share are the Japanese Alps, and you can probably guess why they are named such. They are a combination of 3 tall mountain ranges. Kamikochi is a highland park area here that is untouched and preserved. The roads to this park are narrow and winding mountain paths, so public traffic isn't allowed and you have to come by bus. The view was spectacular with the leaves showing off their first fall colors. Although it was cloudy and the highest peaks shyly hid in the clouds, it was still a magnificent sight. Oh, and I saw a wild monkey there too, but I didn't get a picture of it.

The next day, we made our way to Gunma prefecture to Kusatsu, a popular onsen area. Gunma is famous for its numerous hot springs. Like Kamikochi, the weather was chilly and I was glad to finally wear a jacket. This weather was perfect to go relax in an onsen or eat hot udon to warm yourself to the bones.

We drove through some very winding mountain roads to get to the top of Mt Shirane, an active volcano which has a giant hot spring lake of sulfur on top. The color was truly amazing.

It was a bit of a hike to get to the top, and I really wanted to show you guys my triumphant smile from the top, but it was so incredibly windy up there that I resembled Cousin It with my hair in my face. I had a heck of a time trying to keep my balance going up and down the trail.

Our last stop was Nagano city itself, home of the '98 Winter Olympics. Zenkoji is a large temple and the area was full of many shrines and temples, reminding me of Kyoto in a lot of ways.

If you're a hiking or an onsen enthusiast, I definitely recommend this area for a visit. The mountains are beautiful and the noodles delicious!

What I Made During My Summer Vacay Part 2: Archer Short Sleeves

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 00:06:00 +0000

Oy! What strange weather we've had here this year. Japan has a rainy season in June that transitions us into summer, and it looks like our transition into fall will also start with rain in the form of a typhoon. Amidst this rainy week, I give you part 2 of my summer sewing: my 2nd Archer shirt.

Finally making a sweet repeat of a pattern. I have to say, it was A LOT faster to make it the second time around. I debated on adding colored buttons to accent the stripes but felt it looked like a grandpa's pajama top. I got lucky and went to a craft store closing sale and found a dozen more boring but suitable opal buttons for 50 yen!

Sewing another Archer means I added skill points to my collar making ability.

I'm not one for popped collars, but I loved how the stripes lined up on the under collar. The sleeves were not special modifications: I used the original long sleeve pattern piece trimmed.

Here I am wearing my comfy Archer! In spite of the humidity I wanted to show off the wave 'fro on my head. The shirt looks wrinkled in all the pictures... it's the fabric! I believe it's a cotton crepe. I found it in a summer fabric bin with a mountain of seersucker. The stripes reminded me of a RTW button shirt I used to borrow from my mum. I'm a little hung up on stripes lately, as you can see. I also have a love for relaxed fit clothes. I can drool over all the lovely dress patterns, but I've always been a bit of a tomboy so dresses aren't very high on my to-sew list. I can see this shirt working well into my rotation, perhaps belted with a cardigan or under a sweater in the cooler season.

I've got one more summer report to post: a wee post about (non-sewing) crafts I did. Check back soon!

What I Made During My Summer Vacay Part 1: Datura Blouse

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 12:07:00 +0000

Finally, some finished projects! This is one of the pieces I wore in Yokohama but didn't photograph, so sorry I don't make an appearance in any pictures. Honestly, it's a bit hard to style it... it doesn't really mesh with my wardrobe but I'm still glad I made it. This is Deer & Doe's Datura blouse pattern.

Front. This was my first time making my own bias tape to finish the bottom and love it! I'm pretty sure the pattern meant for the bias tape to be hidden with the seam inside the top, but I don't mind it adding a bit of trim interest to the bottom.

Back. The fabric was some cheap printed cotton I found intriguing and was going to stash.

I sewed my buttons on weird. Oops.

I love how clean it came together with the edges neatly encased in the double yoke.

Here's the pattern. It's by Deer & Doe, a lovely French pattern company. I chose to omit the collar on mine but one of the real details that initially caught my eye was the triangular cutout neckline version. My next version will be this one. I highly recommend this pattern. It is listed as intermediate in skill, but it wasn't too difficult for a beginner like me. The only bump I ran into was the lack of directions. The pattern doesn't hold your hand through the process, but it to the point and not complicated. It's a great pattern to play with fun prints and multiple fabrics, even though I stayed tame with my version.

Part 2 is up next... See you soon!

Homemade Cake and Knitting Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 01:42:00 +0000

Happy 4th Japaniversary to me! I've been in Japan for 4 years. While this might seem like an inconsequential anniversary to mark, you do not know how often I get the question of how long I've lived here from new acquaintances (thus the necessity to keep track). In a strange coincidence, this date also falls on the day of my other half's birthday. Usually I like to buy a fruit-covered shortcake at the nearby bakery for his special day, but this year I got ambitious and decided to make an American style yellow cake with decadent chocolate cream cheese frosting from scratch. The whole process made me miss the simple conveniences of box cake mix and canned frosting, but my cake turned out delicious (and terribly sweet, just like home!).

If you'd like to try your hand at making it, here is the yellow cake recipe and here is the fudgy cream cheese frosting recipe. If you've got an insatiable sweet tooth like I have, I would definitely give these a try!

In other news, I've been shamefully working on too many crafty projects at once, which I hope I can finish before school starts up again:

1. I'm taking Joi Mahon's Fast Track Fitting class on Craftsy in hopes of getting a good fit my Hawthorn. I made a muslin of the Hawthorn bodice and the fit makes me want to cry.

2. Finishing a short-sleeved Archer but I'm stumbling on what buttons to use without making it look like a pajama top.

3. Japan's typical brutal summer heat continues but I'm already brainstorming fall sewing. I'm ready to throw in the towel with summer sewing since all I want to wear is shorts and tank tops, especially when I'm at home and can get away with being a bit indecent. For my Fahrenheit-using friends, here's an idea of what the weather's like here every day:

Variation? Nah, that would make it interesting.

Anyways, so I've been thinking about cool weather jackets and coats to sew, and I've picked knitting back up.

By the way, I'm in love with my turquoise nail polish, especially against this gray yarn.

I've dabbled in knitting for the past decade, mostly making minor projects as gifts for friends in the form of hats, scarves, and coasters (you still have those, Casey? ;D) but I want to level up my rudimentary skills and make a sweater. I can't believe I've forgotten all the great merits of knitting: the supplies needed for it are much smaller compared to sewing, I can do it almost anywhere (right now for me it's on the couch as I marathon Game of Thrones), there are a lot of great free projects online, and it keeps my hands busy (I'm a reformed nail biter and a notorious fidgeter/picker. Sorry, TMI). Right now I'm making a very simple free project I found on Ravelry to get back on the horse.

I am hoping for fall soon. I've had enough unbearable heat and ready for sweater season. How about you?

Kanagawa, Yamanashi

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 00:41:00 +0000

I'm back!
I spent 3 days in Yokohama with a side trip to Yamanashi. As usual, it was full of sightseeing... and food!
We hopped off the shinkansen and made a beeline for Yokohama's Chinatown: the largest in Japan.

After lunch and a bit of shopping there, a wrench was thrown into our vacation. I caught a nasty stomach bug. We continued on with our schedule but I felt miserable at times, and unfortunately I dragged unhappily through some of the sights. I suppose it was inevitable that someone who loves to eat all the tasty local foods would eventually eat something that would send the digestive system into a loop. Nonetheless, I soldiered on and still had a bit of an appetite for a place I had been dying to go to: the Ramen Museum.

In guidebooks, the Ramen Museum is described as a "ramen amusement park." As you can see in the picture above and below, the backdrop of this ramen eating adventure is set in a replica city block of 1950s post-war Japan.

All the decor and even the employees fit into the theme. You can buy sweets from the bygone days in a candy shop, drink glass-bottled Coke, and eat several different kinds of ramen. The one kind of ramen I was excited to try was Ikemen, a ramen shop based in Hollywood that creates unique dip ramen. I had the "Johnny Dip" ramen with tonkotsu pork and a basil tomato dipping sauce. It was delicious.

We took in the night view of Yokohama also, which didn't disappoint.

Our side trip to Yamanashi took us to a place recently made a World Heritage Site.

The base of Mt. Fuji was bustling with tourists not only from the holiday weekend, but the new World Heritage designation. We decided to view Japan's Symbol from Lake Kawaguchi, one of the five lakes surrounding the mountain. (No, that isn't Fuji in the picture below).

We took a boat ride on the lake, hoping to get a nice view of Mt. Fuji, but it seems it was a little shy.

You can kind of see a faint outline... That's the problem with large mountains: the clouds love them. We didn't feel too disappointed, since we had seen it during our Shizuoka trip. Plus I got to eat lavender ice cream, which was way better than I thought it would (fruity).

Back in Kanagawa prefecture, we took a short jaunt to Kamakura to see the famous big Buddha statue.

I thought this little one was cute too:

Our last day was spent in Yokohama, where we went on a holy pilgrimage to the Nissan Global Headquarters to check out their gallery of cars.

How about a GT-R designed for famous runner Usain Bolt that was signed by him? My husband found what he wanted for his birthday (he wishes):

Just like him, I sat behind the wheel of this GT-R and dreamed a little dream.

All-in-all, the trip was fantastic in spite of my illness road bump. I wore some of my sewn clothes but didn't take any shots of myself. My one big regret was not going to Yuzawaya, a chain of giant craft stores I was itching to buy up their large and cheap fabric selection. Sigh. Next time! We saw all the things we wanted to see at least!

A New Japanese Sewing Book

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:32:00 +0000

I picked up a new Japanese sewing book recently. This one is easy sewing clothes in straight stitches. No patterns are needed, because the pieces used are simple square shapes (with dimensions and sizing provided). The dress on the cover caught my attention with its cute gathered shoulders.

This giant bow top also caught my eye, but I don't think it would look terribly flattering on myself. Perhaps with a smaller bow...

I liked the simplicity of this inverted pleat skirt with front pockets. At first glance, I thought they were long shorts because of the left picture.

Japanese sewing books seem to be geared to the younger crowd who like the cute, natural, and relaxed style that has been popular here in recent years. I'm a fan of the style myself, but sometimes I feel my age when I see things like this:

No way I could get away with something like this. Not only does it seem too young in style for myself, but my top and bottom are not the same size in order to turn a dress into a skirt.

I really like this dress with the pleating in the front. Summer isn't over yet, although I do need to start anticipating Fall.

I'm not sure if I'll be adding any of these projects to my queue but these are definitely fast and easy pieces that could be done on a whim during a day off, not to mention I find inspiration from the styles.

I finished a new project this week I need to get pictures of and post, and I'm nearly finished with another Archer shirt, this one a Summer-y version. Tomorrow I'm off for a much needed trip to Yokohama for the Obon holiday weekend, crossing off another prefecture or two on my "prefectures visited" map.

Have a peachy weekend everyone!

Fit for Real People and the Body Graph

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:21:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Are you keeping cool in this hot summer weather?

I've been chillin' on my summer vacation for about a week now, dividing my time between addictive gaming on Animal Crossing: New Leaf (if you play, friends code please!), studying Japanese, and working on my Hawthorn bodice muslin.

My Hawthorn has been a challenge in fitting. I'm still a beginner sewist with limited knowledge on fitting to my body. Up until this point, I haven't made a lot of form-fitting clothing, since loose and roomy is more my style (especially in the summer!). I took a step back from my test Hawthorn and decided I needed to really study more about fitting myself and altering patterns to fit me well. Yesterday, I pulled out my handy copy of Fit for Real People and finally did the body graph exercise I bookmarked ages ago.

The body graph is an outline of your body that helps you identify your proportions and shape. You've probably heard body shapes categorized as "hourglass," "pear," "apple," etc. (What is with all the fruits?) Body graphs help you determine your shape and body proportions. To do this, you tape some tracing paper to the wall and have someone trace you. Then, you fold the drawing into 8 equal parts, since the average person is eight heads tall. Next, you compare where certain parts of your body fall within these 8 parts to get an idea what is short, long, and average in proportion. The book Fit for Real People explains the process completely and provides you with a handy chart to fill out with your measurements.

Do you want to see my body graph? I cringed to see my shape drawn on paper in actual size, but it wasn't that bad, and I was surprised what I learned about it. Excuse the frankensteined tracing and copier paper... I ran out of tracing paper.

What was I surprised about with Paper Ashley? Well, I always thought I was a pear shape and my shoulders were smaller than my hips... nope! I'm an hourglass, in spite of my junk in the trunk. I always thought my waist was high too, but I'm a bit long-waisted. My upper legs are short but my lower legs are average size. My shoulders are sloped but I already knew that, since I sometimes fight to keep purses hung on my shoulder. Finally, I learned my husband tracing volunteer is a terrible artist: you can't see it well, but he traced my head quite narrow, like a pencil eraser. I went back and used my best judgement to give myself a proper head on my shoulders.

Overall, this body graph gives me a better idea of my shape, and what I may have to lengthen, shorten, and alter on patterns. I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to learn how to get a good fit for yourself! This body graph was also an exercise in accepting myself, and the more I sew, the more I learn to accept my body. There's nothing like the confidence boost of wearing a one-of-a-kind outfit that fits you well and looks fabulous!

I'm hoping to take a Craftsy class to get a bit of practice in pattern fitting, but otherwise I'm teaching myself using trial and error and the Fit for Real People book.

For my fellow sewists out there, how did you learn to fit, and what's your typical process?

P.S. Like my new blog banner? Lots of love to my lil sis Mae for it!

Spelunking in Ikura-do Cave and Painting Fukiya Red

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:24:00 +0000

Hi guys and gals!
Last weekend was a holiday weekend thanks to Marine Day, so I was out and about exploring again. My poor sewing machine has been severely neglected, but it will get some love soon over my summer vacation. We took a day trip to northern Okayama, up to the towns of Fukiya and Niimi. I had my hesitations when my other half told me he wanted to see these places, but it proved a nice trip.
Fukiya is known for Bengara, which is a red iron oxide they produce there and use in things like paint and ink. The old village proudly shows their heritage with roofs that are uniquely orange from the Bengara oxide.

The post office was my favorite, because I've never seen one in an old Japanese style building.

I really wanted to buy a souvenir here, and I chose a bottle of homemade soy sauce. I can't wait to give it a try!

Fukiya's village was a quiet, relaxing walk. The next part of our trip tested my nerves a bit. We went to the Ikura-do Cave near Niimi and the Sasaune Copper Mine in Fukiya. I didn't know we'd be spelunking that day, and I had worn a long white prairie skirt that I carried nervously through the 2 kilometers of narrow, wet caves.

I made my husband pose with the miner mannequins for a bit of comedy relief.

I'm not much of a spelunker, but I loved one thing about the caves: they were COLD! Beating the heat in the caves was the best part. I could live in one for the summer, away from the menacing sun in natural air conditioning. I might form a case of claustrophobia after awhile though.

After our long journey through the winding caves, I was rewarded with ice cream. The stand had a ton of flavors, and I couldn't get them all in one shot.

They had some unique flavors for sure. The blue one next to the orange mango one is wasabi, and next to it is brown rice. I tried a blue soda flavored one, which is a sadly tame choice. Next time I'll be a little more adventurous, I swear.

Summer vacation is so close that I can taste it! I've been hoarding sewing patterns for the time off. On my to-do list is Colette's Hawthorn still, and yesterday I just got my Deer & Doe Datura all the way from France. I still need to finish my Bombshell... I am procrastinating and blame my lack of chance to use a swimsuit for it.

Have you been keeping cool and finding fun things to do?

Day Trip to Naoshima

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 06:04:00 +0000

I was caught off-guard last week when my husband suggested we go to Naoshima over the weekend. It's a place I've wanted to check out for a while, but my other half wasn't too keen on it. Naoshima is known as island full of art: there are several art museums of the modern/contemporary nature and installations everywhere. It may be a small fishing island, but it has also turned into a tourist attraction in recent years. My husband isn't a big art fan and I can't claim to be the most knowledgeable on the topic, but the whimsy and style of this place was intriguing and I knew I wanted to see it at least once.

Giant pumpkins with insect-like markings are some of the most popular photo opportunities of Naoshima (since inside the museums guests are to refrain from photography).

Walking around the island you will see modern touches even in the oldest of Japanese tradition, like this mud wall:

The most simple and subtle of pieces were tucked away, and even ordinary objects can become art, like this portrait made of yarn on the side of a building.

Another place I was really excited to go to was "I ♥ 湯", an onsen (hot spring bath). The kanji 湯 means "hot water" and is pronounced yu, and thus a delightful pun was born. The inside and outside of this onsen are decorated in a unique manner that might remind you of all the delightful treasures you find in your grandmother's basement.

If you're ever in this neck of the woods, come check out Naoshima's mix of old Japanese style and modernism!

So You Think You Can Sew

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 22:32:00 +0000

Hi guys and gals, how was your weekend?
Sorry it's been quiet from me!
I've been madly trying to work on my Bombshell swimsuit, but it seems I'm cursed. I don't think I'll ever complete a sew-along on time... I work at my own pace and sometimes struggle too much to be on a schedule. For the Bombshell, I hit the snag of the fact my sewing machine refused to sew stretchy material correctly.

I ended up having to order a walking foot online (which works like a dream, might I add) and it dashed my hopes of staying on the sew-along schedule. Not wanting to give up on participating in a sew-along, I resigned myself to give up on getting the Bombshell done on time and looked forward to the Hawthorn Sewalong being done by Colette. I have a golden rule not to start a project without finishing the one I'm working on though, so it looks like I'm out on Hawthorn also.
I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but I'm such a slow sewist! Plus, I have other interests that greatly distract me (I bought a 3DS last week, for one). My sewing queue is growing, which is probably a good thing with my upcoming summer vacation. The sewing blogging community is both a good and bad influence. I find so much inspiration from it, yet other times it can be like the friend you take shopping and tells you to buy everything that piques your interest, even if you don't know if it will work for you and you're on the fence. This is why my list of things to sew is growing! I'm looking forward to having things to do during my summer break at least.
How about you? What do you have planned for summer?

BBQs and Bombshells

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 03:24:00 +0000

How was your weekend?
Mine was packed with excitement, that's for sure. On Sunday, the local English teachers and their families got together for a bbq. Cold beer and drinks were plentiful, and it was a free-for-all buffet of meat and cut veggies on the grill. The sun was scorching, so the water felt wonderful and cool. Fun times were had by all, even after my little mishap. Yes, I had a mishap. I was cutting veggies for the grill and was using a paper plate as a cutting board, and I unfortunately slipped and cut into 2 of my fingers pretty well. Today I'm walking around with a gauzed up finger that reminds me of E.T.'s. Instead of showing the gore and the battle scars, I'll show a fun picture instead.

I'm ducking behind my friend in orange. You might have noted something different about me in this picture: last week I also chopped off all my hair, which has been a welcome change. No more failing to do my hair and throwing it into a ponytail instead. I must have been born without that gene to be creative with my hair... I can barely braid it. Thus, embracing my curly waves in a messy short look is perfect for me. My hair was down to my elbows, and even in a high ponytail it still hung on my neck and back, making me hot. Summer's heat is here and the humidity is my enemy. While I love long luscious waves of hair and cute short bangs, I can't handle them in Japan's especially brutal summer.

I'm working on getting my sewing groove back by taking on something I thought I would never attempt... something that I never feel comfortable in but hoping to change with this new challenge: a swimsuit. Have you seen this new pattern?

From Closet Case Files

I love the vintage and modest look of the bombshell swimsuit, yet it makes one pieces incredibly fun and sexy. I've been having a tough time gathering materials to make this here, but I'm hoping to catch up and participate in the sew-along.

I'll have to arrange for another bbq after I make this swimsuit. Next time I'll have someone else handle the food preparation though!

Niigata

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:15:00 +0000

Taka and I took a weekend jaunt up to Niigata City in Niigata Prefecture.

Source: Wikipedia

It wasn't really a jaunt... it was a 5 hour ride via shinkansen (bullet train). We had to change trains in Tokyo and we had the chance to ride something I'd never had the pleasure of: a double decker shinkansen! It was nice to go by rail, since driving would have taken MUCH longer. It reminded me of riding the Eurostar on our honeymoon trip.

Unlike our honeymoon trip, though, this trip was quite leisurely. Niigata isn't much of a tourist spot, unless you're like me and a foodie looking to try some unique local cuisine. My first stop was to try Niigata's fast food: yakisoba italian.

What can I say about yakisoba italian? It's yakisoba (fried noodles with cabbage and bean sprouts) with a twist: it's topped with a spaghetti sauce. In the photo, the top left is the traditional meat and mushroom sauce while the right is a curry/spaghetti sauce mix. This might seem like a wacky mix of east and west, but it's quite good. I actually liked the spaghetti sauce one more than the Japanese curry sauce.
Eating our way around Niigata, we tried popoyaki, which I unfortunately didn't grab pictures of. It's a long bread stick flavored with brown sugar. It's worth mentioning, but I didn't find it special enough to make my photo cut. We hunted down a cafe I saw in a guidebook that seemed to be named for me.

They have lots of dessert pancakes, and so we tried the summer seasonal lemon creme and nuts pancake. Words can't describe how great it was, so enjoy a mouth-watering picture.

I swear we did other things besides eating (though we planned a lot around that activity). We enjoyed the view of the city and the sea from the tall media building. My husband nicknamed this island part of the city Manhattan because of their similarities.

We also took a ferry bus around the river in the above picture. I took a lot of ferry photos, but I liked this picture since the hubby had no idea I had taken it.

During our trip, we crossed a few prefectures I've never been to, but since we didn't officially stop and visit them, I can't cross them off my list. Only Niigata gets crossed off this time! We're already planning another trip this August during the big holiday of Obon. We're going to go to Kanagawa Prefecture and visit Yokohama, the big port city near Tokyo. I'm pumped to go see the ramen museum there, which a friend told me about and I've seen on television a few times. Summer vacation can't come soon enough. I'll be counting the days until the end of July!

Paper Cranes, Tsukemen, and a Sorbetto

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 06:12:00 +0000

This week my schools have been hectic. Every year my students visit the Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Park in Hiroshima as a field trip, and they offer chains of 1,000 paper cranes there as symbol of their wish for peace. The big schools have no problems rallying 350 students to make a few cranes each, but for the smaller schools, it poses a challenge. I buckled down and helped my 6 student school make cranes. As you can see, I got a little bored and started arranging them.

They fell like dominoes a few times.

The rainy season has started here almost 2 weeks early, and it's really warmed up. The nabe pot has been put away for next year and last weekend we made our first batch of tsukemen: chilled noodles with boiled veggies and pork that you dip in a spicy sesame broth.

I've been in a bit of a sewing funk and can't decide what to make next. There's plenty of fabric and patterns I want, but I just can't seem to find the inspirational spark to put together my ideas, design, and create it. I started making a simple (and might I add awesomely free from Colette) Sorbetto top out of some cheap cotton I bought at a closing sale, but even now I can't decide whether or not to add sleeves.

I am in such a huge ol' funk but maybe something will come along and be my muse. It's been a tiring week at school and I'm hoping our trip to Niigata this weekend will be what I need! Are you looking forward to the weekend also?

Archer Shirt

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 27 May 2013 01:25:00 +0000

It's finished! I was a little daunted at sewing plackets, cuffs, and a collar with a stand (heck, I didn't even know what some of those were until I made this), but I managed it without too many issues. This is my Archer Shirt, a pattern by Grainline Studio. The pattern is a roomy button-up shirt, and like the Mathilde, I didn't bother to make any major adjustments. I want to sew pretty things, but my outfit choices lean towards comfy. I was attracted to this pattern because of the pretty gathered detail in the back, which gives a plain button down shirt a bit of a feminine touch.
The fabric I used was super cheap and probably more suited for making muslins instead of actual shirts. I didn't notice until laying it out to cut that there was a handful of small blemishes in the fabric itself. Knowing this was my first shot at making a collared button shirt, I spent no time regretting my choice in cloth, though. I'm happy with how it turned out because it's fun to wear.

Seems like lately there's a trend to make shirts like mullets: short in front and long in the back. I am totally on board with this.

The gathered back makes it lovely, right?

I fudged the collar and re-did it a dozen times, but it looks pretty good.

I threw it on over a tank top and put a belt on to give it a bit of waist definition. The sleeves are a tad long. I ended up rolling them up anyway because it was a toasty day.

Now that my Archer's done, I'm not sure what to make next. On Friday I bought Victory's Ava pattern, but I'm having a hard time designing it and finding inspiration. I might make something quick and easy from that sewing book I posted in my last post here. I'm a bit of a slow sewer, and I've considered *gulp* joining a sewalong in order to keep myself at a steady pace and connect with other sewists who will be doing the same challenge. Oh the possibilities! One thing's for sure: I'll be inching closer to making my own awesome and unique wardrobe (that I hopefully won't be shy to show off in my travel photos).

My Mathilde Blouse

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:05:00 +0000

I'm finally blogging about it, my Mathilde Blouse. I love the details of it: the tucks, the back buttons, the Paris antique map cotton print I used.

I'm still learning how to fit and adjust, and this blouse is an easy relaxed fit, so the only adjustment I made this time was grading a size up from the bust to the waist. Next time I'd like to try to change up the sleeves, because they seemed extra poofy and the style isn't exactly my usual taste. I'd like to make it a tad longer, and try a FBA to get rid of the gapping at the neckline. Overall though, I'm pretty happy with the fit. I was worried it wouldn't look flattering on a curvy girl like me, but I like it.

Sorry for the lack of proper photos... I wore it today to school with a sweater over it. I'm really shy about wearing my creations still, since I'm very much a beginner. Embarrassingly, I had a button slipping off during my first time wearing it, and I re-sewed all the buttons back on strongly (re: paranoid).

I was really excited when some of my second years came up to me today and when they saw my blouse, they instantly recalled our recently studied topic of giving directions. I got a chorus of "how can I get to~?" and I pointed out some of the famous Paris landmarks on it.

Poppies, Jambalaya, Summer Sewing, and My Next Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:40:00 +0000

Hi there!
Last week I came down with a cold bug I picked up after volunteering in a beach cleanup on Mother's Day so I've felt under the weather. A seasonal change virus has been going around. At least I got to enjoy most of my weekend time!
The poppies are in bloom and looking lovely. I can never resist taking pictures of flowers.

In a grocery store, I randomly stumbled upon a seasoning to make jambalaya in a rice cooker. Having never seen any form of creole cuisine here and intrigued by the Japanese take of this dish, I immediately bought it and tried it. It was amazing. If I manage to find it in the store again, I will be hoarding it.

Over this past weekend I snooped through the new stock of summer sewing books and quarterlies at my local bookstore. I have a hot and cold love of Japanese sewing books: some are amazing and utterly unique, other times I feel I'm sifting through the same looks over and over. I picked up this new book of summer clothing pieces you can make in a day.

As usual, it's a Japanese sewing book geared towards younger women with beginning sewing skills that has simple and flowy shirts with cute details like peter pan collars.

I'm not usually impressed by how many of these baggy shirts look alike in style and do little to flatter.

But in this case, a few styles look very cool for summer. It gets broiling hot and humid here, so some of these look incredibly comfortable. A few caught my eye in design too, like this cape-sleeved blouse.

I might be making myself a bunch of airy knit dresses like this too.

I'm about halfway finished with my Archer shirt. I want to get it done before it gets hot and I lose motivation to make a long-sleeved shirt. Next on my sewing table will definitely be something more summer-y.

In travel news, the hubby and I have been looking for a trip and decided to tick another prefecture off our map soon. We'll be checking out Niigata prefecture in June as a sort of "Japan wedding 1 year anniversary" trip. It's getting more and more difficult to plan trips to new prefectures. There's not a lot of attractions in northern Japan besides the nice scenery and good foods, so it's far and expensive for us to travel, as I've mentioned before. I have nothing against the Tohoku region... I want to visit! Also on my list of places to go is tropical Okinawa and Yokohama to check out the ramen museum. Maybe during the summer!

Golden Week 2013 in Kagawa and Tokushima

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 07 May 2013 05:12:00 +0000

Over the long weekend the hubby and I took a day trip down to Shikoku, to the prefectures of Tokushima and Kagawa. We've been to these prefectures before, so there's nowhere new to check off our "prefectures visited" Japan map, but we had a great time seeing new things there.
First up we went to the Kazurabashi vine bridge in Tokushima.

This bridge was not for those afraid of heights. The bridge itself is a bit difficult to cross without holding onto the sides, and this is why:

We also enjoyed a boat ride down the Obokekyo Canyon:

In this heavily forested canyon area was an interesting tourist spot on the side of a cliff by a narrow winding mountain road. Local signs labeled it in English as everything from the "peeing boy" to the "pissing cupid" statue. Either one is accurate, I suppose:

After enjoying the lovely nature of Tokushima, we headed to Kagawa to see Konpirasan Shrine and the surrounding area. Little did I know I would have to climb a winding 1,400 steps to get to this shrine on the top of a hill. At least the scenery was nice:

After such an exhausting trek, we rewarded ourselves with delicious food. Kagawa is famous for udon, and its nickname is "udon prefecture." It lived up to the name with wonderful udon, which I ate with an onsen egg:

I also had to buy some of this unique ice cream, which was covered with sweet puffed balls of... something... I'm not quite sure what, but it was good. There was also an ice cream with soy sauce and green onions that was supposed to be udon flavored, but unfortunately I couldn't bully the hubby into trying it.

It was a great trip, and now I've got a new sewing project on my table:

I should follow my mantra of one project at a time not only in sewing but in blogging also, because I have yet to blog about my last project yet keep mentioning it. I've been revamping my blog layout and enjoying my mini vacation too much to do so. Do'h! Soon, I promise!

Kobe, New School Year, and Sakura

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:10:00 +0000

Oh dear. I've let almost a month lapse since I've written an entry. Shame on me! I apologise for my long hiatus. Things have been busy! Besides school starting back up again, it seems spring has sprouted many events.

New school year means new teachers have come! My school district's been lucky to get 2 new awesome ladies. We went together to a small cherry blossom festival and enjoyed some local food. The cherry blossoms in the area had pretty much bloomed and fallen already, but at least we could take pictures of the lovely seaside.

On another day, the hubby and I took a drive and went to a park with lovely cherry blossoms.

Finally, Golden Week just started here. It's a string of holidays over this week, giving us a few long weekends. Last weekend was spent in Kobe catching up with my college friend Leslie and meeting her boyfriend. We stumbled upon an awesome German festival around the busy port area. We were flabbergasted to see a German festival in Japan, complete with beer, sausages, and a band. We also rode the colorful ferris wheel and enjoyed the view of the city.

The rest of my Golden Week(end) was spent relaxing. We've got one more long weekend coming this weekend that I'm excited for.
In sewing news, I finished a new project last week, but have yet to wear it! I'll do so and take pics this week, I promise. Here's a poorly photographed little teaser of the fabric in the meantime:

Jammies, Plants, and a Phone Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 02:45:00 +0000

Well kids, the school year's over here and next week starts a new one. I've been feeling a bit crafty with the change of seasons and the sudden free time I've gotten.
First, I finished a sewing project I started in the fall, but thanks to honeymoon/school/life, put off for a long time. I'm a firm believer in only having 1 project at a time when it comes to sewing clothes, otherwise with my fickle attitude, I'd never finish anything. Since I'm still a beginner, sometimes I have to put something down and return to it with a fresh state of mind when I don't quite understand the directions. Lo and behold, I finished a set of manly yet cozy flannel pajamas, just in time for warmer sleeping weather. I can't wait to shed the poofy fleece marshmellow jammies I currently wear for the sake of warmth and wear these.

See what I mean about them not being at all girly?

Next I bought some new plants to freshen up my tiny, yardless apartment. Last year I grew basil and chives, two really easy edible plants. This year I stepped up and bought a strawberry plant and parsley, which are currently taking shelter from the chilly air in my makeshift greenhouse of a window, next to my Ikea cacti.

No, that's not my car outside the window.

Last, I just finished a project I stumbled upon online. I've been in the market for a new iphone case, but am turned off by the designs and prices of what's available. I found an iphone case you can cross stitch, and even though my embroidery knowledge is pretty much non-existant, it looked simple enough because it came with a book. The book had directions and some simple pattern designs (here's the book and case set, sorry it's in Japanese). I didn't really like any in the book, so I laid out some graph paper and made my own design. It turned out pretty kitschy and cheezy, but I like it. The great part about it is, when I get sick of it, I can take out the stitches and make a new design. Maybe my next design will be a tribute to 8-bit gaming like Mario.

The girliest phone cover, brought to you by the girl in the manliest pajamas.

I've got a little more time left in my spring break, so I'm off to go find my next crafty project. Will report in again soon!

Manzai Break

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 01:23:00 +0000

The end of the school year here is nearing, and as teachers try to cram in a few last lessons while preparing the students for the grand finale celebration known as graduation, hints of spring are peeking around the corner. I know what you're thinking, but no, the cherry blossoms haven't started to bloom yet. Hopefully they will be making their debut at the end of the month. The weather is still chilly, but there's signs of a gradual warming in the weather reports (and I hope they're right). Yesterday, the weather was chilly but sunny for the comedy festival on Kitagi Island.
Kitagi is a tiny island, but it boasts of being the hometown of a member of the popular comedy duo Chidori. They perform a manzai style stand-up comedy and have been on various TV comedy programs. Another more local performing manzai group with hometown ties to Kitagi also performed, along with an Okayama city native comedian. Various other islanders showcased their talents in forms of music and dance in a celebration of the island group's vast cultural abundance. Daigo, the Kitagi member of Chidori, was warmly welcomed back to his hometown. His mother even performed with her traditional dance group. Kitagi was a main topic of their humor, noting things like the fact that Kitagi has no stoplights, vending machines, convenience stores, and the police on bikes lack helmets. Island life has a unique sort of countryside living that the young groan about and the old absolutely love. I love the relaxed, quiet island atmosphere with a tight-knit community, but I have to admit, the lack of stores is frightening. If you need a cup of milk, do you go to your neighbor? Commuting to the mainland takes about 45 minutes and ferries only run so often. Living on an island must save a lot in mindless spending and going out. Maybe I should move there...

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy some pictures!

Feel like you're on an episode of Lost?

The weather was sunny and the crowd was laughing.

Chidori bringing on the laughter. Kitagi native Daigo is on the left.

On another note, the weather was chilly enough for me to still be wearing a winter coat but I unexpectedly got sunburned on my face. I hope my face won't feel like it's on fire for very long. :|

Where's Ashley?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:47:00 +0000

Tuesday was my school's Open School. This is the day where people can come and watch classes, such as parents, fellow teachers, and in this case, the elementary students who will enter junior high next year. They got a bit of a taste of junior high school life and classes. Along with them, the local TV station came and taped various happenings around the school for the day. My class was included. See if you can spot me in the video!

http://home.kcv.ne.jp/yumenews/news.html?p=9270

Aichi/Shizuoka

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 09:54:00 +0000

Reporting in on our latest trip over the weekend: Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures. Nagoya, the capital city of Aichi prefecture, and the third largest city in Japan. It is the home of famous fine china company Noritake and JR's (Japan Railways) railway museum. At the railway museum, you can see trains and shinkansen of the past, try a simulator, and learn more about how they work from the many exhibits. The museum is a great place to take the kids, and I'm pretty sure Taka and I were the only ones there without kids.

Nagoya has some delicious regional food. Miso udon and miso katsu were two we tried, and pairing miso with udon noodles and fried pork cutlets are magnificently delicious ideas.

Nearby in the area of Toyota is, you guessed it, the headquarters of the Toyota Motor Corp. There are 2 seperate museums set up: one for automobiles and the other for technology (such as their robotics group). We decided to check out the car museum.

Naturally, there was a floor of Toyota vehicles through the company's history, both old and new.

I was surprised by the other floor dedicated to not only Toyota cars, but the history of them around the world. It features many interesting cars of every shape and size.

If Leela from Futurama was a car...

Happy car is so happy to see you!

We took a long side trip to Shizuoka to see Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan and an easily recognisable and beloved landmark.

Mount Fuji is popular to hike, and many people put it on their bucket lists to climb it in the short window in the summer months when it is safe (every so often we see crazy people on the news having to be rescued because they climbed off-season). For this trip, we simply enjoyed the view of it from a nearby coastal park and bought a cute banana chiffon cake.

Last but not least, we visited Nagoya castle. It is impressive in size and decor with golden dolphins affixed to the roof that have become a symbol for the city.

Overall it was a very enjoyable trip, in spite of London being a tough act to follow!

The Big London Post

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 00:08:00 +0000

I apologise for being so tardy in my reports of the honeymoon trip! Things went back into full swing as soon as we returned, and now that I'm back into my every day rhythm, I can finally take the time to give this post what it needs. I've spent the past 3 weeks showing every single one of my classes a slide show of my pictures, so it's hard for me not to rattle off the exact speech I gave 19 times.

We were in London for 6 days, and took a day trip to Paris. Every day was packed full and very busy, and every night I fell asleep around 8 because of it. Maybe a more leisurely honeymoon would have been nice, but I'm glad we made our time count there and saw all that we did.

London was how I expected it to be. I fell in love with the architecture of old Europe along with all the history it contains. The city was easy to navigate by the tube and walking around, and merely wandering around we found endless interesting places: shopping, markets, beautiful buildings. The parks give the city a lovely green space to stop and catch your breath. The pubs serve up their famous food and ales.

Even though the weather was dreary it wasn't freezing, and I appreciated that, since I tend to overheat walking around in a thick coat.

Although Highclere Castle (the famed Downton Abbey estate) was closed to visitors, we traveled to other places around London, like Greenwich, Windsor, and Bath. One of my favorite things was afternoon tea time. I wish we could instate that here. Tea with a scone and some sandwiches is the perfect way to break and re-energize yourself. I had a nice Regency era-themed tea time at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, complete with a portrait of the dreamy Colin Firth as Mister Darcy looking on.

The Roman Baths were interesting to see, and all my students were interested in the picture because of onsens (hot spring baths) being popular here in Japan. They all asked if you could use the baths. Would you want to use a bath that was such a green color?!

Windsor Castle is one of the Queen's many homes, and if you ever get a chance to go, please do! I couldn't take pictures inside the castle, but it is grand and full of the many treasures the royal family has accumulated over the centuries.

We couldn't get tickets to the Harry Potter Studio tour (which my husband was probably relieved to not be doing on our honeymoon), but I still had the chance to visit Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station.

Another place I'd recommend is the Tower of London, famed for the Royal Jewels but is chock full of interesting history otherwise. One of the biggest lines was to see replicas of torture devices used on prisoners, like the rack.

Abbey Road was another place on my to-do list, although it being a busy road with no signal, I had no interest in trying to recreate the famed Beatles cover. Enough people were trying anyway.

Our trip to Paris was via the Eurostar, and it was a nice treat that reminded me of riding the shinkansen bullet trains here. My expectations for the romantic city was probably a bit too high, because it ended up being packed with tourists. We spent the day walking and snapping pictures of the famous sights, since most had lines too long to enter.

Stores were also closed because of what I'm guessing was the upcoming New Year holiday, so it was a bit disappointing to only window shop.

I'd love to go again and see more of the England countryside, including the Lake District in the north. In case you missed it in my last post, here's the album of the trip.

Another 3-day weekend is coming up in two weeks, and we're already looking to get back on track with our "visit every prefecture" goal by taking a trip to Aichi prefecture to see Nagoya. The Toyota museum is there along with a neat train museum I'm looking forward to seeing. Until then!