my little mochi

Zoe the Zou

It's been 40 plus days of rainy weather here and as much as I love the rain, I'm also a huge fan of the sun. Hear that Mr. Sun? You've been on holiday for far too long. We need you back on the job in the islands.

In crafting news, I have a couple of projects on the back burner that need to move to the front asap, but Buddy's been on spring break and we've been re-doing a spare room. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll find some time this weekend.

I did however, manage to squeeze in another feltie. This is Zoe, who appears to have stumbled onto some sort of strange combination apple orchard and orchid farm.

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments about Goldie and the three B's. Luckily the Bear family agreed to drop the charges and Goldielocks got off with a warning.

Little things

Sometimes it's the littlest things that can change the mood of a day for the better.

Home Invasion

P: I just don't understand it... I had a new security system installed last month. How did she get in?

M: I feel so violated. I mean she was in OUR house, going through OUR things, eating OUR food. I don't know if I'll ever feel safe again.

B: She broke my chair! She ate my food! She slept in my bed!

G: What's the big deal? It's like a total misunderstanding. You see, I have this friend Mindy and she told me about this uber cool spa that's like in the woods, you know? So I was like, "No way?" and she was like, "Yes way!" So I thought I'd check it out, but Mindy is so bad with directions and I must've gone to the wrong place. But the door was like totally unlocked, so I went in and this place was done up all retro bear chic, which I heard is like all the rage now, so I thought this was it. Anyway, I was really thirsty you know, from the walk in the woods, but there was like no juice bar, but there was all this food on the table...

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Yah! It's Friday. Just a quick post to say that I revised the Japanese pattern help PDF file so you might want to give it another look because its now a much more comprehensive list. I subdivided the terms into categories for body parts, sewing terms. accessories, etc.  Crafting Japanese has a great list of helpful links for beading, crocheting, and knitting that you should really check out too.

Hope everyone has a Happy St. Patricks Day! I've already eaten 3 shamrock cookies and 2 green malasadas, I wonder what other green food awaits me today. And here's a short story by Haruki Murakami that has nothing to do with St. Patricks Day, but it's so lovely that I had to share it. Click on the text to turn the page.

Japanese Pattern Help

A couple of months back, Makewrite posted a Japanese craft word search table for help with finding Japanese craft and zakka sites. So, I thought it might be helpful to post some commonly found words on the pattern pieces found inside the books. Japanese craft books usually have enough photographs and illustrations that even if you don't read a word of Japanese you can often figure it out, but knowing which pattern piece is a head versus a body, etc., before you start might save some precious time and fabric.

This is off the top of my head and mostly applies to stuffed animals, but I did include common sewing terms and other words used in crafting. If people find it helpful, I'll post another list for commonly found words in bag making or sewing.

Download japanese_pattern_help_2007.pdf (revised)

Housework

I enjoyed a rare Sunday alone as my parents took Buddy to the museum and Mr. T was at work. I slept in late and woke up excited about the possibilities the day might hold. I've been dying to see Pride and Prejudice, so maybe a trip to the video store and some take out? But I haven't been to the fabric store in months and the 40% coupon from the craft store expires today. Decisions, decisions. Then I walked into the kitchen and the dirty dishes from Friday were staring back at me, as were the piles of laundry overflowing from the hampers. So I spent my Sunday doing six loads of laundry, tackling my messy kitchen and vacuuming the house. Not exactly a perfect day, but it always feels so much better once the house is clean again.

But all was not lost. I did get some craft time in between loads, and almost finished an embroidered patch I've been working on. Which coincidentally, has a housework vibe to it and features the March Project Spectrum colors, pink and red.

I also had time to enjoy my ebay win which came in the mail on Saturday. I think I mentioned a couple posts back that I finally won a vintage children's book that I had bid on a bunch of times, but kept losing. It's called "Fun to Cook Book" but its actually more of a pamphlet and it was published by Carnation Foods in 1955. I spotted a copy of it on a Japanese antiques website and was drawn to the cute illustrations. You can see more of it here.

And thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments about Buddy's intrepid Space Travelers. Hopefully Biff and Suzie will survive the hands of a 4-year old and carry on for more adventures.

Happy Monday!

Planet Claire has pink air

When we last saw our intrepid space travelers, Astronaut Biff and Astrogirl Suzie, they were on a routine geological expedition on the recently discovered Planet Claire.

Suddenly, Biff and Suzy are confronted by a hostile and gruesome creature! But oh no! In a disastrous move our unlucky space heroes have both left their laser guns in the spacecraft!

Despite their best efforts to subdue the creature, they are utterly defenseless and the loathsome monster hijacks their spaceship and makes off with all of their possessions. What will happen now? How will our heroes find their way off this desolate planet without their spacecraft? How will they survive the harsh atmosphere of Planet Claire without their spacesuits?

To find out the fate of Biff and Suzie, be sure to tune in again for another exciting episode of "The Space Travelers".

(Added: I stumbled upon an old Calvin and Hobbes book a couple of weeks back and started reading it to Buddy. He especially enjoyed the Spaceman Spiff story lines and it inspired me to make the astronauts and rocketship. I originally tried to glue appendages to the wood doll figures, but I found making detachable body suits much easier and more versatile. Also, I painted smiley faces (first pic) on one side of the wood dolls and startled faces on the other side which were inspired by Buddy's legos.)

Ohina Matsuri

Happy Girls Day everyone! I managed to finish the kokeshi doll pins for Buddy's teachers last night, albeit with very little sleep, but here they are. The one on the left is supposed to have a "bobbed" hairstyle to match one of Buddy's teacher's hair, but I don't think it came out bob-ish enough.

It's a terrible photograph I know, but all we've been having lately is dark, stormy and dreary weather, so no natural light for any of the photos today. Here's the trio on top of the chi chi mochi my mom made and packed in sakura bento containers.

And look what my mother-in-law dropped off yesterday at the house for me, girls day cookies!

She always adds the sweetest hina matsuri tags every year to her girls day gifts. And last but not least, a pic of my favorite part of girls day, the mochi. Chi chi mochi is a soft sweet mochi that is different than the mochi eaten at New Years and to make ozoni soup. It's hard to see in the pic, but each mochi piece has a white layer and a pink layer and the white powder is  katakuriko (potato starch) which keeps the mochi from sticking together. 

We're having our official girls day celebration tomorrow at my mom's with more mochi, kimono wearing and lots of picture taking. Have a great weekend!

What! It's Wednesday?

Even though I fully enjoyed Fat Tuesday (I ate 4 malasadas yesterday) and recognized that Fat Tuesday has to happen on a Tuesday, I don't know why I'm shocked to discover that today is Wednesday. I can't have it be Wednesday because I'm not even close to completing everything I need to get done by Friday.

Thanks everyone for all the nice comments on the kokeshi doll pin. I was surprised and flattered to see that she even got a mention on Whip up. I'm still in a race to finish the three I'm going to make for Buddy's teachers for girls day this Friday. Luckily my mom offered to make the mochi so I can scratch that off my list.

I better get busy so I'll leave you with some links and the five things I did this weekend (via Red Current):

Links:
Tokyo Street Style - I love looking at street fashion

Radley - I just found out about this brand via a photo at Yarnstorm, but I couldn't find an American distributer. Just as well I guess, because I love all of it. Click here and I dare you not to love them all as well. (Added: Oh no, I found a distributer.)

Mary Blair handkerchiefs and a week of Mary Blair posts found via A Sampler of Things

5 Things I did this weekend:
1. Went to a farewell party for a co-worker at a bar in the middle of the strip club/nudie bar section of town, and no, there wasn't any stripping at the bar we were at, but I did have the darndest time trying to find the place
2. Spent way too much money at Home Depot
3. Watched My Neighbor Totoro
4. Finally won an auction for a vintage children's cookbook on ebay after 5 attempts
5. Got covered in paint Painted the spare room in the house, or rather started painting the spare room since it's still not done

Oops, I almost forgot, Project Spectrum starts today. March's colors are red and pink!