Making My Own Kimono

 

When were in Tokyo we went to the fabric section of the city. I had some fabric that I was looking for to make a suit. I had seen a photo of it online and have been searching for something ever since. I cannot find anything in India, but thought that maybe Japan would have it. 

Lady Hiva found the fabric area of the city and we went. We spent a few hours going through the many stores that lined the street with rooms and rooms of all kinds of fabric. Sadly, the fabric that I was looking for did not exist, but I decided to get some material to make my own Kimono jacket! 

I love how the Japanese kimono styles mix prints, colors, and textures. I used that inspiration as I found some material that I loved. The first was some birds embroidered onto a tan burlap looking material. I then got two other fabrics I liked. I wanted to do a lining in the jacket so I used a navy with some tan texture lines. 

I grabbed a pattern kit just in case I needed it. 

When I got home I decided to make my jacket! Why wait...? Just get going. It was funny to try and understand the "easy steps" of the pattern because it was all in Japanese. Thankfully between the kawai characters and Google Translate, I was able to get the gist of the project. 

However, the pattern did not include how to do a lining. So I spent some time sitting there visualizing the concept and how to put it together. 

I though the way the displayed the materials in the store was really fun! 

I saw this Kimono jacket online and used that as an inspiration for what I was trying to do! 

I love the final product! I am so proud of it. I know that it might seem like bragging...but I am proud that it turned out really well and it looked the way I had imagined it! I wore it to work the next day and people were surprised when I told them that I had made it myself!

Here is to the attitude that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! All you have to do is work hard, be creative and never give up!

Kyoto: Japan Part 3

The next stop on our tour of Japan (well parts of Japan anyway) was Kyoto. We took the Shinkasen bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. That was an experience too. We were worried about luggage storage, but we were able to find places for it on the train. The was a quick trip to Kyoto with only a few stops. We were able to see Mount Fuji both ways to and from Kyoto! 

The train was also a fun way to see the smaller towns and villages. I loved seeing all of the rice paddies. What a fun way to travel and explore. 

One of the stops along the way was Nagoya. It was fun to send photos to Kell because he served his mission there for two years many, many years ago! I am sure it looks every different from the way he remembers it. 

Lady Hiva told me to take a photo out of my window. I was obedient and did as she said. This was the result! HAHA...not sur what she was looking for, but she got our reflection. 

Turtle did not come with us on this trip--oddly. Lucky Dragon said that he was afraid Turtle would be lost after several scares on the Dubai trip. So instead he adopted two small stuffies to take with us. 

Lady Hiva wanted to try the "famous Tokyo Banana" treats. They are like Twinkies but banana shaped and flavored. 

Kyoto was another place we ate so well! I think we were there for food tourism and we happened to do other activities between each meal! haha

For the entire time in Kyoto we just walked around. We loved the luscious gardens and green mountains surrounding the area. The whole city is dotted with temples and parks to explore. We would just set off in any direction and see what we could find. 

We all loved seeing the trees and greenery. Normally I am asking them to turn for a photo, but in Kyoto they were all asking for a photo in front of this tree or that tree. 

Our hotel room had a garden verandah. We all loved being outside in the fresh air with a view of nature. 

We went to Fushimi Inari Shrine to see the thousand torii gates. There were SO many other people there too, but we were still able to take some beautiful photos. It was indeed a special place to go. 

Halfway up the shrine to the temple they had a stop with souvenirs and shave ice! Of course we had to stop for both. We ordered four of them and the server laughed said "too much!" So we decreased our number to two...she was right, they were HUGE! 

These two were so happy to see the tornado potatoes as we walked out of the shrine.

Our next stop was the bamboo forest. It was surreal to be in such dense forest in the middle of the city. You get inside and all the noise and bustle of civilization disappears. 

This old man was selling his art in postcard form. He was so kind and proud of his work. We bought a few as our souvenirs from the forest. 

We were at this river for nearly an hour just throwing rocks. These two were in heaven! 

We explored some of the old streets of Gion and loved that experience. The wooden houses lined the winding streets. We ate some fun snacks and did some shopping as we went along. 

It was fun to walk some of the street that are covered in Memoirs of a Geisha.

These two LOVED the kawai side of Japan.  Gudetama has always been loved in our house. These little stuffy people became a quick favorite. 

We stopped and bought some kimono jackets to wear! I love all the colors and textures of the materials. 

Cooking our delicious beef! 

This ice cream place became our favorite. We may have gone back a few (or five) times. 

It was peach season while we were there. We stopped and ate so many of them! 

Much like home 7-11 has delicious food! We found ourselves going into so many of them and trying different foods. A few times we went out at mid-night for a family walk to get snacks! 

One day we went to Nara and fed the deer. It was fun to see how they would bow and eat the crackers from us. Some of them did get a bit bitey..so that was not fun. But the rest of the experience was fun. 

We went to watch them make mochi by hand. It was fun to see the process in person. 

We walked around the walled Imperial Palace. 

Kyoto was a dream place to be. We will miss being here.